Fireside

There is something about gazing into a fire that is calming and contemplative. That is especially true in the dark. The warmth is inviting and makes us want to draw closer. There is a sense of safety and anonymity.

I have spent many a hour around a fire. Since my youth I have always enjoyed camping out. There have been innumerable campfires over the years both with groups and alone. But the effect is always the same. After a while one begins to reflect.

During the winter, my favorite Saturday morning routine is to get up while it is still dark, start a fire in the fireplace and sip my tea while watching the sunrise. I so desire that time of reflection that I don’t struggle getting up. As a matter of fact, that is exactly what I am doing while writing this. This is where I do my best thinking. It is quiet and dark. Distractions are minimized and I can hear myself think.

Times like these are important for us. In a world of noise, we need times of silence to reset. If we cannot be alone with our thoughts, it might be a sign that something is unsettled inside of us. We shouldn’t be afraid to explore what that could be.

Not only is getting time alone important, but time with others is as well. We were made to live in community. Life can be hard and it is only harder being by yourself. We need each other. For men especially, that can be hard to admit. The West was won by tough, strong individuals and we still want to carry that ethos. The truth is they needed each other as well. It’s just not always portrayed that way in the Western movies.

Yesterday, I watched a video of two guys skiing near Tahoe in extremely deep powder. Suddenly they noticed a pair of skis sticking up through the snow in the middle of the slope. They both skied over and began digging the other guy’s head out of the snow. You could hear the trapped man struggling to breath. Once his face was exposed, he spit the snow out of his mouth and said “Holy $#!*”. It wasn’t an avalanche or even a tree well that trapped him. The snow was that deep and he was completely buried and stuck. If these skiers had not seen him, he likely would have suffocated.

What a metaphor for life! In an avalanche it’s often obvious and usually help is on the way.  But even in the middle of everyday things something can trip us up and we go headlong and before we know it, we are buried in the depth of life itself. We need each other to lift us up when we can’t do so by ourselves. If we refuse the help or it never comes, we can suffocate. The moral of the story? Ski with a buddy. Both actually and figuratively.

I’ve always said if you want to get a group of men talking, start a campfire. Soon everyone will be facing the flames and bearing their souls. In this blog I will be doing a little of that as well, sharing lessons learned in life.

So, pull up a stump or a chair and stare into the coals with me as we gather, Around the Fire.

P. S. If you want to see the video, here is the link https://www.instagram.com/p/DVOXrjjlZyh/