Fire

At our house we are blessed with a bit of space where we can enjoy a fire pit. So far to date I have not had to buy any fire wood, as there are a number of trees and tree-stumps on our property that have provided the necessary fuel to enjoy this feature of the yard. I personally find it immensely satisfying to watch a fire in the pit that I put together from stumps that I have dug out and branches that I have cleaned up - as well as the ongoing clearing of this debris to make the land more habitable.

The fire consuming the dead wood leads me to think about using a metaphorical fire in life, to burn away that which is no longer alive/holding back progress. This could be a bad habit (e.g.: eating takeaway too often, too much time scrolling) or it may be something that was useful for a season of life but now doesn't have the same utility/relevance (e.g.: keeping all my med school notes stored in the garage!).

These parts of life can be a challenge to address. They may offer comfort the of familiarity and the effort of removing them may be painful - hurting the feelings of others, as well as ourselves in the process. The process however is essential to growth. Similarly to how gold was purified in ancient times - where the metal would be heated into a liquid and the imperfections removed - so our lives should be similar. We need sometimes to put ourselves through a purification process and remove things that no longer serve a purpose.

This does not mean giving up on core beliefs and responsibilities we have committed to (this might be the topic for another post); but removing things that hold us back from living up to those responsibilities and our highest potential.