011: To Start A Fire…
A few weeks ago, you may have seen my short video entitled ‘Are You Seeing The Real Problem?’ The video began with an opening shot of the woodburner that keeps my little office warm. On some mornings, I really struggle to get this woodburner going.
For the first hour of my day, I am often found huddled around a faltering fire. The office air temperature during this time might be something like 1°C (or less). I’ll have a fan blowing in the bottom vent, a hair dryer in the top vent, whilst simultaneously using a costly quantity of kindling and firelighters. Throughout all of this, the logs simply smoke and not a flicker of flame can be seen.
This fire is really important to me in winter. It’s essential to the smooth, successful running of every other activity I’ll do in my day. Without heat, I can’t work very efficiently. And I certainly won’t enjoy my time at work.
In the past, I’ve blamed the faltering fire on the lack of airflow going through the vents, the design of the wood burner itself or the complex chimney system which must be causing the fire not to draw properly. I’ve tried with the ash tray inside, with the ash tray removed, with a fan heater, without any ashes. I’ve even tried heating the chimney with a hair dryer in the hope that it will draw. In other words, I’ve been blaming everything else, and trying everything else, rather than looking at myself.
So, why then this morning, (as I write this in December) has the fire lit - first time? Why has it sustained itself and grown into a roaring furnace of heat? How did I do this without the use of a fan blowing in the bottom vent and a hair dryer blowing in the top vent? What’s really the problem here…?
These are the things I’ve learnt about getting a good fire going:
It needs your full attention. On the days where I can’t get the fire lit, I’m rushing, trying to work on the fire whilst doing three other jobs at the same time. I’ve found that if you’re clouded by too many other activities, you won’t give what’s most important enough of your attention to make it successful.
The fire needs to be lit in stages. A firelighter is needed first, then kindling, then smaller pieces of wood, and then logs. These intermediate steps are required to make a complete whole. You can’t take shortcuts (i.e. by going straight from the firelighter to the logs) or the fire will go out and the momentum will be lost.
It needs to be observed and you need to have the awareness to stoke the fire at the right time. But also, you need to add the next piece of wood at the right time too. Put on a new piece too soon and you may smother the fire, leave it too late and the fire may be too weak to sustain itself.
With all three of these in place, a successful fire can burn all day long.
Are there any areas of your life that this thinking could also apply to?
—
Authors note: Since writing this article a month ago, I’ve observed Kirsty’s Dad making a fire. When he makes one, he puts the fire lighter on, the kindling, the smaller pieces of wood and the logs all at the same time. Every intermediate layer is still essential, but by putting them all on at once, you can get to a roaring fire very quickly and very efficiently.
What does that mean for my analogy now…
Has this article resonated with you?
Why not share it with someone else and lift their day too?
Simply click to copy the link below: