Jazz & Poetry

Something’s burning

February 3, 2009 at 7:46 pm Leave a comment

Chopper flying over my house to bring water from Town Lake above my house to Melrose Mountain

I feel like I’ve been under fire the past week. I’m behind on my work and making more mistakes trying to help other people while hurting myself. Yesterday, as I tried to buckle down to solve some problems for myself, I stepped outside to refuel the kerosene heater and noticed it was oddly warm. I looked out to see the mountain across the valley on fire.

As I climbed my driveway for a better view, I noticed that firefighters were hard at work and had already saved the houses in the valley, but were still fighting for control. When I returned from trying to handle my own “forest fire” of finances there were spotters at my mailbox delivering information to the folks on the ground and the choppers gathering water from the lake above my house. As the day wore on, the rain arrived to help the humans control the blaze and prevent damage to human structures. At the same time yesterday, my own finances seemed to rage uncontrollably and I felt like for all the work I did to save myself, the debt I owed to others grew.

The view across the Pacolet Valley from my porch 2/2/2009

However, as I watched the flames smolder and dim after dark I realized that sometimes the only thing you can do is control the burn and thank the heavens for their help. I have a feeling this spring there will be brilliant new growth now that the fire has burned the useless baggage of old leaves and vines on the mountain.

I went to sleep trusting that the same lesson will apply to my own life. As long as I keep working hard to prevent the fire of my frustration from spreading to those I love, the dead wood in my life can burn and, with some help from above, fertilize the blossoms of spring.

Entry filed under: reflections. Tags: Forest fire, Melrose Mountain.