“Go Ahead, Poke That Fire!”

Have you ever watched, and I mean, really watched, a campfire burn?

I had the opportunity recently to do just that. It was during a family vacation at the coast a few weeks ago. We had completed clearing and cleaning up after dinner so it was time to make everyone’s favorite dessert – s’mores.

Out I tromped with the marshmallow forks, marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate bars in hand. Grabbed a few pieces of firewood, some paper and matches and built me a campfire.

Then it was time to toast the marshmallows. And toast them we did!

But, this isn’t about s’mores. Sorry.

It’s about me sitting alone watching the fire burn. Or I should say, me tending the fire to ensure the logs burned to their fullest.

If you know me…sitting there alone…well, it got me thinking…of course it did…you know me…so…I thought…

“What would happen to the fire (logs) if I wasn’t there to poke them which kept the fire going? Would it just go out and leave some of the logs partially burned  or would all the logs burn completely?”

After poking the fire many, many more times I was finally able to determine what I was really pondering – “What is it in life that really excites me and what was I doing to keep that fire burning?”

After all, it is a fairly simple to be initially excited and motivated, but what and how does one keep “the fire burning” and not “flame out”?

So, I continued to just sit there and poke the fire.

Then it hit me. It’s kinda like a rocket launch. Many actions have to occur at just the right time and place to make it happen. The fuel and oxygen must mix at just the right ratios to create the pounds and pounds of thrust to boost the rocket towards space. As a matter of fact, most of the fuel is burned to simply get the rocket off the ground. Once the rocket is free from the atmosphere and pull of earth’s gravity it takes little fuel to keep it going.

Yup, the heavy lifting occurs early in the process. It’s the first thing that needs to be overcome before moving to the next step.

“How much effort was I putting into the “first thing” of anything I ever attempted?”

“How many times have I simply quit without giving maximum effort?”

“How many times have I failed because I was simply “too proud” to ask for help or admit I didn’t know the answer?”

You could say it was kind of an “a-ha” moment.

So, obviously, it got me thinking even more profoundly. This is one of the “joys” of being me – thinking and then thinking even more.

I discovered the answer. It’s a fairly simply and obvious one. Heck, I think a clothing company uses as their “tag line”: “Do what you love. Love what you do.”

Seems simple, right? Find something, anything that ignites that fire inside you and continue to nurture it. Feed it. Water it. Poke it. Watch it grow. And you know what? As it grows, you grow right along with it. Then it grows so freakin’ big you can’t contain it, so you start to share it with others. Heck, maybe you even ignite others along the way.  What a wonderful process!

What if this process is never-ending?  What if that is our purpose in life – to get ignited and burn (learn, grow, share) our “one thing” thus igniting others?

Let me challenge you.

Go, find your “one thing”. Do, and I mean DO the heavy lifting of the first stage. When you think you’ve done the heavy lifting – LIFT MORE! Don’t quit. Don’t give up. Ever. KEEP WORKING! Accept you don’t know all the answers. Accept you will NEVER know all the answers. Ever. Ask for help. Asking is not a weakness, but a sign of strength. YOU ARE STRONGER THAN YOU THINK YOU ARE! 

Whatever you do, do this, poke your fire! Poke! POKE! POKE!