Chiliques volcano in Chile (NASA)

It’s amazing how volcanoes which lie dormant for years can come back to life. Some give indications over a long time that lava is brewing. This provides geologists and seismologists opportunities to evaluate the progress. Local authorities have time to issue warnings to the inhabitants of the area. Spewing rocks, lava flows, seismic shudders and ash fallout are all significant concerns for local residents.

There are other cases in which volcanoes give little warning of their return to life. They quickly become active and ready to explode. Everyone, it seems, is caught by surprise.

In our own life we sometimes experience personal sleeping volcanoes. Perhaps some ancient, painful incident has been put to rest, only to return years later. In some situations, there are ongoing indications that something is brewing. But the individuals are able to cope with living under these conditions, as distressing as they may be to themselves or others. In other situations, certain triggers elicit an emotional reaction which is all out of proportion with the given stimuli. Everyone (often including the person who is blowing up as well as those around) is caught off-guard. They are unprepared to deal with the eruption and fallout.

Unresolved trauma, subterranean feelings of anger or rejection, or the deep-seated pain of guilt, grief or remorse can spring to life in various ways. Although the process of coming to terms with these difficult issues is itself painful, the alternatives also exact a toll. It depends on which price one chooses to pay.

For Reflection:

• Have you ever experienced your own personal volcano? What were the issues surrounding it?
• How have you been able to help someone who is struggling with a dormant volcano now come to life?