The fire used to frighten me
Always, the warnings
Don’t get too close
For fear of burning
I was cautious
I avoided the flames
Then, one day
Without warning
Unexpectedly
I was thrust into the fire
And I burned
And burned
The scars never heal
Fully
And the pain resides
Scar tissue
Becomes your armor
Now
Sometimes
I seek the fire
A painful teacher
But it does not discern
It burns us all the same
The difference
Is how we use the pain
©The Beginning At Last
From childhood we are told to avoid the fire.
“Don’t touch the stove.”
“Don’t play with matches.”
Inevitably, at some point we do touch the stove. Whether by accident, or pure chance, we do. And we get burned.
Life can be much the same way.
We end up in the fire, sometimes by choice, sometimes not. But, we will get burned. It’s what we do with that experience that matters most.
Do we let the scars serve as reminders? As our armor? Do we allow it to toughen us up? Do we recoil from taking chances for fear of getting singed?
Should we seek the fire?
In some ways, perhaps.
If we challenge ourselves regularly, we build a foundation to resist the fire.
We can challenge ourselves physically, mentally and spiritually. Feel the pain of trying something new, and with persistence and maybe a bit of luck, we come out better equipped for the next time the fire beckons and we end up in it.
Take hold of the flame. And use it wisely.
The Beginning At Last 
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