The Second Fire: 1:1 Mentorship for the Midlife Passage

Two decades ago, I graduated university.

I took a job writing copy for a small online business that rented holiday properties, and my role was to add content for the search engines to bring in traffic.

It was a 9-to-5 kind of thing.

I liked my employer and coworkers. And the job itself, I voraciously learned as much as I could and pumped out all the work that was assigned to me.

Pretty soon, I was able to finish my output by lunchtime. And when I asked for more, my employer offered it. And this went on for a few months.

Eventually, there came a time when my employer told me, “we don’t have more to assign today.”

My response was, “Okay… well can I go home?” which seemed reasonable enough. I wasn’t even asking to be paid for the hours.

Her response: “No, you can’t go home. You have to remain at your desk.”

I couldn’t believe it. A part of me rebelled. I couldn’t imagine sitting at a desk for hours every afternoon, needing to ‘make up work’ that was unncessary, rather than having the freedom to do my own thing.

A quiet voice spoke to me. This isn’t for you. You are meant for more.

I tried to stuff it down, reminding myself of the practical, real-world responsibilities I had at the time. Paying rent. Buying groceries. Saving for a mortgage. But still, the quiet voice wouldn’t relent.

A fire burned deeper than my practical fears. This was the First Fire of my soul. And I couldn’t put it out.