Lessons from burning things
One thing I like to do is make fires. It's often considered a less socially-acceptable pastime than my other wood-destruction hobbies like writing and woodworking, but each of these ways of killing trees teaches me something vital, and perhaps none is more full of portentous metaphors than building a wood fire in a fireplace or for a campfire.
As a fellow enjoyer of burning wood both indoors and out, I greatly enjoyed this post from Anil. His takeaways are sage advice.