CALL TO THE WILD

“Love, genuine passionate love, was his for the first time.”
― Jack London, The Call of theWild

During this pandemic my family has retreated for wellness in the comfort of our home.  Some call it sheltering, quarantine, or isolation, I would rather call it a retreat.  I have two sons between the ages of 18 and 20 and my husband and I are enjoying the time as a family.  We do more together than we normally do as life is no longer calling us in the usual way.  The pressures and pulls to go in many different directions simply disappeared overnight.

My husband and I are blessed to be able to continue work and we are now working from home.    I looked online for some advice for retreating and found many blogs and articles from people in Europe who had already, and still are, living through this unique situation.  Routine was what I read over and over again.  I have a tendency to hang out in my pj’s until noon when I’m off work.  The first thing I did was get dressed every day.  I also dress in nice clothes – not the rags I wear to do my housework.  It’s ironic how these subtle routines can make you feel alive and part of humanity.

Our house has become our command centre and I have arranged it to meet everyone’s needs.  I am a Master Reiki practitioner, so I already have a room that is dedicated to Reiki sessions for clients.  It was easy enough for me to create an office for my work as an office manager.  Our kitchen and family room was split into two work spaces to create the space for my husband and son.    My husband works with Autistic students and my son’s trade school is now on-line.  It’s easy for work time to merge into home time so I make sure that all work related or school materials are put away and neatly stacked so that visually our minds take us away from work and into the evening or the weekend.

We’ve always been fans of watching movies from home and I’m enjoying watching movies as a family.  Last night we watched “Call of the Wild” for the first time.  I have read the reviews on the movie and there was a lot of criticism about how unnatural Buck and the animals look.  It is true that you could certainly see the digital images and the  influence of that technology throughout the movie, but what movie in this day and age doesn’t use technology as a background to the film.   Personally, I loved the movie, and I loved the message.  Jack London’s message was fairly simple when he wrote “Call of the Wild”  in 1903.  It called for respect and love to our environment and to treat animals with love, compassion and dignity.  In doing so our environment will flourish and in treating animals with respect and love they grow in strength, confidence and resilience.

In this new world of living under the pandemic, I couldn’t help but see the parallel lines between the movie and the chaos the world is living under right now.   Buck was thrown into utter chaos overnight and it was within this chaos that evil surfaced.  Buck had been living a great life with an upper class family enjoying the fruits of that life and his behaviour was defiant, stubborn, unruly, immature and uncontrollable.  He simply could not help himself.   He found himself scared and alone with no idea what his future held as the cargo ship, his dognappers forced him on, sailed to the Great Canadian North.   In a way all of us have been unruly and we’ve taken for granted the comforts which we live.   There are so many who are poor and marginalized and we choose to ignore this fact or satisfy ourselves with the attitude that someone else is taking care of the situation; not my problem.  This pandemic has reared the ugly head of the difference between the rich, the elitist, the poor and marginalized and in this spotlight we have a clear view of the difference between the haves and the have-nots.

I was disappointed to read a comment on facebook by a teacher who was complaining about the whole situation of having to work from home and how she was mad to be questioned about full pay.  Many citizens don’t have jobs and at the beginning of this crisis there was confusion about whether educational structures were offering full online classes or not.  Also, some districts were quicker about getting their online platform out to their community than others.   The question about teachers getting full salary is a fair question because of the amount of confusion circulating around the online platform a the time. Unfortunately, this teacher made a comment on facebook that, and I quote “all people without degrees are essentially useless.”  An elitist attitude coming from a spoiled, unruly person with no discipline and it was clear to me that she lacked any empathy or compassion for anyone else but herself.  She later retracted when confronted and said that she was mad and frustrated, which I understand, however, her elitist comment is what surfaced and I sincerely believe that she holds on to that belief as I see so much of that elitist attitude of the “we against them” mindset.

This pandemic clearly shows we simply can’t live this way anymore.  There must be equality and  fairness for all.  Not all have the same opportunity to pursue a university degree and many who have racked up student loans to do so are frustrated by both their debt level and not finding a job within their fields.  All of this could be debated back and forth and I simply do not have the answer.  I do know this, we must show respect toward all people.  As a society we also must care about everyone’s well-being.  For one to stand on their high towers and look down at someone who doesn’t have what they have simply does nothing to engage the world or it’s people into a healthy community.  If  you are someone responsible to educate our young, then I hope that you see fairness and equality for all as the road to higher education.   We need people to perform all jobs in this society and to not respect and value all human beings is costing this planet it’s dignity and throwing us into the throes of chaos and in the midst of this chaos evil prevails.  Resentment, anger, lack of confidence and and lack of value replaces, love, compassion, worthiness and pride in our communities.

We are being called to the wild and right now this pandemic is moving us forward to great changes.  Some call it a reset and I agree the world is resetting itself.  Like Buck in the movie, he was consistently pulled back to his master John, who led him with a kind hand, and his new beginnings with his new love and pack.  As we move forward to a world post pandemic, we too will be pulled back and forth between our old life and the new beginnings.  However, once Buck was able to fully immerse himself into his new life and live as he was meant to without prejudice, judgment, neglect and abuse, he was able to stand tall and move forward in confidence, love and respect and he went on to create a new community that stood for strength, dignity and respect for all.   I pray we are able to do what Buck did in the movie and move forward in a new world, a world where we stand as one.   I urge all to look for their “Call to the Wild” as  now I am actively looking for my  call to the wild.   I want to move forward with love, and feel genuine passionate love for the world and all it’s people and let this  be mine for the first time.

Johanne Fraser

 

THE POWER OF FREEDOM

“The ability to perform Reiki comes from internal freedom.  The power to be free from stress, tension and anger.”  Nikita Dudani

As I left the city and drove into the country, I could feel the tensions and the chaos leave me as I drove straight ahead imagining the dark cloud drifting behind me.  As I continued to drive and turned here and there, the roads became silent and the houses became fewer and I noticed both my breathing and my mind shifted into a place that is more consistent with where I believe humans are meant to be.   As I turned into the driveway, stopped the car and walked to open the gate,  I could see the jump blocks used for horse jumping in the field to the right and rows of apples trees and vegetables crops in the field to the left.

As I drove the truck up the winding driveway, a dog approached and chased my truck and waited at the side of the truck to greet me as I stepped onto the stone driveway.  She greeted me with continuous barking all the while she was wagging her tail.  I followed the fragrance of roses as I stepped through an arbor covered by their beauty.  The dog ran just a few feet ahead of me barking up the pathway to announce my arrival to the occupants inside the simple but beautiful farmhouse with a porch containing two oversized rattan chairs seated with bright yellow cushions and a small table in-between, begging for someone to sit with their tea and crumpets during a lazy afternoon.

Sabine was already waiting for me as I climbed the stairs, her hair was pulled back and in the absence of makeup her beautiful smile lit up her face making me think that there was no product of makeup on the market that could do this woman justice.  It was her inner power that was shining through and it shined through her body, her face and her eyes as she held out her hand to welcome me to her home.  This was my second time in Sabine’s presence, she is a Reiki master teaching me the ways of Reiki and in what Sabine believes is the path to health and wellness.

I have been following a path that led me to this enchanting place in the country for many years.  I’ve always believed in the energy that flows through this earth and as a small child I could feel the energy in the fields, the animals, the rivers, the oceans and the plants and the trees.  I preferred to surround myself with the energy from animals and the earth rather than human beings.  Energy from the earth is simple and if you sit with the earth for any length of time you will always take away exactly what you need as the earth never deceives you.   Humans are far more complicated and their complicated energy has always illuded me.  I believe in saying what you mean and meaning what you say and there are few people like that making interaction perplexing.   The path I have been following for the last few years have turned and twisted in directions I did not expect.  Empath is one turn, as I realized there was a name for the ailment I have suffered since a child.  I take on other’s emotions and wear those emotions as if they are my own.  This chameleon ability may sound fun to some, but it is exhausting and the need to ground one’s spirit and get a grasp of their soul is imperative to the empath’s well-being.  Yoga and mediation seemed like the natural path for this grounding and I have practiced yoga and mediation off and on for many years.

However, meditation can be difficult for me as calming my mind is a daily struggle.  I started to read about Reiki a few years ago and I was intrigued with the idea that you could heal your body with your mind.  Being aware of the power of the mind, I had no doubt that you can heal your body by removing the negativity that enters your body leaving your body depleted and your soul malnourished.  I found Sabine on the internet and after reading her introductory, I knew she would be the person to help me further along this path to Reiki healing.  I signed up for Sabine’s Level I class and after spending one day with her, I knew that humans have the power to grasp the energy that vibrates through all living things and direct that energy through their minds and their hands to heal the many ailments that humans and animals suffer by clearing the blockage in the pathways of rivers and streams flowing through our bodies allowing the natural progression of energy that heals our bodies and our minds.

As I continue with Sabine on this path to Reiki, I am reminded to be mindful every day with the five principals of Reiki:

• To observe the arising of greed, anger and delusion, looking deeper for their true cause
• To appreciate the gift of life and be compassionate to all beings.
• To find the right livelihood and be honest in your work.
• To see within the ever-changing nature of your mind, emotions and body.
• To merge with the universal nature of the mind as Reiki flows within you.

More and more I am hearing the word Reiki being used in the medical field.  The medical community is embracing the power of Reiki and recognizing the alternative treatment as effective in the pursuit of health and wellbeing.  Reiki’s non-invasive power offers a boost to western medicine and can serve as an instant pain reliever but also helps when used as long-term preventive therapy.  Does it replace western medicine?  No and all Reiki masters emphasize that Reiki compliments western medicine and does not replace western ideology.

We need to recognize our bodies as energetic systems and stop the flow of negative forces within that clouds the blood that seeps through our veins, leaving our bodies open to disease and pain.  Freedom comes with positive energy and positive energy comes from within.   We are all capable and knowledgeable with the ability to this insight.   We just have to find our internal freedom to ignite its power, the power of freedom.

 

JUST BECAUSE IT ISN’T HAPPENING HERE

In light of Russia walking in and taking over the Ukraine and all the other places in the world where war is constant, we here in North America take for granted that our children can go to bed in peace and walk the streets without  fear of bombs,violence and bloodshed.  This blog is dedicated to moments that make me smile but I, as a mother, can’t be ignorant of what so many children in the world go through and pretend that because my children  are presently safe that this is okay.  Watch and share because it’s important that all children of this world live in peace.