Water and Fire

Hello friends! :D I'm so excited about writing this blog! I said a prayer over 5.5 years ago and asked our Father in Heaven “what I should write about this week?” and the answer that came into my mind was "Water and Fire." I knew exactly what He was talking about, and was so happy to hear that answer! So I wrote a blog post. But I didn't keep writing. I pray that he will guide me in continuing this blog as he guided me in starting it. For God and for my friends, I will attempt this again. And I will start it with a slightly edited version of the first post written 5.5 years ago...

OK. On with Water and Fire! :D ...

Most of us have both built fires, and put out fires, many times in our lives. We have also heard of forest fires, and of the huge amount of damage they inflict, and of time and sacrifice it takes to put them out. Do we realize how many scientific truths we can learn from fires? Truths that can help us to be healthier and happier, in so many ways!

Often when I am talking to people about health, and trying to help them – water and fire come to mind. It seems I can more easily explain how to be healthy by referring to water and fire, than by any other way. This analogy that comes to my mind is very powerful and easy to understand. I feel it really helps me to more accurately weigh the impact which various choices could make on my health. When I take the time to ponder the application, it also helps in other aspects of health, not just physical health. 

I KNOW this analogy can be used to find the ways to create a healthier life – spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially, financially etc. Yes, we can use these principles to increase health in any area of life! So I'm really excited to share the principles of water and fire with you today! :)

Ready to talk water and fire? :D OK. Let's have some fun and get started!!! :D

Let's start by really imagining fires of various sizes, and various scenarios. To really benefit from this exercise, really imagine what would truly happen in each instance so you can notice TRUE principles which can unlock your mind's ability to realize truths in other areas of life. This really does work, you just have to trust me on this and give it a whirl! ;) 

Let's start with imagining a tiny, tiny fire. If you light a match, the fire is, at first, very tiny. You could probably use a a drop or two of water to put it out. Or you could blow on it gently to put it out. Heck, you could even use your fingers to put it out without getting burnt too badly (I don't recommend this! Lol). You could even move just slightly and accidentally put it out. What can we learn from this? Well, one obvious thing is that it is both quick and easy to build, and to put out, a very tiny fire. ;) And it may do very little damage or be very short term in its consequences. It depends though on what is on fire and how easily it ignites.

What else can we imagine with fire? Does anything else come to mind? PLEASE SHARE your thoughts in the comment section! I sincerely do NOT want to say everything and dominate the conversation! ;) I won't give all the answers. You can keep answering before reading on if you like. :)

Now, what would happen if you use that tiny match fire to light paper and wood or other burnable items?

Take a minute to imagine several different scenarios in which you try to build a fire, and the ease or difficulty of building at various stages of building, and with various conditions, various sizes of fire etc..

For the various situations, consider the following questions concerning the fire...

Will it grow? How much will it grow, and how quickly? Does the amount of fuel affect the size of the fire? Is it easier to build a fire on a hot dry day, or a rainy day?  How does the environment affect the ability of the fire to ignite, take hold, and grow?

Now take a minute to imagine several different scenarios in which you try to put out a fire with various amounts of water and wind conditions etc..  Is it harder to put out when the fire gets bigger? How much more water does it take to put the fire out as the fire grows? How many more people does it take to put the fire out? Is the fire danger eliminated completely when the flames are gone and all that is left is smoke? How long will it smoke and smolder after the fire is out? Can a fire be totally put out, no matter how big? Will the smoke last forever? Does the amount of water used make a difference? If you splash a cup of water on your camp fire and it doesn't put the fire out, will you conclude that water doesn't put fire out? Or will you put more water on the fire? What about the environment... are there certain environments in which a fire is easier to put out? In which it is more difficult to put out?

Before moving on to read the next paragraph, please consider these questions just read, individually, slowly, and answer them (and any others you think of; feel free to write them in the comment section! :)) before continuing on. :D You will be glad you did!

Did you imagine the past scenarios before continuing here? I hope so! Because it will magically help you understand your body and the power you have over your own health, if you do. And it will make these next questions more meaningful.

Imagine now, someone pouring water on a huge fire, while simultaneously putting a few more logs onto the fire, and maybe even pouring a little gasoline on it now and then, all with the rationalization that they are also pouring water on the fire, so it “should” die. Are they right? Wrong? … You decide. At what point is water not as effective as you hoped it would be? Are you ever guilty of pouring both gas and water on the health of your body? Then wondering why water won't put out the fire, even though you are pouring gasoline on the fire?

Do you feel you have a firm idea in your mind about the many variations of a fire? Would you agree that the more fuel you add to a fire, the bigger that fire will get? I think so. I'm pretty sure we can also agree that the bigger the fire, the more water is needed to put it out? 

Now comes the fun part! :) Comparing fire to various aspects of life. They can be both good or bad. If good, you want to fuel it, right? And if bad, you want to put it out. Water is whatever is used to cause it to die out. Fuel is whatever is used to strengthen and enlarge it. 

When it comes to health issues, I usually think of fire as all the struggles and challenges we experience with our health which cause us pain and sorrow. These can be mental, social, spiritual, physical, etc. ANY type of undesirable issue we don't want that brings us pain, sadness etc. The pain comes with the burn from the flames. And where there is a fire, there is ALWAYS something stoking the fire, and/or a lack of something to put the fire out.

I think the analogy of water and fire seems self explanatory. And yet, in the world of health, there are SO MANY forms of fuel for fires that are not recognized as that. And also, many forms of water not recognized as water. Sometimes we eat certain foods which fuel inflammation, for example. And sometimes we eat foods which sooth and calm inflammation. There are habits and choices which stoke the fires; and habits and choices which put them out. But if we are not aware of what they are... if we don't carefully consider whether a choice or habit is water or fire, how can we possibly create the outcome we desire?

People want to be happy. And we generally want to be good, to others, and to ourselves. Unfortunately, we are human. We want to have fun and be carefree. Sometimes we look at only the short term consequences of our choices... of what brings pleasure or happiness right now. Sometimes we don't even know that a habit or action will bring pain and sorrow later, so we do it a lot. So we keep stoking the fire without even knowing it.

Sometimes we know a choice or habit is not good for us (IE. Creates fire in our lives), but we enjoy it so much that we rationalize that a little water will take care of it and make it all worthwhile; after all, we want to enjoy our lives, right? So we stoke the fire in an effort to “enjoy our lives” while splashing water on, without even realizing it. At first, we think nothing of it. But over time, that fire gets HUGE. And we don't even realize that we built it! Or maybe we are aware, and complain that the water isn't putting the fire out. Why not? Could it be that we stoked it well, and only splashed water on? Or are we just keeping the fire contained without progression, balancing the water and fuel? That's no way to get well, now, is it? Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

Here is the cool thing. You don't have to be that person any more. You have now heard about water and fire. And you can take inventory in your life and start noticing what is water, and what is fuel. You can start limiting the amount of fuel in your life, and adding more water. You have this amazing power! 

And I know, not every fire in your life is one that you built yourself. Sometimes we are born with fires! Well, actually, more like, usually, or always we are born with fires. That's OK. Nothing to be discouraged about. It is just part of life. We simply don't have control over everything, but we can still find more water, and we actually have more power than we realize! That is the really great news! We are not powerless! There will be some struggles you may never eliminate, but you can make them better. You can make them small. And there may be things you want more of in your life. You can fuel them. You have this power, once you identify the water and the fire!

That is the ability I hope to help you unlock in your mind. The ability to increase your awareness and learn to notice and see all kinds of “water” and “fire” in your life. So you can make sound choices to help you live healthier lives, in every way. The ability to DECIDE for yourself what fires to stoke and let roar, which will remain as sparks, and which to put out entirely. And I hope, we don't justify stoking a fire because we can just put water on it!

We all have things we KNOW to be water and things we KNOW to be fire. But we don't often think about it or notice the cumulative effects of each, not knowing if we actually give ourselves more water or more fuel. Sometimes we are genuinely confused about what is water and what is fuel. But there are also things we know that we just don't keep track of or realize how often we do them. These are things like staying hydrated with clean water and exercising. You know the list...

If you desire to make a fire smaller, are your habits and choices in line with that desire?

***Each week, I will give you a challenge to improve your health. This week, I challenge you to simply think about water and fire, and to ask yourself, what things can I control in my life?...  What serves as fuel to a particular issue concerning my health? What serves as water? Name a few that come to mind, be they physical, mental, spiritual, etc. What outcomes do you desire? What can you do to create an environment that creates the outcomes you desire? What actions do you need to be careful to avoid? What actions could you increase to improve the health of your life? Look at the habits and foods in your life. For each one, ask this question...

“Is this water, or is it fuel for fire?” 

And then seek to add more water and less fuel to the fire. Make a list, if it helps. Water on one side, and fuel for fire on the other. And then watch your actions and habits. Keep track! Just find out how you are doing and identify something you can commit to improving.

That's it for today! :) I'm so excited to be doing this with you!!! :D I pray you have great experiences identifying and noticing the various forms of water and fuel in your life!

:D Happy health creating!!! 

Corine :)