Little sticks

This weekend I attempted to make a fire.

I have set things on fire before…brush I clear out of my garden and bushes, refuse from the old houses we burn in a  barrel… but I have never started a “campfire”.

Can I just tell you,  it is harder than it looks!

You have to start with small things that will burn easily: cardboard, trash, maybe leaves.  And it helps to have a propane torch like my sushi chef uses.

And then you add bigger pieces that catch on fire easily but will burn slower: sticks, smaller branches, etc. and finally after the fire is hot enough, you can add wood!

Once the fire is going,  you still have to feed the fire additional wood at least every two hours to keep it going.

It is a task to tend a fire.

What interests me is the stuff you start the fire with…the little stuff.

Without it you cannot get the fire started. It is just as important (if not more so) as the big logs.

I think about the little things I do every day: diet, exercise, sunscreen, meditation, sleep, phone calls to my kids.  All of those are the little things that contribute to the big things in my life.

They all are the spark that feeds the flame for my life.

Success (however you define it)  does not come as a result of doing the big thing, it is a result of doing  the little things and doing them consistently.