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From Me to You

How A Corn Snake Taught me About My Purpose in Life

Welcoming 2022 on Peaceful Mountain

2021 has been quite a hard year – I had thought 2020 was hard as we came under siege with that frightening, new unknown – the Coronavirus – but 2021 has been a gut punch. It has been even harder for me, on a personal level. It was a year of painful loss, such deep, heartbreaking loss. It was the reality of experiencing the unthinkable, of losing the one person who made the world relevant for me, who held up the sky for me. How do you survive such loss?

I felt it would be hard to smile again, to feel joy again. I did not think I would ever come out of that dark night of loss, of the disappearance of someone so dear that it looked as if with his dying out, the world had been plunged into darkness.

And yet – and yet human beings do end up surprising themselves, of discovering the steel within themselves.  They rally when there seems to be no point in rallying. They smile when they really just want to sit down and weep.

What saved me – and what will save so many of those hurtling through these sad, sad times – is the anchor of human bonds. Family members who opened wide their arms, friends who pushed me back into life, the kindness of strangers who showed me we are all connected, that life must go on.

And then I looked beyond the private and the intimate, at our larger complex world, the tragedies simmering and boiling up in so many parts of the world – COVID, natural disasters, the  lost homelands, manmade disputes.  Family members lost forever, children gone before their time, all someone’s loved ones.  Losses not personal to me or you, but piercingly personal to someone, somewhere.  It just makes one want to be more compassionate, to be part of the solution, to help make the world a happier place. It could be our aspiration for 2022, no matter how good or bad the year turns out to be.

I spent the final days of 2021 with family in the breathtaking wilderness of Canyon Point in Utah, surrounded by majestic natural architecture created by nature over millions of years.. We were in the luxurious Amangiri Resort which means Peaceful Mountain but everything was dwarfed by the awe-aspiring landscapes created by the Almighty – flat topped mesas,  deep canyons  and sharp buttes which are tall and narrow in shades of red, vermillion, black and white

The water at Amangiri comes from three natural wells sitting at 1100 feet below ground – the desert is a fragile ecosystem created over 165 million years. It is a meeting of the ancient and the modern, proof that our world has survived many calamities, and can survive many more.

In the distance are these remarkable creations with their own inner universe of fauna and wildlife and while we are stressed out in the chaos of our modern world, the beliefs of the Navajo Nation live on. It’s a world that has survived many centuries and is a beacon to us to persevere and do our best, for the hardy desert has always managed to survive in all its heartbreaking beauty.

On an evening, a visiting wildlife storyteller showed us live scorpions, rattlesnakes and other mammal life which all lives on and fulfils the purpose for which they were created. He wrapped a fierce-looking orange Corn Snake around my arm like a bracelet. I was relieved to learn that the Corn Snake  (Pantherophis guttatus) was non-venomous but it was nevertheless a scary moment. It showed me our degree of separation from all natural life. The Corn Snake is not just slithering around on the rocks – it actually has a purpose in life – to kill thousands of wild rodents which damage crops and spread disease amongst humans. (Perhaps we should import these super-efficient snakes to New York to help eliminate all the waterfront rats!)

Of course, the Corn Snake probably doesn’t realize he’s a savior eradicating disease and pestilence – he’s probably just looking forward to his next delicious rat meal! But still, it made me think –  we all do need to have a larger purpose in life – and discover that purpose.

The purpose of some is just to give joy to others – such as that of the gorgeous little Mountain Bluebirds. These uncommon birds are usually found in Utah during the breeding season at elevations of 12,500 feet and migrate to lower areas during winter. We were lucky enough to see these beautiful bright blue birds right outside our rooms in the resort –  I loved their perky energy, their brilliant plumage and their swift, joyful glides in the bushes.

At Amangiri                                     Photo: Tyler Melwani

Under the stars in the night sky, with a flaming log fire burning bright orange, a Navajo elder and his son told us ancient stories set to the rhythms of the past. Sitting out in the open in the dark, part of generations of visitors from across nations, I felt we were all a sturdy, compassionate people and we and our world would somehow survive and even thrive, despite and in spite of COVID and other as yet unknown monsters which may ambush us in this nascent year.

This year as we each struggle with our private griefs and traumas of a COVID fraught world, may we all be fortified by the love of family and friends, compassion for all living things and may we each discover our true purpose in life.

Wishing you all a wonderful and resilient 2022!

Lavina