We are living in a time of wildfires. A time where information hits the screens and spreads across the globe in record time. We are bombarded by new information and shocking news almost daily. Tragedy. Heartache. Injustice. Daily.
We never got a break.
We never got a moment to breathe after two years of new words and new routines. Words like masks. Test. Isolation. Words that existed before, but now hold new meaning. New emotions. New plans. These were not words that changed the way we did everything we do before. But just like that . . . now they are. Now they are personal. They remind us how fast it can all change, because it did. Literally, from one day to the next. And now, it just keeps going. More bad news. Spreading like wildfires.
What are we doing to stop it? What can we do to stop it? It seems somehow as if we are all just standing by watching it burn, complaining of the heat and the cause of ignition, doing nothing to impact the flames. What has happened?
Have the last two years worn us down? Numbed us of compassion? Destroyed our desire to fight back? Have we given up on making any impact?
I am not clueless. I know that one person can’t stop a wildfire. I am aware that these issues are overwhelmingly soul crushing. I know that one small bucket of water will not stop this kind of fire.
But it might save one.
It might save one home, one family, one heart. It might be the hope one person needs to fight. It might be the relief one soul needs from pain. It might be the single light one person needs to see by in a very dark place.
We may not be able to put out that fire alone. But one by one, together, we can change things. But only by choice. Only by filling our bucket intentionally, on purpose, with good things, and throwing it at the hottest part chasing down our homes, our families, our dreams, and our integrity.
Don’t let the flames take these from you. Grab a bucket.
Grab a bucket for that friend burning with anger and grief. Fill it for that soul abandoned in the middle of the forest, alone, believing they have no way out as they watch the embers approach. Throw that water on the flames for that neighbor who is watching everything they worked for go up in flames.
We may not be able to change the whole world from where we stand, but we can do something. All this pain. All this tragedy. Please don’t stand by, numb from the constant hits, believing there is nothing you can do. There is always a bucket waiting somewhere.
As for those in the fire, we hear you friend. And we are bringing water for you.
