Fire and Space

I walked on fire, literally; burning hot coals at 2400 degrees. I walked and I focused and I made it across and it transformed a part of me. I was discussing the experience today and I realized that most of life is the figurative of that literal experience. To transform (which is different than change) one must walk the coals and the coals lie in the space between:

The Space Between
The tears we cry
Is the laughter keeps us coming back for more
The Space Between
The wicked lies we tell
And hope to keep safe from the pain…

This is the one side. The side I have been on for many years. It is the side of the space where we, I, cry and laugh and remain to “keep safe from the pain”. What I have learned is that when we step out onto the coals, with help from a soul that knows, we may leave some of what we are behind but we gain.


The Space Between
Where you're smiling high
Is where you'll find me if I get to go
The Space Between
The bullets in our firefight
Is where I'll be hiding, waiting for you
The rain that falls
Splash in your heart
Ran like sadness down the window into...
The Space Between
Our wicked lies
Is where we hope to keep safe from pain…


Then there is that other side. And if we are hiding are waiting it is not truly in the space but on the far side. The truth about the space is that we can transverse it with focus commitment dedication and with someone who is willing to scream the truth into our face. Scream it and whisper as we scream and whisper to ourselves. The firefight, the falling rain the wicked lies are all things we do to ourselves in our failed attempts to protect ourselves from the pain.

When I crossed the coals I burned the arch of my right foot. I saw in my mind a flash of bright white light as the coal seared into my flesh. I kept on going. I moved forward and when I stepped into the cool grass on the other side I was awakened. I now know that I can step into that space again and again. I can even be burned and still move forward and reach the other side. Because of that literal experience I now look forward to more spaces.


I am truly grateful to my beautiful friend Barb for whispering into my ear.

The lyrics…Dave Matthews Band…Under the Table and Dreaming