Surviving the End of a World

It’s been a week full of every feeling, every pain, every depth of muck and every kind of love since I last wrote to let you know about the destruction of our apothecary, and our entire town, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

At the end of the day, most days, I feel like I’m on my hands and knees, forehead touching the earth, surrendered completely to the immense pain of all that’s been lost—but also in immense gratitude for all the love that has been poured upon me this past week.

Every day that I’ve seen another donation or class purchase come in from this beautiful community, I’ve bowed my head in awe and cried. Like a willow bent towards the earth.

To be the recipient of such love has been life-changing, soul resurrecting in a way I struggle to put into words…

but please know that I am bowing to you dear one, with tears in my eyes.

The damage to our entire region is much more severe than I even knew last week. Most of the towns here in the mountains that I cherish and love are either destroyed or gone. Rescue missions are ongoing, helicopters fly over our house every half an hour (bless them), and even in Asheville, our nearest city, everyone is still without water.

Lately I’ve been reminding myself, as I struggle to function or find words — that we here in the mountains have literally survived the end of a world.

And I’m here to report that at the end of the world there is deep pain…but there is also deep hope, love, and rebirth.

There is so much this experience has taught me, continues to teach me, about how we humans can meet this time of endings on our planet.

There’s so much I’m learning about the resiliency of the human spirit, the Earth’s own spirit, the powerfully special connection our hearts have with the heart of this planet. The role we’re meant to play here.

There’s so much I want to write, and I know there will be time once we’re no longer in this stage of acute crisis.

But in the meantime, I just wanted to say thank you.

I’ve read every note, comment and email you’ve sent my way—often late at night when I’m weary and heartbroken—and it means more than I can express.

There’s been times in the past couple weeks when I’ve literally watched the wellspring of compassion that is arriving from the outside allow our souls here to stay anchored in our bodies.

It’s one of the most holy things I’ve ever experienced, or witnessed. Thank you for showing me this.

With your help our team has begun to find a footing again, feeling secure in our survival and pivoting to provide funds and resources directly to our community.

We are in it for the long haul here, for the healing of these mountains, this community, this Earth.

If you’re able to donate or buy a class at this time, this is still so profoundly needed, and meaningful.

If not, please know that your support, your care, your prayers, your love have been keeping our spirits afloat in a way I can only begin to describe.

As shattering as this whole experience has been, it’s also brought me closer to my own work, my purpose in this life.

You have reminded me of this, shown me this, brought me back to my own soul in a time of such loss. And I am more grateful to you than I could ever say.

This community is an ongoing miracle, and I feel blessed beyond measure to be a part of it.

Thank you.

Sending you love from the ending of one world and the beginning of another.

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Dear Asia,
I live in Asheville and will never forget meeting you at Malaprop’s Bookstore while promoting your book, “Mirrors of the Earth.” It was during COVID-19. I could tell your tour had taken much out of you. How strong you were to be there for all of us.

Time became a notion immediately after Helene’s death, and I could see how our reach to support others helped time begin again. I used what had frightened me most about time slipping away from me to help.

A small reach can stop time when you touch a person with a loving glance, a reassuring hand, or even a hug to a soul witnessing traumatic devastation and fear.
My reach has become a positive energy field via a grocery lane that helps pull others into acceptance rather than becoming dismissive by offering mirrors of love and kindness. Time can begin again for people involved in such a warm exchange who embrace an understanding that neither is alone.

One evening, while chatting with a good friend, I pulled your book from my shelf and opened it mysteriously to page 255, “The Way Beyond Death.” I began reading it to my friend Johann, and we sat there, both amazed and tearful:
“When something begins to die- a person, a pet, a part of ourselves- we reflexively hold tighter, as if our grip can reverse the flow of time. When we experience a change inside ourselves, we cling to the people we once were. We default to retelling the worn-out fables of our lives simply because we aren’t sure what the new story will be. We immerse ourselves so fully in trying to pull out the past that we miss the tiny spores of what is being born…Our souls came here to be in relationship with the collective, collaborative light of this world.”
And from Becoming Reishi Trees:
“After a time of decay comes the turning point. The powerful light that has been banished returns.” -The I Ching, Hexagram 24

So many of my own stories are worn out and dead. As we move with all of this trauma, death, and utter destruction of homes, families, and lives into wintertime, where it is a time of turning inward and retreating, it is also a time of giving and sharing.

I can attest to the changes I have felt from Helene’s aftermath: the need to moan, cry, and even scream and cry for the lost souls and for our Mother Earth to release the trauma stored in the mind and body has been real. A greater purpose and desire seems wiring through my body’s core. The mountains here are stronger and more mysterious than I have given them credit for.

Asheville and its surrounding communities have a genuine united support and love for its people. The reach here and beyond can move the human, earthly, and divine spirit through the chaos. I will be meditating on supportive, loving, and strengthening mirrors with faith into our spring. I thank you and send peace, love, and resurrection your way.