All Smoke And No Fire?

“There may be a great fire in our soul, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke.” –Vincent Van Gogh

To have fire you must have a spark, in order for it to become a hot and flaming fire, all of the conditions have to be just right.  A good mixture of oxygen set at just the right quantity will help to feed the flame and keep it burning bright and hot which helps eliminate smoke.  Same thing goes for an idea or an inspiration.  They come as a spark that potentially could light into a fire, but if not fed a good dose of oxygen, they can tend to only produce an ugly smoke.

There are different kinds of fires, there is the good fire that we use on a daily basis to cook and to heat our homes in the colder months of the year, and there are the bad fires that go out of control and burn down, damage and destroy.  It isn’t something that you want to play with but rather it is important to use with caution and learn to harness it once you get it going!  There was once a saying: “If you get on fire people will come to see you burn!” Naturally used as a metaphor, if you get inspired and do something exciting, it will draw people towards you to want to join in.

I know a few people who are just full of great ideas, or at lest they truly seem great.  They have more ideas than a dog has fleas, but they end up just talking about them and don’t get around to actually doing something with them.  This is like the match that starts off great, gets lit but then because of a lack of oxygen it goes out and only produces smoke.  Smoke can be annoying and tends to repel rather than attract.  Another problem that can arise is when you light the match and then too much oxygen is thrown on it in the form of wind and it gets blown out.

Back to people with great ideas, which one are you.  Do you have ideas but then don’t put feet to them to at least see if they might produce a good fire to warm yourself and others? Or do you have a great idea and start talking about how you are going to do this that or the other, but then end up doing nothing?  Then the last problem, do you have a great idea, but then allow yourself to be discouraged from even trying because everyone around you is blowing out the flame of your enthusiasm?

Don’t be all smoke and no fire! Don’t only talk about what you are going to do, or be overly cautious that your enthusiasm runs out and you are left smoldering instead of burning.  And do not allow others to discourage you through their doubts to the point they, with all their good intentions, end up blowing out the flame!  Take that idea, get it burning bright and hot and use it to change the world, or at least the world around you!