The Stove is Hot

 I’ve been writing this blog for five days now.

Five.

Not because I didn’t know what I wanted to say.

Because every time I thought I had it figured out, something felt off.

I’d write.

Delete.

Rewrite.

Go sit on the porch.

Watch the rain.

Listen to a song.

Think about a conversation.

Notice something in the sky.

Start over.

Again.

Could I give you every breadcrumb?

Sure.

The songs.

The conversations.

The dreams.

The patterns.

The random observations that make me stop and go, “Huh.”

But honestly, we’d be here all day.

The funny thing is they all led me to the same place anyway.

⸻

A few nights ago, I had a dream about the Titanic.

Well… not really the Titanic.

The people.

Think about the movie.

The panic.

The lifeboats.

The screaming.

The people fighting for a spot.

The people hanging onto things that were already sinking.

Even the band kept playing while the ship went down.

That’s the part that stuck with me.

Not the iceberg.

The reactions.

The people.

⸻

And that’s when it finally clicked.

I wasn’t writing about the water.

I wasn’t writing about the storm.

I wasn’t even writing about the Titanic.

I was writing about how people react when things get uncomfortable.

⸻

Lately I feel like I’m sitting in front of a movie screen with a bowl of popcorn.

Watching the characters make decisions.

Yelling at the TV.

Don’t go in there.

Don’t touch that.

That’s a terrible idea.

Turn around.

Look behind you.

Even throwing popcorn at the screen.

The problem is the characters can’t hear me.

So eventually I just sit back and watch it happen.

The funny thing is that movie characters aren't the only ones who do this.

We do it too.

⸻

And before anyone thinks I’m talking about the hard stuff life throws at us, I’m not.

Some hard shit is real.

Death.

Grief.

Illness.

Losing a job.

Starting over.

Moving.

Watching something you’ve built fall apart.

Those storms don’t ask permission.

They just show up.

Life has a way of doing that.

 ⸻

But then there’s the stuff we keep feeding.

The same story.

The same argument.

The same pattern.

The same hot stove.

At some point you have to ask:

Why do I keep touching the stove and acting surprised when it’s hot?

⸻

And maybe that’s what I’ve been noticing lately.

Not just one person.

Not just one conversation.

Everywhere.

People reacting.

Some panic.

Some avoid.

Some isolate.

Some pretend nothing is happening.

Some keep playing music while the ship goes down.

Some keep hanging onto things that are already sinking.

⸻

The cracks are showing right now.

In families.

In friendships.

In communities.

In institutions.

In belief systems.

Everywhere you look, something is cracking.

And honestly?

I don’t think that’s all bad.

Some things need to crack before they can be repaired.

Some things need to fall apart before people finally admit there was a problem.

Things rot.

That’s how soil is made.

The light still exists right in the middle of the dirt.

⸻

So now what?

Honestly?

Pay attention.

To yourself first.

To the stories you’re feeding.

To the things you’re avoiding.

To the things you’re clinging to.

You don’t have to panic.

You don’t have to conform.

You don’t have to pretend nothing is happening.

And you don’t have to spend all your energy treading water either.

Sometimes the best thing you can do is stop long enough to look around.

You might notice the thing you’re holding onto is already sinking.

You might notice there’s a piece of wood floating right beside you.

You might notice you’ve been closer to shore than you thought.

⸻

Maybe that’s what took me five days to figure out.

I thought I was writing about the storm.

Turns out I was writing about how people respond to the storm.

And those aren’t the same thing.

Sometimes the answer isn’t more information.

It’s a different choice.

The stove is hot.

Take your hand off it.

🔥🚢

~ Kristi

P.S. If you're looking for me, I'll be on the porch, teaching Tarot, reading cards, some Psychic shit and trying not to touch any more hot stoves. Summer Specials and class information can be found here on the ~Work with Me Page.