Shape Shifting

It really is beautiful the way the wax rolls down the side of a burning candle and pools at its feet. As I meditated this morning, I was noticing just how much the simple behavior of this inanimate object mirrors my current feelings about myself. The candle starts out very rigid and inflexible until you light the wick. At that point, it takes on a different type of consistency. A willingness, if you will, to change a little. With this, the candle allows itself to melt down and eventually disappear. This might sound like a bad thing; I mean, after all, who wants to melt down and disappear. But upon closer examination, I think that the point is to allow our idea of ourselves to reshape itself and make way for the next one. The candle I was watching today, for instance, burned down very quickly and most of the wax spilled over to one side cascading into a very pretty shape. What used to be straight, boring and rigid had become quite fancy and interesting. When we allow ourselves to "burn," what potential do we have for becoming fancy and interesting?

I wrote a poem once that reflects this idea somewhat. It goes like this:

Without Regret

It is without regret that I have chosen to walk this particular path,
Without regret that I have chosen these lessons to learn,
Without regret that I have looked in the wrong direction at times,
Without regret that I chose to feel the fire burn.
For sometimes in my life I have needed proof that there was a reason to go the right way,
And that proof came in the form of pain felt as a result of making a mistake,
Or taking a wrong turn.
Without regret I have done these things
And I stand undefeated in the face of all that life has brought.

How can you shift your shape a little? If life isn't lighting your fire these days, what can help you create that spark? Go ahead, have your meltdown. You never know what you might come up with.

Think about these things today and remember to keep reaching for higher ground.

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