Yesterday Brian coached me to think differently about fire. Yes, it burns things away. It can destroy and can spur beginnings, good and bad. As always, Brian took it one step further. “Why don’t we think about your inner fire, Christa, as something that keeps you in check?”
I looked at him with a puzzled and furrowed brow. He continued, “If your gut, where your fire lives, is getting angry, vindictive, or upset, don’t chide it. Don’t tell it that it needs to calm down. Maybe it’s telling you that the situation that seems intolerable should no longer be tolerated.” This doesn’t mean we should set everything on fire on our way out the door. It just means we need to begin to earnestly seek the direction of the door.
Now I see where he was going. Yes, sometimes our temper needs to be softened and smoothed around the edges, pacified in the way that water pacifies fire. Sometimes, we need to use it as a catalyst for change and movement, two very scary actions. If our body tells us we need to flee, its message at least deserves our consideration. When we can’t free ourselves form our own ways of thinking, that proverbial inner fire can carve the way forward. It gives you a way to walk.
Christa Avampato 