Smoke Across the Plains...

As I sit here in my office, I am watching thick black smoke billowing across the plains. "Controlled burns" they call them. A purging of underbrush to prevent out-of-control fires later on in the hot, dry months. There is much preparation for these burns. Weather is checked, wind plays a factor, experienced fighters are prepared to set, watch, and control the blaze. Stand-by emergency crews are on notice just in case something shifts. Reassessment takes place on a minute-by-minute basis. The moment that the weather changes, the wind shifts, or it seems that the crew is no longer able to handle it, the fire is extinguished, regardless of the status of completion of the task.

And it makes me think about the application of this theory to my every-day life. What overgrown ideas, beliefs, and unnecessary thoughts crowd my existence? What thick, knotted underbrush chokes me and creates a hazard for those times my life is in a hot, dry spell? What controlled burning do I need to do now to prevent the out-of-control burns later on? Am I truly prepared to begin the controlled burn? It isn't enough that I set fire to what crowds out joy in my life, I must first be prepared. I must remain diligent and on the ready. Then, and only then, can I begin to remove that which threatens my future.

Am I ready? I think so. As I begin to meditate on my own existence, to explore what I believe, to expose the lies that I have been taught, to change my perceptions and thoughts and understanding, I stand at the ready to begin this controlled burn.

And for once, I am looking forward to the summer of my life, not worrying about destruction from the underbrush that has long since been cleared away in the autumn of my existence.