I was first aware of a presence during the fire. It had formed a cool layer between me and the flames that billowed and rolled around me. In retrospect, I knew that he was with me for every major event in my life. Until the fire, I thought in terms of coincidence. Now, I know that I have never been alone.

While recovering from the burns, I lived in a lovely, large room at the Kauai Resort with my teenage daughter, Brooke. I sat in front of the open lanai late at night, always in the dark so as not to wake her. I breathed deeply the tropical gusts from the sea carrying the scent of Plumeria. Faint Hawaiian tones mixed with bursts of laughter from the lounge wove around the pounding surf. I lived in peace and joy!

This night, I heard him speak, not in words, but as an idea, all at once.

"Go downstairs, outside."

With my legs badly burned and bandaged, I fought the persistent nagging, using the pain of the walk as my excuse. Unable to shake the voice off, I surrendered and quietly left our room.

The walk wasn’t nearly as physically painful as I let on. The truth: I was embarrassed; though it was nearing midnight, there were guests roaming the hallways. I must have looked a sight. My right arm was bandaged to the elbow. Both feet and legs, bandaged to the knee. Hair, broken and missing in splotches. Scabs had formed on my face. My eyebrows and lashes were missing. Above all, I was angry with myself for letting strangers’ pity define me.

I made my way down the steps until I crossed the stream and small wooden bridge, then onto the sloping lawn toward the sea. I felt him with me every step. I trusted.

I stopped. We had reached a grassy knoll beside a tall palm.

I breathed deeply of the cooling night air, facing squarely with the sea.

"Sit down." The ideas he transmitted conveyed a certainty now; there would be no further argument from me.

I lowered myself carefully to the ground. The grass turned to feathery cushions beneath my bandaged legs. I stretched my neck gratefully to catch the trade winds that blew hair from my face. I folded my legs for balance.

"Close your eyes." The voice was undeniable.

I felt very safe; no one was outdoors at this hour. The ocean rolled in the foreground, and I felt silence at my back. I knew I was with an angel on my island in the Pacific. I was so very comfortable, so very secure. I followed instructions.

"Place your right hand on the ground beside you, palm down."

I did.

"Place your left hand on the ground."

As I did, I breathed deeply, my senses deepening. I was smiling, and very relaxed.

I was not prepared for the jolt that passed through me! I gasped, and fought to keep my eyes from springing open. The next surge came -- up from the ground through my body, and then down into the ground again. It was as if I was a conduit ...for something ...this was a current of electricity! Waves, one followed the next, and then another... My posture had turned rigid while my mind searched. What could this be?! The answer came, not in words, but in a complete communication: This is the Spirit of Earth!

Pictures flashed behind my closed eyes. I saw wild creatures and domestic animals of all kinds, oceans of the world and the whales. Dolphins smiled as I flew high over rain forests. I saw a single rose. I saw sad, polluted streams with rusted cars and washing machines tossed into magnificent canyons. Geometric shapes appeared, then houses made of ice, and a castle on a rocky crag. I saw a young man die alone on a battlefield. Abandoned kittens, and hurt children. Tears poured from me, but I didn’t let go; my hands firm upon the ground still, I remained. I knew her! I knew Earth! We are the same! Who she is -- she has a body! Just as I have a body, but am not a body. I sobbed for what seemed a very long time, until every one of my tears had been cried, and there was nothing more to cry. Nothing more to experience,

She and I sat together quietly, holding hands, Earth and I. It was done. Both of us, our bodies tortured, burned and scarred -- but healing.

I don’t recall returning to our room that night, or going to sleep. The next day, a deep understanding would come to me: I had met a Partner. She and I, each dependent on the other. It is each partner’s job to nurture and to protect the other. Forever more, I will live in the question: In this moment, how? And then I can take appropriate action.

With the approaching Millennium, we could easily move into fear. I’ve done that! There are prophecies, evidence that Earth is to be feared. I know we are not pitted against Earth. Rather, I think she must cleanse herself. That power, which at one time was within our hands, is now lost to us. But we can learn her language and listen carefully. We can spend time in understanding our connectedness. We can apologize, and realize that we have been forgiven. We can help heal.