Fire

10/23/2015

“You don’t know

anyone at the party,

so you don’t want to go.

You don’t like

cottage cheese,

so you haven’t

eaten it in years.

This is your choice,

of course,

but don’t kid yourself:

it’s also the flinch.

Your personality is

not set in stone.

You may think a morning

coffee is the most enjoyable

thing in the world,

but it’s really just a habit.

Thirty days without it,

and you would be fine.

You think you

have a soul mate,

but in fact you could have

had any number of spouses.

You would have

evolved differently,

but been just as happy.

You can change what you

want about yourself

at any time.

You see yourself as

someone who can’t write

or play an instrument,

who gives in to temptation

or makes bad decisions,

but that’s really not you.

It’s not ingrained.

It’s not your personality.

Your personality is

something else,

something deeper

than just preferences,

and these details

on the surface,

you can change

anytime you like.

If it is useful to do so,

you must abandon your

identity and start again.

Sometimes,

it’s the only way.

Set fire to your old self.

It’s not needed here.

It’s too busy shopping,

gossiping about others,

and watching days go by

and asking why you haven’t

gotten as far as you’d like.

This old self will die and be

forgotten by all but family,

and replaced by someone

who makes a difference.

Your new self

is not like that.

Your new self is the

Great Chicago Fire,

overwhelming,

overpowering,

and destroying

everything that

isn’t necessary.”

–Julien Smith

---

Photographer Unknown