steeped

Jump into the fire. Everything works out somehow, life's like that. The worst that can happen is a few burns and scrapes.

Wouldn't it be great if that left you a scar? A tangible proof of your commitment. Something so important you'd risk bodily harm, now made real between sinew and scar tissue.

The Greeks had it right: the ordeal predates the glory. Heroes are hewn from strife, and good stories are rich with these. And great stories are great because there's something to learn. Or as I heard from somewhere, great stories are those that teach you something new about something you already know. We pick in the orchard of familiar lessons, seeded by stories of strife.

But those are stories, and we have our own story to worry about, dictated by the progress of our lives.

And how is your life coming along? Is it sitting in the fire, burning bright, radiating heat from the infinitesimal friction and collision of your individual passions?

I plunged myself into the boiling water, seeking something hidden, something hard to reach, something ideal. And while I search, like tempered steel borne from fire, I'm steeping underneath the water's surface.

Coffee beans work that way. Keep them in hot water and they become richer, their true essence is revealed as they bear the heat.

But like coffee, you shouldn't leave them too long simmering. A time comes when the coffee must be drunk, the success of the venture savoured. That time is soon, or maybe even now.