Lighting the Fire
My family has a cabin that my great-grandparents built in the pine forest in New Mexico. It has a beautiful rock fireplace with a large, deep place to build a fire. We keep a fire going in the evenings for both the beauty and the heat—and occasionally to roast hot dogs and marshmallows.
I was at the cabin recently and I noticed that building and maintaining a fire is a lot like creating and sustaining a project. There is some skill needed to figure out the best way to start the fire and keep it going, and different people have different approaches with varying degrees of success. The same could be said of visualizing and sustaining a new endeavor.
My husband, Mel, used to be a firefighter and, ironically, he can reliably start a fire with one match. He knows exactly what to do, has the patience to make it happen and makes it look easy. Mel enjoys the tasks of the fire. He is perfectly happy sitting for hours reading by the fireside, watching it flicker and change and periodically tending its needs.
My 16-year-old daughter has much less experience and skill as a fire starter. She spends close to half an hour scavenging different kinds of debris to use as kindling and trying to coax the fire to life. Sometimes it seems like it is going to catch, only to falter and flicker out. She has an air of panic and frustration so palpable I almost have to leave the cabin. But, like any responsible mother, I stick around to help her cope with the ensuing pain (both emotional and physical).
My fire starting skills fall somewhere between these two extremes. My family wouldn’t freeze if I had unlimited time, matches and tinder, but I admit I’m a bit impatient and want the fire to be immediately blazing and beautiful. I find it boring to nurture it to greatness so I often give up before I achieve the results I crave. It’s not surprising that I’m better at the skill of coming up with project ideas than I am at tending to a project long-term.
In life, there is a point at which we decide to put in the effort. For some reason or other, it’s the right moment. Perhaps the evening is cool. Maybe we have company and we’re looking for the
This is the first prototype of the logo that I created.
camaraderie only a fire can bring. The perfect moment comes as a spark of recognition that a particular action might make my life better.
Much like starting a fire, when I decide to cultivate a new action or project, I gather supplies. I think about what I need, much like Mel knows what materials to assemble by the hearth. I decide on my approach and I begin.
Now as I embark on a new project, I need to create daily practice that will tend the fire in the crucible as it burns brightly.
