IGNITE

Ignite (v) - catch fire or cause to catch fire.

The definition of 'ignite' is so basic. The funny thing about something igniting is the aftermath of something that has caught fire is anything but basic.

Things have been ablaze all over my life. There was a period of time that I spent every waking second of my life trying to put out all of the fires that seemed to be consuming my life. At first I was able to put them out one at a time......recently it felt like I was sitting in the center of hell burning alive.

I've discovered over time many of the fires weren't accidental.......they were actually intentional arson. "Why on earth would anyone ever want to intentionally set great things on fire," one might ask. I realized over time that not everyone in this world has a good heart. Not all of us come from a good place. There are actual malicious people in the world......so corrupt, jealous, and unhappy with their own lives that they will stop at nothing until they burn everything and everyone to the ground so their pathetic selves can feel a little better....at least for one fleeting moment in time.

I couldn't understand why anyone would ever be like that. I'm the typical hippie at heart. The optimistic soul that feels everyone is good deep down inside. I find the beauty in every part of life. It was disturbing to me.....sitting and watching my world on fire....and not in a good way. I became consumed by the blaze......giving up power to the fire. The burn....no matter how bad....began to feel normal. It actually felt good to feel something at all. I became indifferent to the word 'ignite'. It lost its luster. It was no longer the promise of something magical.....but the eventual demise of what once was.

Once I removed myself from the toxic flames that had engulfed my life in every shape and form.....I discovered that something igniting in my life could be basic....but didn't have to be devastating. A simple laugh. A brief smile. A warm embrace. All basic things that ignite such an AMAZING surge in your soul. Think about it......someone smiles at you walking in to the supermarket, causing you to smile back. Boom. Instantly smiling and happy inside. Why is that? I guarantee that person had no idea what their smile would ignite in your soul.

I'm trying this new thing where I release the bad and only inhale the good into my heart. Instead of hearing the word 'ignite' and thinking of something negative.....why not look at it as an amazingly positive word with such a powerfully positive counteraction? I think we all spend way TOO much time thinking about the negative instead of letting it roll off our backs in anticipation for the arrival of something truly epic. Instead of allowing toxins to ignite an uncontrollable flame in our lives......why not allow love and happiness to ignite a fire in our hearts to be better people? I'm just saying......I think we should all invest in igniting positive fires in not only our lives.....but the lives of others. You might just be surprised that a little fire never hurt anyone at all.

"Our passions are the true pheonixes; when the old one is burnt out the new one rises from its ashes" - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe