Controlled burning … involves setting planned fires to maintain the health of a forest … the additional sunlight and open space in a forest can help young trees and other plants start to grow.
Definition from National Geographic.
I have a confession – I’m a stationery addict. There are few things that I find more satisfying than a beautiful notebook, an exquisitely crafted pen, an unusual washi tape. I’m also a perfectionist, and this means that most notebooks that I’ve bought over the years remain untouched, their purpose on this earth unfulfilled. I just can’t bring myself to put ink to paper on that first pristine page for fear that my offerings will be unsatisfactory (my handwriting sloppy, my spelling inaccurate) and the whole tome will be tainted. I could try to rip out the offending page but more often than not this will ruin the binding. And so the notebooks sit empty on a shelf, collecting dust, each a symbol of untapped potential.
My little corner of the web has been neglected over the last few years. What was once a glittering new star in a vast online galaxy has become tarnished, its lustre struggling to shine underneath a grey blanket of virtual dust.
I feel a sea change coming. It’s subtle, like the steady emergence of foliage and blossom gradually painting my little pocket of London with their soft springtime palette. It’s making small decisions that ultimately fill my day with intent. At the moment it feels fragile, like small shoot that has just broken through the earth, hungry for sunlight and nutrients.
The beauty of online content is that it’s so easy to wipe the slate clean and start afresh without the threat of total destruction. And so, to give that bud of inspiration the space it needs to flourish, I’m going to light a virtual bonfire and clear the dead wood from this place, leaving my mind with dark, fertile soil, rich in nutrients and possibilities.
After all, to quote Ray Bradbury (albeit in an extremely different context), it is a pleasure to burn.
Featured image (courtesy of NASA, edited by me) depicts a flame produced in an experiment onboard the ISS. The glowing yellow spots are clusters of hot soot that develop due to the lack of gravity.