Trimmed Wicks

We recently had an emergency power outage so the power company could make some necessary repairs. They notified us in advance so we had some time to prepare. The tree was trimmed, but wouldn’t produce light and cheer. The house would be in the dark.

In determining what we needed to do to prepare, we came to several conclusions.

The kids should get to bed before the power went out so they were not an extra concern.
We wanted the lights turned off so when the power came back on in the middle of the night, we wouldn’t be awakened or have unneeded lights on.
As I intended to continue writing in my journals, I wanted light to write and read by.
We might need an extra blanket if we were still going to be up.

Remarkably, getting the kids to go to bed early was the easiest solution. They had no desire to be up without power. My wife went to bed too. I still needed light. We used to have a nice battery based generator, but it recently failed, so the lights we normally use were not available. I looked up on the mantle and knew what I wanted.

On the mantle sit two glass kerosene lamps. I got them from my parents years ago because they no longer wanted them. It had been a long time since I had lit them. The wicks had been raised to prevent the oil from wicking up and evaporating, so I lowered them down to the oil. Uneven at the top, they needed a cut. Only one could reach the level of the oil, and it was barely into the oil. The first lamp could produce no light. The second had a limit to how long it could last.

Does Your Life Need Trimming

Much like the untrimmed wicks, sometimes our lives need to be evaluated. I solved the problem for one of the lamps by pouring the remaining oil from the useless lamp into the other. I raised the wick to light it, and it sprang to life, though it burned too much of the wick. The wick was not yet fully saturated. It also burned unevenly because it was uneven. I did not know how to properly trim the wick. I did know how to adjust the height to get a good flame that did not burn too high but still provided light.

How often do you wonder how to get the best out of yourself? What trimming do you need? Do you know how to trim your life?

I learned that I am able to read and write with just the light of a simple kerosene lamp. It was also peaceful and soothing to sit in the presence of a gently flickering light.

Learn To Adjust And Provide More Light

I started looking for new wick material. I learned a lot in the process. There are inexpensive options for bulk quantities of wick material. Many types of lamp oil are available.

I also learned a lot about trimmed wicks and what makes them perform better. Even cuts produce rounded flames. They use the oil better and burn cleaner and brighter. It is also necessary to clean the carbon from the end each time you light it. Impurities in the oil can cause clogging that create poor airflow. As I already knew, the height of the wick also effects the burn of the oil and how much light it produces.

In much the same way, you can quickly and easily increase your performance. You can remove clutter from your life. For those of you on Facebook, I recommend Ann Washburn’s Clutter Bustin 2019 group. She has great insight into how to remove six types of clutter from your life.

Learn how to cut back in your life so you can be more balanced and exert more energy into the areas of your life that matter most to you. You will produce more consistently and will create less pollution in your environment. You will have less disappointment, anger, frustration, and sadness. Take a look at my audio training, Leaving Leaves for more ideas.

As you practice trimming yourself, you will provide more light to those around you. You will make a great difference.