Fire doesn't burn itself.

So much of any year is flammable.

Fire won't burn you, yet you are flammable. At some stage, you will touch the fire. You have no choice in the matter - you may seek it, or it may come to you. To ignite a fire is the antithesis of sustainability. Rather, it is an act of expression. Expression isn't sustainable. Perhaps because it is polarising, exhausting, outlandish, or a mask we wish to wear but rarely do. What a match is to a fire, expression is to our life. Fire keeps us warm, gives light, bonds friends around a campfire, and prepares food to be eaten - yet we do not discuss its brief existence. I do not think about the times the rain ended the campfire early or the marshmallows I turned to ash. (I know you've been too slow to pull marshmallows off the stick too, but that's not the point.) I do not sob about the smell of jumpers infused by burned Jarrah or wish for candle wicks to simmer when my eyelids become too heavy. I sometimes cherish these small expressions of life, maybe more than others. The flammability of life is a gift. Striking a match is intentional.

Source: Nora Hollstein via are.na

You will not burn yourself by setting fire to what matters most to you. Time spent away from the fire will only show you how cold you can feel but not how bright you can be. What you see as flammable is a conversation you wish to have with the world. Your conversation may be soft like the tea candle heating scented oil. In contrast, your conversation may be short and striking, like a flare burning across an island sky. There is always space for a new flame in a world abundant with oxygen.

Look around you. What do you care for? The bigger question is - what do you want to care for? Recognising this is like finding your own can of gasoline. A premium blend, like the kind that fancy cars require. Grab your can of gasoline and grab a lighter. It's time to tip the whole god-damn jerry can over the sticks and kindling you've been gathering. Sounds reckless. I know. Committing arson is unfavourable and frowned upon. I think otherwise. Especially when it's personal.

Source: unknown.

If there is something that you believe in, it doesn't just need oxygen; it deserves oxygen. We can go two ways with this. Firstly, I could write about how the world deserves to see what you care about. The world is better off for witnessing and feeling the warmth of your flame. They did not know this warmth before and will not know it again. Yet what they now know (and feel) cannot be forgotten. This is a reason to set fire to what you're passionate about. No matter how long your expression burns.

The second way to explore this is for YOU. Rumi perfectly said, "Don't set yourself on fire to keep others warm." Illuminating yourself by setting fire to your passion is a worthy pursuit. It doesn't need to be for others. You will inevitably warm others by heating yourself first. And what if there is no clear passion? Set fire to an interest. If the wind picks up, a wildfire is never far away. A passion is never far from what was once a strong interest. The ability to catalyse this transition is in the hand that strikes the match.

So, what is your conversation? How will I ever know if you don't tip some gasoline on something that matters and give the fire some height? The world has moved past smoke signals and pigeons. It's loud and often cloudy. We need to do things that strike through. Burn through. The same trends circulate like a lukewarm spin cycle at 40 degrees. We read the same books as everyone else, just so we get another fire react emoji. We go to the same holiday destinations and wood-fired oven pizza restaurants because someone else did. This is not the warmth or fire I'm after. It's not what I'm asking of you.

Source: unknown.

I want you to walk the streets of Italy until you start a conversation with a local and find a restaurant that sparks something in your soul. I want you to read a book because the topic resonated so heavily and you couldn't stop thinking about it. The content took over like wildfire across your brain. If you're going to create, who cares if it sucks. I've tried to build a fire with wet gum leaves that smoked for hours. Sometimes, you won't get a spark. It's the intention because striking a match is always intentional.

And maybe you hate fires. Well, that's okay.

I just don't want to go through my years and never know what it felt like to feel the warmth of a campfire. I want to feel the remnants of a firecracker singe the hairs on my arm as I let the world know what matters most to me. The last thing I want is to be burned by what I didn’t set fire to.

Big Love,

JL