Stoking the inner fire

I'm feeling deeply grateful for my life and the connections I have made with others. To be a part of bringing about change, profound change, and hearing a smile over the phone line, a smile of relief, of sharing good news, a smile of utter joy for the changes afoot -- this makes it all worthwhile. There is something to this feeling, something that brings a flutter to my belly and a lightness to my step, like being in love. It's as if I sense a light at my core with the intensity not unlike that of a bright, hot flame.

John O'Donohue's poem, In Praise of Fire, celebrates this feeling beautifully.

Let us praise the grace and risk of Fire.

In the beginning,

The Word was red,

And the sound was thunder,

And the wound in the unseen

Spilled forth the red weather of being.

In the name of the Fire,

The Flame

And the Light:

Praise the pure presence of fire

That burns from within

Without thought of time.

The hunger of Fire has no need

For the reliquary of the future;

It adores the eros of now,

Where the memory of the earth

In flames that lick and drink the air

Is made to release

Its long-enduring forms

In a powder of ashes

Left for the wind to decipher.

As air intensifies the hunger of fire,

May the thought of death

Breathe new urgency

Into our love of life.

As fire cleanses dross,

May the flame of passion

Burn away what is false.

As short as the time

From spark to flame,

So brief may the distance be

Between heart and being

May we discover

Beneath our fear

Embers of anger

To kindle justice.

May courage

Cause our lives to flame,

In the name of the Fire,

And the Flame

And the Light.

from To Bless the Space Between Us

My Own Worst Enemy

I'm reading this terrific book: Your Own Worst Enemy: Breaking the Habit of Adult Underachievement, by Ken Christian. It's really captivated my interest. Already intrigued by giftedness and underutilized (perhaps undiscovered) talent, especially as it pertains to how we each show up in the world, I'm becoming even more excited about the possibilities that these facets of life present. This book takes a look at the habit of complacency and the self-limiting behaviors of high potential people, a growing phenomenon among people today.

Only one-third the way through it, I'm seeing a theme consistent with my own developing ideas and theories around leadership, sustainability and deep personal fulfillment. I'm seeing remnants of myself and many people whom I know and love in the examples the author provides. Situations of putting ourselves close to the target so we're sure to hit it or dumbing ourselves down so as to fit in (a common adolescent-early adult ploy) might have made things easier at first, but later we became averse to challenge or even decision-making and lost or risked the loss of credibility as we fell deeper into these self-limiting habits.

I so appreciate the author's passion that people can break free of their self imposed limits and learn to achieve great things. He opens up the reader's awareness and provides the tools necessary to make achievement possible. ... but beware, he doesn't sugar coat it: it's all about change, accepting the responsibility of choice and taking action in directions that will actually allow you to grow and shine as opposed to stay miserably stagnant in what has manifested itself previously as bad luck, oppressed conditions, loneliness, boredom, being misunderstood, feeling incapable of making a difference, fear of disappointment, rebellion or lack of opportunity.

The rest of this book awaits me and I'm looking forward to learning more about breaking the habit of adult underachievement. I'd love to hear from you and discuss what resonates with you as you read.