Many thanks to the seven families who came out recently for an afternoon together to learn Fire-by-Friction. In addition to learning a bit about fire making, our goals were to connect within our families while also connecting with other families, nature, and our UU identity / values.
We began with a large circle and chalice lighting, followed by a game of camouflage. We learned and practiced the hymn Spirit of Life using ASL signs to go with the words. We didn't sing, due to COVID risks, but enjoyed signing along as the song played through a speaker. All ages picked it up quickly and made it a magical embodied experience! We'll try it again this Sunday in worship.
Fire-by-friction is a great lesson for the value of communication, perseverance, trying new things, and supporting one another. These are all things that families need to be skilled at during a pandemic as well! Teams worked very hard together and it was exhausting work. We practiced the hand drill method. This was a form traditionally used by the Mewuk people indigenous to Central California where I used to teach outdoor education. Part of this method means giving it all you have, and you have let others know when you need them to take over so you can rest.
We didn't have any group make an ember, but we did have some smoke, and used a leftover ember from the fire my family used to cook hot dogs at lunch. The ember went into a nest of cattail fluff, with some birch bark shredded from a fallen birch nearby. We then used the tinder we collectively gathered during our session. Three sizes of dry sticks, just like the kids learn in the ECO lessons at school--"mouse tails," "chickadee sticks" and "beaver tails" or "beaver sticks!
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Everyone got a red memory bead for their tree name tags at the end. Red for the ember, and red for the love and divine spark that lives inside each of us! We blew out our chalice with these closing words: "Be good to yourself, be excellent to others, and do everything with love."
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