A Different Kind of Christmas Story
I was driving up I-5 today and saw a snow-capped mountain in the distance. It probably wasn't Mt. Hood as I was too far south, but it made me feel like every mountain in Oregon right now is Mt. Hood and we're all being haunted by it.
The media is reportng that one missing hiker has been found dead in a snow cave 300 feet below the summit at the location of the cellphone that called out last Sunday.
They found the other hikers' footprints in and out of a higher snow cave. Anything could be happening, and to have Mt. Hood looming in our collective consciousness at this time of year is a good holiday reminder: human dramas are happening all around us every day that we should be paying attention to. People get lost and they're trying to get home. The best laid plans can still screw up and all we have is each other and the elements to survive.
I don't remember all the details of the Nativity, but there seem to be parallels there. The family looking for shelter and ending up in a manger. There's probably some resonance with Hanukkah too (Billy G can tell us). Tonight, we're reminded that not all miraculous holiday stories have happy endings. And we're reminded of our deep and fragile humanity.
It's times like these that remind us to care about each other. We're all on a journey to our own personal summit, but we all get lost along the way. I keep thinking about the 100 mile per hour winds these men have been through the last week with nothing to protect them but snow pounded into the correct formation. The snowfall was being measured in feet, not inches. It must have been blindingly white and surreal.
It's a story we'll all be witness to. It's a sad thing to unite our attention this holiday season, but in the end it might just yield some truth about redemption and caring.
If it gives us a chance to share some kind of cross-spiritual lesson this holiday season, that man may not have died in vain after all.
posted by dcnative @ 6:44 PM
1 Comments:
Very fine post, DC Native... it gets one to thinking. As far as parallels to the Hanukah story, one comes immediately to mind. It's the tale of there only being enough oil to keep the eternal flame lit for one night, and somehow it stayed lit for 8 nights until new reserves could be brought from afar. This anecdote doesn't appear in the literature, but it's a well known, well loved metaphor for hanging on, for keeping the flame of hope alive against all odds, for keeping that spark from being extinguished. It's the miracle that we look to in times of trouble.
Happy solstice! Come on, light!!!!
Guilfoyle
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