Ashes and Embers: Inviting the Wolves to Draw Near

Often while travelling in the wilderness, it is our instinct to light a protective fire at night. The question becomes, in the darkest part of your journey through the woods, do you have the courage to put out your fire? Can you smother your false sense of security and sit in the blindness the fire left you with; to allow the ash, soot, and smoke to enter your lungs and sting your eyes? Can you quiet the heartbeat you hear pounding in your ears and listen for silent footsteps on the loam, and say, with an open heart, “Welcome…”