Live On Fire!

Words seem inadequate to describe the beauty and abundance that
surrounds us during the month of October in New England. Its as
if Mother Nature has taken her paintbrush and with broad strokes
has set the landscape ablaze in color. There are only a few
weeks when the maple trees are at their peaks of color. We soak
this glorious time in, basking in the beauty around us. We stop
to lie down in piles of just raked leaves and breathe in the
musky smells of earth. Briefly we are absorbed into the
landscape. Our problems seem like small dramas in the grand
scheme of things.

Like the majestic maples ablaze with color, we all have the
innate ability to turn up the heat, live lives on fire and show
our true colors. Each of us carries the fire within us. Our
bodies create energy by burning the food we eat into calories
that fuel our cells which sustains our life. We must burn to
live.

Unfortunately, many of the messages we've been given about fire
are negative. Instead of living our lives on fire, our passion
for life gets doused with fear. We turn our backs to the fire.
We don't tend our own fire or we are too busy tending the fires
of others. Our passion for life thenbecomes a pile of smoldering
embers that is eventually snuffed out.

To create a life on fire, you must kindle it with your focused
attention. Begin by noticing the experiences in your life that
fuel you and give you energy. Who in your life fills you with
Joy? What captures your attention? Remember, every fire needs
oxygen and energy. 

Breathe deeply. Feed your life fire with the highest sources of
energy...love and compassion. Only when your life becomes a
torch can you light the way for others. 

copyright, 2005 Nancy D. Bishop