Rekindle the spirit: Fresh Air

News | November 19, 2020

The fire tetrahedron contains four components, which is the only relevant application of my high school parallelogram indoctrination. These components are ignition, fuel, oxygen, and a chemical reaction. A fire starved of oxygen will not burn. To put out a candle, we put on a cap, or the flat palm of a thrill seeker. To save our house, we can shut the door of a room on fire. Those bellows by your grandparent’s fireplace? You guessed it. To give our lawnmower the air it needs for efficient combustion, we take the choke off. To bring back the embered-down campfire, we poke the logs with the poky thing.

My life occasionally feels like I’m oxygen deprived. I am blessed with everything, but there are days (weeks, months, years) when the fire is not burning. I am down, uninspired, unloving. At risk of patronizing all of you with this analogy, this is how I rekindle. I get out of my routine, drive a new way to work or go to a place I have never been. I watch my kids; I mean really watch them in a focused way. I get around new people, positive people. I listen to a podcast, typically historical to get away from politics for a moment. I get into nature or somewhere very quiet. I recognize when my inner monologue has grown negative, with my wife’s help that is. I practice thinking a positive thought about every person I encounter, especially while driving.

So if you also feel down despite being blessed, I wish you the best in introducing fresh air that rekindles your spirit.

— Shane Peitscher

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