Surviving the Burning Season

Alum fire on August 20, 2013. Viewed from edge of Hayden Valley, near Mud Volcano area (Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming)
Copyright WyoJones. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Years ago, the hubs and I were in Yellowstone National Park during a burning season. I remember thinking that everything I knew and loved, everything familiar about the Park, was just gone.

But Nature is smarter than that. Often smarter than us. Since then I’ve learned that a burning season can lead to renewed life. That some trees won’t release their seeds until they burn. That fires can clear away the dead stuff holding back the forest and what comes after is sometimes better than what was.

My heart goes out to anyone in the path of a fire. The loss of home and memories is real and devastating. But fire can also burn away what is holding us back. Sometimes it takes the fire of adversity to release our full potential. I still fear the fire. I would be stupid not to. But now I know that hope can spring up in unexpected places and at unexpected times.

“Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.”
Joseph Campbell

And because I like to end on a less serious note:

“With Google I’m starting to burn out on knowing the answer to everything.

People in the year 2020 are going to be nostalgic for the sensation of feeling clueless.”
Doug Coupland

Would love to hear how you handle the fires that burn through your life. Or if you’d like to embrace clueless again. It’s almost the weekend, so if you don’t want to be too serious, I get that. In any case, all comments are entered into my monthly drawing for an AnaBanana gift basket of cool and fun. And yummy. (The hubs brought back a little care package for me and boy, am I’m in soap heaven!). Winner is announced first blog post of new month. 🙂

Perilously yours,

Pauline

Pauline takes her fires of tribulation and funnels it all into her books, which is why they are filled with all sorts of mayhem. She also likes to chuckles, so humor makes it in there, too. To find out more about her perilously romantic adventures, pop over to her website at paulinebjones.com.

She does the impossible on a regular basis, but this time the impossible might really BE impossible.

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