In the time of fires / Mandala #50: Sabine and her Bicycle (A meditation on bicycle spokes, suns, moons, stars, planets, skies, mountains, oceans) / More of one thing leading to another / Talking about spiritual energy and the children of 9/11

Update:  Since I posted this morning, the air quality here has steadily diminished to the Unhealthy range with severely limited visibility.  The sky is a sickly pale yellow, approaching pale orange.

As I was downloading the above video, YouTube suggested this video:



Which led me to:

I make a distinction in the book between physical energy and spiritual energy. I don’t mean spiritual in the form of religious sense; I mean the sense in which you are high spirits or low spirits. (click on this if you wish to read the article)

Which led me to pause and look up and out my window to see the sun for the first time this morning, its light dimmed by the fires, near and far, that are raging on the West Coast of the United States, and to know that high spirits leave and return, over and over again.  Low spirits are still spiritual energy, dimmed like the sun is today until the fires subside and the sky does its work of clearing itself, as the sky has done since long before we were here and will continue to do so after we are gone. 



Which brought me back to what I had planned to post today, a song by Bruce Springsteen:



"The Rising" was written as a response to the terrorist attacks in the USA on the 11th September 2001. The song tells a story of a firefighter climbing up the staircase at the World Trade Center.

"Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine 
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight"

I've been saving this for a day like today:

"The Children of 9/11 are About to Vote"

Thank you to Sabine on your bicycle for the inspiration.