Rise from the Ashes

Sometimes you have to burn everything down and start over, including yourself.

Fire clears away the old, the dead, that which no longer serves us, to make way for the new. It burns down forests but cracks open seeds. Purifies. Transmutes.

It lights the logs in your fireplace to keep you cozy on a chilly night. It burns away disease—whether you’re sweating through a raging fever or sterilizing a bottle of milk.

Autumn is the time of year when the days get shorter and the great fire in the sky dims early. It’s a time to sit around campfires and bonfires together, toast marshmallows, share ghost stories, laugh at old jokes, and drift away gazing into the flames.

It’s a season of celebrating endings while clearing a path for beginnings. Some may celebrate Samhain to honor their ancestors. Many enjoy pranks and parties and costumes and candy in celebration of Halloween.

As the days get shorter and you find yourself inside, maybe in front of the firelight, consider where you have been and where you are going. What is it time to let go of? Who are you becoming?

Maybe it’s time to throw some old wood on the fire and watch it burn. Old memories, relationships that don’t work anymore, torn shirts you’ll never wear again, photos you don’t want to look at anymore—whatever it is, let it go. Make room for what’s yet to come. Watch what rises from the ashes. Surprise yourself.

(Image by Larry White from Pixabay)