Our Own Personal Fears

For those of you following the lunar cycle, you know yesterday was a full moon. I've mentioned it before but it can be repeated; I measure my life in moons. This last one was a very VERY wild ride.

Although I can freely share my business, I'm not one to disclose the crisis of those close to me in such a public venue. That's a clear boundary I have as I have had others respect my privacy for so many years. I can say, this past month has brought me closer to some people because of the fiery path they have found themselves walking. Sometimes, it really takes someone who has been burned by the flames to remind you the burn will fade into a just a scar and a story with time.

Related News: I learned how to breath fire about two weeks ago.

I've actually spent the better part of the past few weeks at Fire events in New England learning skills and hanging out with wonderful people. I've been looking forward to these intense weeks for months and with them firmly in the past (except the pile of laundry), I'm still collecting my thoughts as well as planning my next moves. These events gave me both ample time to think and not enough time to collect my thoughts. Things are still buzzing around my head as I try to coerce them to settle into an order.

This past month I confronted my own greatest fears. For the majority of the time, my fears were directly in front of my face. Mere inches separated me from both destruction and triumph. Looking at the people around me I have been faced with how far I have come and how far I have yet to go. It has taken a great amount of personal strength to muzzle my own insecurities knowing some people choose to attack others behind the safety of a keyboard and mob mentality can run rampant with a simple keystroke.

A piece of bathroom graffiti I see semi-frequently says something along the lines of "give me the strength to know the difference between my fears and your reality."

My reality has dragons, princess who ride into battle, good stories shared with friends, a place where dreams come true, people who are lift each other up to their best, and celebrations for the little things in life. My reality is beautiful.
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There was a photo taken of me the first night of my adventures. Tired and emotionally drained from the lack of sleep/chaos of the week; I knew I needed to burn my fans. Fire was my therapy. The sound, the movement, the smell, the feel; It was needed. The photo below is the best photo I've ever seen of me at peace. In this moment there were no worries or fears. It was just me completely in the flow of things with not a care in the world.
This is the state I hope to continue living in.

Photo by Brett Walker