It was a crisp spring day with a perfect temperature for being outside to do outside things. The leaves called my name, and my neighbor lent me his super beast mode blower. I probably should have one of these but sure is nice to borrow one and give it back.
After hours of blowing leaves and feeling like I wasn’t making a dent in them, I decided to push as many as I could up against a rock and burn them.
Yeah, this is true. I didn’t think deeply about the consequences of my actions and my immediate focus was getting rid of the leaves.
It was a really beautiful day, there was no wind and I thought if anything happened, it wouldn’t be a big deal to get some water from the hose.
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The world has rules, these rules are unbreakable. These are the things that we can’t debate. Action, reaction, science, fact. If I light something on fire, the fire will do what fire does. It isn’t as if I could tell the fire to do something different. There isn’t a place for me to command the fire to stop with just my voice.
So, I lit up the pile of leaves. It was going well until the fire went down into the ground. I watched the fire literally go under my feet and then I became concerned. Where was it going? Within moments I heard a crackling sound and looked across to the aluminum rowboat my son uses for fishing.
The leaves under the boat exploded into a fire ball and the boat started to melt under the heat.
I ran up to grab the blower and water hose, but it was too late. I destroyed his boat.
Now I had to secure the whole area because the fire could go anywhere. I had to dig out dirt, move leaves, water everything and stand a fire watch for the rest of the day until the smoldering underground burning subsided.
I was upset with myself for not thinking about this more clearly. I was upset for not preparing properly and for taking risks that I didn’t need to take. I threw caution into the wind because I wanted an immediate outcome.
I got an immediate outcome. I have a melted boat and blacked earth. I still have more leaves to deal with but now the smell of smoke and ash fill the air everywhere and I didn’t accomplish the initial goal of getting rid of the leaves.
If one of my kids did this, I would have been upset but it was me who did it. I was the one not thinking. I was the one who threw caution literally into the wind. I will have to pay for it and I’ll have to take care of it.
Not only did I destroy something that had meaning and purpose, I have to replace it and I have to do something with it.
I had to answer for it. I don’t have a good answer for why this happened other than I wasn’t thinking about the consequences of my actions.
My Neighbors Boat
I was able to get the fire out. I watched all day and night for smoke or fire. Initially, there were a few times I needed to put it out as the fire was not above ground, it was spreading under my feet. There were places where the fire ran out of fuel and energy. At the same time, there were plenty of routes for the fire to take.
What I didn’t think about beyond my actions that hurt me personally was the risk I put on my neighbor. What about his boat? What about his house?
I was able to stop it well before it got even near there, but it still has me thinking about how connected and impactful we are in the world and with each other.
The actions we take personally that we may even believe have no impact on anyone else, can inadvertently affect others. We aren’t just simply responsible to ourselves in a vacuum.
The world doesn’t work this way. The world has us intertwined with each other in many ways.
The actions we take, the things we do, they create results for us but there is a very real opportunity for these to change the lives of those around us. In some cases, we can impact many people near and far.
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Thankfully I wasn’t hurt. I stopped the fire; I lost a boat. It did upset me that I lost the boat. I am sure that my son is disappointed and upset. I know I impacted him and I have to make it right. I am sorry for it. I did learn a lesson, and I won’t let it go without being mindful of this moving forward.
As embarrassing as it is, I want to share this with you because there is something hidden here in the wreckage of this melted aluminum artifact.
The decisions that we make have consequences. These consequences are clear through the laws that are well beyond our comprehension. These are natural laws. Laws of cause and effect that may be or become out of our control.
As I consider my impact on the world, I realize clearly that I can set fires that I may have no way to stop. There are also positive actions I can take that have far reaching impacts. I can also be thoughtful of “controlled burns” if needed.
So many possibilities here. The thing that keeps coming back to me is that my action can and will have a result. It may not end up the way I want or intend.
While in this case, it was unfavorable, I am still taking it as a lesson. I am grateful that it didn’t spread and that it wasn’t worse. The boat had two flags on it. When they melted, I felt something emotional. Yes, we are starting fires that impact our flag as well. It was ironic and telling.
It certainly has me thinking…
Happy Sunday ..
Much Love..