The Cleansing Fire

“If this was destroyed in a fire, would I replace it?”

Sometimes you work really hard on something, for a long time, and then one day despite your best efforts it goes poof! By some random act of the fates, it’s now gone. Nine times out of ten, I’ve found that people who experience that aren’t sad – they feel free.

“I was a slave at that job for ten years. When I got laid off, it was actually a godsend.” Except you weren’t a slave – you could have left at any time. But we dig our own graves, one day at a time.

Look at the things you work hard on. The things into which you pour your effort. And ask yourself: if you lost this in a fire, would you chop off a hand to replace it?

That’s a high bar. My family passes it, and not much else. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t put effort into anything that doesn’t pass that test, but it does mean you shouldn’t put yourself in anguish because of it. Because it could all burn away at any time – so you might as well spend your days with the best experiences there are, whatever that is to you.