Fire

What makes a fire burn
is space between the logs,
a breathing space.
Too much of a good thing,
too many logs
packed in too tight
can douse the flames
almost as surely
as a pail of water would.

So building fires
requires attention
to the space in between,
as much as to the wood.

When we are able to build
open spaces
in the same way
we have learned
to pile on the logs,
then we can come to see how
it is fuel, and absence of the fuel
together, that make fire possible.

We only need to lay a log
lightly from time to time.
A fire
grows
simply because the space is there,
with openings
in which the flame
that knows just how it wants to burn
can find its way.

by Judy Brown

When there is lots of busy-ness and then you stop there can be lots of unintegrated stuff left under the surface. It can be intense when the lid comes off. In summer, when you have time, attend to the experiences. Let the lid off stuff and tease out the good bits and the bits to let go of. Ask for help if you need. Summer is a wonderful time to reflect on busy-ness and see where you are going or not going. What are you running from? What are you running towards?