Years ago,  Smokey Bear was most famous for his admonishment:

“Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires”

He would point directly at the camera; we knew Smokey meant business.

Today, when I hear of wildfires burning out of control, Smokey’s words are the first thing that comes to mind.

” ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT FOREST FIRES,” he’d warn.

The second thing that comes to mind is relationships. How we behave towards others around us.

When relationships spiral out of control, I recall Smokey saying,

Only You Can Prevent Your Relationships from going up in flames.

You may ask about the other person, or why they can’t share the blame.

And if I were Smokey the Bear, the honorary forest ranger, I would say that because you are the common denominator in all of your relationships, what you bring to those relationships, i.e., your internal condition, will have the same effect on them all.

For example, if I have trust issues, no one will be trustworthy. Not my spouse, friends, employer, coworkers, or even my children. Whatever is navigating my life course, whether it be the 7 Deadly Sins (wrath, greed, lust, gluttony, envy, pride, sloth) or love, it will be how I steer my relationships with others.  It will be the lens through which I see everything.

It doesn’t matter if I’m ‘sexing’ in a marriage or in an affair, guiding in my parental duties, working, supervising, and befriending; I am the captain of the SHIP, so to speak, and how I lead is where each of my relationships will go during the journey.

Whether I’m married, divorced, employed, struggling, praised or criticized, popular or isolated—the common thread in all outcomes is me.

I was reminded of this oneness on Sunday, June 10, 2012, as we were flying into Denver Airport.

This photo shows an aerial view (at 10,000 feet) of the wildfires burning out of control in Larimer County, Colorado.

When our “Ship” hit moderate-to then severe turbulence,  it would be an understatement to say it rocked our “boat.”

We chose to fly, but conditions made it difficult.

The wildfires were burning out of control about 10,000 feet below us and northwest of our destination. The air above the fires, whirling Eddies, appeared to cause the turbulence.  I wondered if our ship would go down if the captain didn’t maintain the plane’s distance and altitude? Distance and altitude allegedly caused the fatal crash of Utah Air Tankers fighting forest fires the prior week.

“We didn’t start the fire,” sings Billy Joel. It had been burning long before we arrived.  But for a moment, we got caught up in its rage, and it became apparent to me,

“Internal conditions could affect everything outside and around it.”

If I had a fire raging inside of me, I thought, could I bring

down all around me?

What if I had an abundance of LOVE coursing through my being? Could I lift everyone around me to new heights?

I accept that I set the course and navigate my relationships to their destination.

You, too, are the captain of your relationships. Consider your life and relationships; each moment you create shapes your experiences, and those experiences, in turn, build the quality of your relationships.

So, what do you see?

If you don’t like what you are feeling or where you’re heading, remember: just as you can prevent forest fires, you can change the direction of your relationships by changing your actions and mindset.

Only You Can Make the Change—will you take the next step today?

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#TBT -Throwback Thursday. I found this old post while updating my site. When I noticed the  August 22, 2017, date, I just had to post. Thank you for reading.