You may have heard that the west coast of the U.S. is filled with smoke from summer wildfires. We’ve been in the latest cloud for a few days. As I watched the ash land on my car yesterday, I was reminded of the last time I saw ash in the sky.

It was last October. I was at Spirit Rock Meditation Center for a five night meditation retreat. To the north, there were fires in California, ravaging forests and homes. I was at the meditation center without my cell phone. I had given it up on the first day of the retreat so I could have the retreat experience I wanted. I had, however, told my husband that if any time while I was there, he feared for my safety, he merely needed to call and tell them there was an emergency and I would return home. That never happened. The retreat staff did a masterful job of informing us, just enough, of our safety and the progress of the fires. I was assured that they would not put us in harm’s way.

I had gone to the retreat to be alone with myself, five months after the unexpected calamity of two heart attacks caused by Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection, a poorly understood cause of heart attack among primarily seemingly healthy women.

I meditated. I ate. I walked. I slept. I watched the ashes fall on the days of smoke. Sometimes I felt restless. Sometimes I felt bored. Sometimes I felt awkward. Mostly I felt that I was exactly where I wanted and needed to be. I had moments of lovingkindness, peace, equanimity, and mindfulness.

We have ashes falling again. They fall from the sky and settle. The air is hot and acrid. There have been health warnings to avoid vacuuming carpets inside to prevent the ashes that have settled into the fibers from roiling back into the air.

There has been a roil of ashes in my life. Natural calamity. My father died. This happens, especially after a life of 85 years. It is natural but it is calamitous. Normal doesn’t mean good. It means, common. Death is a normal part of life that is really really hard.

Some of the ashes are settling. As I watch them, I am reminded of the mindfulness analogy of the snow globe. If you stop shaking a snow globe, the roil of snow settles. The scene is peaceful but the snow is there.

I can’t help the ashes that fall from the heavens and follow the winds, but I can keep my vacuum tucked away in the closet, at least for now. For me, this means, continuing to protect my emotional and physical energy. I am careful about how much socializing that I do. It takes a lot of energy right now. I do a lot of art. I continue to keep my patient load on the lower side. I ask for help and understanding. I keep in touch with my mom every couple of days. I am taking short vacations.

I am doing my best to let enough ashes settle so that I can see where I am.

Peace friends.