Bust A Coal
I was at work attempting to bust a coal.
No, that is not a dance move. It's a form of creating a friction fire using a bow-drill set. Once you bust a coal, you can place that little fireball into a tinder bundle and blow it into flame. Very difficult. Well, it has been for me anyways. I'm sure ten-year-old bushmen were busting coals in under five seconds back in the day. Me, on the other hand, needs to practice for hours receiving only black 'punk' which is black powder dust and smoke. Black punk and smoke are great signs that you almost have it! When you get black punk and smoke time and time again without busting a coal, it gets less exciting. Co-workers have coached me saying "It's all mental" or "its just body positioning, change one little thing and you'll have it!". Meanwhile my right bicep feels like it's going to catch flame itself.
While rowing away on my bow drill set, attempting to bust a coal, I had many negative thoughts. Ridiculous negative thoughts that I know are ridiculous but I listen to them anyways. It's easy to encourage someone else. It's hard to encourage myself. I felt defeated and incapable.
One thing I love doing is inspiring others to achieve their own dreams. This whole bow-drill scene has zoomed my scope of outreach very far inward. Just like when you accidentally scroll up on Google Maps with the cursor over the map and it zooms in super fast. That's what it was like! I wanted to have a larger worldview but now I was all zoomed in and had to deal with what was in front of me. My own insecurities.
Sometimes I look at inspiring people like Simon Sinek or Katie Davis and believe that they have zero negative thoughts. Sinek and Davis are both young leaders in the Millennial Generation that have inspired hundreds of thousands to not give up and keep pursuing their goals, dreams and aspirations.
My dreams extend far beyond just busting a coal however the process has taught me that the final product is not the inspiring piece. It's the choice to battle negativity and work through frustration. On a simple and small scale, those are the things that lead to accomplishing the seemingly impossible.
I applied this understanding to my desire to write a book about encouraging college students to rise above low expectations. I have started but I keep hitting walls of negativity. That's the wall that needs to be knocked down but thank God I am not kicking it down on my own. Isaiah 43.
No, that is not a dance move. It's a form of creating a friction fire using a bow-drill set. Once you bust a coal, you can place that little fireball into a tinder bundle and blow it into flame. Very difficult. Well, it has been for me anyways. I'm sure ten-year-old bushmen were busting coals in under five seconds back in the day. Me, on the other hand, needs to practice for hours receiving only black 'punk' which is black powder dust and smoke. Black punk and smoke are great signs that you almost have it! When you get black punk and smoke time and time again without busting a coal, it gets less exciting. Co-workers have coached me saying "It's all mental" or "its just body positioning, change one little thing and you'll have it!". Meanwhile my right bicep feels like it's going to catch flame itself.
While rowing away on my bow drill set, attempting to bust a coal, I had many negative thoughts. Ridiculous negative thoughts that I know are ridiculous but I listen to them anyways. It's easy to encourage someone else. It's hard to encourage myself. I felt defeated and incapable.
One thing I love doing is inspiring others to achieve their own dreams. This whole bow-drill scene has zoomed my scope of outreach very far inward. Just like when you accidentally scroll up on Google Maps with the cursor over the map and it zooms in super fast. That's what it was like! I wanted to have a larger worldview but now I was all zoomed in and had to deal with what was in front of me. My own insecurities.
Sometimes I look at inspiring people like Simon Sinek or Katie Davis and believe that they have zero negative thoughts. Sinek and Davis are both young leaders in the Millennial Generation that have inspired hundreds of thousands to not give up and keep pursuing their goals, dreams and aspirations.
My dreams extend far beyond just busting a coal however the process has taught me that the final product is not the inspiring piece. It's the choice to battle negativity and work through frustration. On a simple and small scale, those are the things that lead to accomplishing the seemingly impossible.
I applied this understanding to my desire to write a book about encouraging college students to rise above low expectations. I have started but I keep hitting walls of negativity. That's the wall that needs to be knocked down but thank God I am not kicking it down on my own. Isaiah 43.
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| Inspiration for this post - bow drill set |
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