"The Fire Circle – Calling a New Group to Excellence"
Jeff Edwards Internship Group
Every year for the past eight or nine years, I have told the newbie practicum and internship group about the Fire Circle. For some it has been a sacred circle, for others a time of rest and reflection, and still others a commitment to their group, their one year intentional community, to be the best they can be for each other. Alumni who have experienced this event continue to talk about it, and when they come back to share with the new group, they tell them, “make sure you do the fire circle…you’ll love it! Here are stories from this year’s class. Listen, as they pass the talking stick around…………….
“From our first evening as a new group of counselor trainees, we had heard a lot about the “Peace Fire” from past attendees, yet none of us were quite sure what it entailed. We had heard stories of the mystical creation of fire through the spirit of teamwork and the appearance of a rare red moon just as the fire was started. We had heard of the mysterious power of the experience to bond a group of people together and we were eager for the bonding between us to grow as we still had almost a year ahead of us as a supervision group of future counselors. While some of us were concerned that as part of the activity we were going to be required to “don buffalo skins and appeal to the god of fire”, for many of us this evening, our only real concern about the meeting at the Peace Pole was the weather. Occurring on a late October evening in Chicago, chances were good the weather would not cooperate as we had hoped. We were not going to be happy if it was raining or cold.
Unexpectedly, as it so often happens, the thing we were concerned about most never materialized. The weather, in fact, was insignificant. Rather, it was the fire that would not cooperate. Although we poured our hearts and bodies into the act of building the fire, we were unable to start it for a variety of reasons. Some of us inevitably assumed this lack of success was based on our own inadequate performance. While we faithfully performed our tasks, we felt the weakness in our upper bodies and the limits of our aerobic capacity. Because we focused on our failure, for us, the experience might not have been as connective and transformative as we had hoped. We were disappointed and felt as though we should have been able to “do more.” This semester, we were most certainly not going to break any fire starting records. Despite our concerns about our own performance, however, our inability to start the fire in a more “primitive manner” was probably due less to the inadequacies of our attempts and more to the simple fact that the wood was wet and the rope broke.
After the rope broke, most of us decided that it was not going to happen for us that night. It seemed time to move on and we were happy to start the fire by more modern means. As we sat quietly around the circle, the heat and light of the fire were comforting and hypnotic. There is something magical about sitting, in silence, with others, around a fire, under the open sky. We shared about our experiences, about our year thus far. It was a quiet, reflective, almost solemn time. We reflected on our efforts with the fire and determined that as most of us approached the task at hand being the “good” do-ing-orientated Americans that we were, we focused on the goal. Things didn’t go as planned. No, we did not have the opportunity to start the fire from labor and wood. We didn't have the chance to tell our other peers that we beat past fire starting records. What we did have was a time to share an experience with others whom we respect and admire. As we reflected, we were struck by the group's ability to give of ourselves and allow others to be used in that same way. Attempting something new such as starting the peace fire (or counseling), we can tend to feel clumsy and vulnerable. We treasure the wise encouragement of our peers and teachers who have walked before us and are further down the road. We long for the mutual transparency and encouragement of fellow fledglings in this exhilarating, sometimes frightening flight. We reflect on the notion that if we are to guide our clients to a deeper understanding of their inner life as well as their valuable attachments to the world, we need opportunities for those experiences also. The broken rope in the ceremony offered us an opportunity. We were reminded that sometimes we are more focused on a particular outcome and neglect to honor and learn from the process itself. Although we did not arouse the fire, we ignited encouragement and teamwork within our group. We tried out best and ultimately our spirits were not dampened.”
This year’s group was caught up in it; focused on the flame they might create. But old mother fire connived to teach us all a lesson. It’s the process that is important, not the end. Get the process first, and the end will always be worth the wait. I cannot wait until the spring to see the changes in this group; I anticipate greatness from this group, as their brothers and sisters from past years have become. I also can’t wait until next year to see how the next group of students builds upon the experiences of the past and learn about themselves for the future. The fire calls us all, making us one, making us connected in the work we do.This year’s internship group was Jameelah Brown, Emily Burchfield, Stepahie Evans, Kathleen Franzwa, Galina Iolova, Tamara Siegal, Kimberley Thomas, Dale Green, Jacqueline Noel, and Lorenzo Rodriguez. Dr. Jeff Edwards has been using the fire circle for almost a decade now to build the teamwork needed to support and encourage students through the year long clinical experience in Counselor Education.