Balance of Nature

Mashaneja could hear the rumblings long before the people in her village knew that the volcano was about to erupt. It was always like that for her since she was a little child. Today the septuagenarian has forgotten how many times in her life she had warned people of natural calamities long before they happened.

From the gigantic waves that swept away the coastal hamlets to the tremors of the earth, and yes, a few times even the eruption from Mount Shaneja. Named after the sacred volcanic mountain, Mashaneja was not a clairvoyant who saw the future, she was a simple village woman whose whole life was deeply connected to the earth. It was this immersive relationship with nature that gave Mashaneja the gift of understanding what Mother Earth wanted, acutely feel her pain, and rejoice in her abundant happiness. Mount Shaneja, the dormant volcano, that towered a few hundred miles from Mashaneja’s village was a living shrine to Mother Earth, where she breathed deep down in her belly.

As molten lava started oozing out from the crater, to Mashaneja it seemed that Mother Earth was bleeding. In the next few days as ash covered the sky, her village and the surrounding area turned into a grey landscape as if mourning all that was lost. But she knew that nothing is lost forever – everything in the universe is about maintaining a balance. The volcanic ash, which is rich in nutrients, will soon give abundant life, growing from grape vines to the silversword plants. Even the underwater hardened lava that had made its way to the sea will create a perfect ecosystem for aquatic life to flourish.

The cycle of creation and destruction will go on as a seamless play of consciousness. The old woman wished more people in the world could see the balance of nature from her eyes.