Musings at Altitude

As I often do in the morning, I walked into my office and lit two big candles that I have on my credenza.  It creates the mood I want in the morning with the flickering light and the wonderful smells.  Since today is Saturday, I let them burn just a little bit longer than usual, and when I got back with my second cup of coffee, I found this:

My three week old candle had a blowout…and not just a little blowout…this was a major blow out:

It obviously got very hot and very thin at that one spot, and the hot candle wax started flowing…all over the credenza.  Fortunately, we had a glass top on the table, so the wood was saved, but I’m sad to say that the candle didn’t make it.

I can’t help but think how this is an analogy for what happens to us many times as well.  We’re just like that candle in a sense.  Various things light the emotions within us, and as we burn, sometimes the flame gets very hot on one side or the other, and eventually we burn through and the lava like emotions spew from us no different than the hot wax flowed out of that candle.  As our emotions flow, the heat continues, burning things they touch and sometimes igniting even more fires, both expected and unexpected.  At times, folks are fortunate enough to have their emotions hit protective shields that cool them off or deflect them.  At other times, the burn tears people apart, ruins relationships and impacts folks for a lifetime.

Fortunately, this kind of blowout is rare for most candles and most people.  Instead, when our wicks are lit, it’s a controlled burn with no risk of eruption:

I’ve begun to recognize when the burn within me is getting out of control, but I’m not necessarily good yet at blowing out the fire before it breaks through the side and releases the hot emotions.  Maybe one day I’ll truly understand and learn from Proverbs 29:11 – “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.”