Fanning the Flames

People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself.  But the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates. 
~Thomas Szasz

The phoenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and Chinese.

A phoenix is a mythical bird with a colorful plumage and a tail of gold and scarlet.  It has a 500 to 1000 year life-cycle, near the end of which it builds itself a nest of twigs that then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix or phoenix egg arises, reborn anew to live again.  The new phoenix is destined to live as long as its old self.

It is said that the bird’s cry is that of a beautiful song.  The Phoenix’s ability to be reborn from its own ashes implies that it is immortal, though in some stories the new Phoenix is merely the offspring of the older one.

I believe that people are constantly evolving and re-inventing themselves through self-discovery, personal circumstances, and life experiences.  I know I am going through the process of learning who exactly I am, who I want to become, and what my place in this world is.  This process of evolving and circumspection is similar to the re-birth of the Phoenix.  I am changing and being “reborn” or re-defined into a new person.  A better person.

Only after erupting into flames can the Phoenix be reborn and live again.

Instead of waiting for the flames to ignite and produce the change for me, I am fanning the fire around me and creating my own transformation.