The Fire Within Part 1

July 7, 2026

Welcome to this week’s series of Daily Reflections on “The Fire Within.”

The following event really happened to me in 1955. People wearing masks grabbed me, took off my clothes, and dressed me in strange garments. They strapped me down to a rolling bed and wheeled me into a room where blinding lights shone directly into my eyes. Terrified, I screamed and fought to free myself, but I was helpless. I kicked, twisted, and struggled with all my might, yet there was no escape.

Then one of them placed a mask over my nose and mouth. They must have put something on the mask. The smell was overwhelming. I could not breathe. To my five-year-old mind, I knew they were trying to kill me. Even so, I kept fighting with everything I had.

My next memory is of waking up to ice cream, and my parents smiling beside me. I had just undergone a tonsillectomy.

Looking back, I am amazed that I and children in those days had little or no preparation for surgery. Today, medical professionals understand the importance of helping children know what to expect so that they face surgery with confidence and security, not terror.

What remains with me most vividly from this traumatic experience is not the surgery itself, but the fierce determination I felt to survive. Even now, I recall that desperate struggle to escape danger. It arose from something deep within me—a primal force, something that I can only describe as a fire of life. That same fire is still within me today.

Call it the life force, raison d'être, vitality, or simply the will to live. Whatever name we give it, there is a fire burning within each of us. It animates us, calls us forward, and gives us the courage to meet another day. It is the energy that gets us out of bed in the morning, protects us from danger, and inspires us to pursue what we love. It helps us endure hardship and keeps us moving toward life.

Imagine for a moment what our lives would be like without the fire within. We would be lifeless, and devoid of the spark that makes us want to live. When we are in jeopardy, there would be no fight to live, or to save others. We would be less able to protect ourselves from harm, and we would have little interest in the things that would have excited and fascinated us, if we had our fire.

But what exactly is this fire? Where did it come from? Why does it seem so deeply seated into our nature? What happens when it burns brightly, and what happens when it dwindles to a flicker? What threatens to smother it? What feeds it and helps it grow?

This week we will reflect on and explore our life’s fire.

Spiritual Practice

Sit quietly and scan your body. Notice where you sense your deepest vitality, your instinct for life, your inner energy. Become acquainted with this force. What does your fire feel like? How would you describe it?

Inquiry Is your fire instinctual or is it part of your conscious awareness?

Prayer

Dear God,

Thank you for the mysterious fire that burns within me. It is as much a part of me as my body, mind, and heart. Help me remain connected to this sacred force, for I believe it is the same energy that stirs my soul, calls me toward life, toward love, and ultimately toward You.

Amen