A book title, “It Was On Fire When I Laid Down On It” caught my eye a few years ago. Curiosity being what it is, I looked up the story behind that title. True story. A small local fire department was called to put out a house fire. They also found and rescued a man trapped inside. Some days after his rescue, it was determined that the fire had begun with the mattress where he was found. Later, the local media asked the man about the cause of the blaze.
Quote, “I don’t know, it was on fire when I laid down on it.”
What?! He knew the bed was smoldering, yet he laid his body down and went to sleep anyway? This is truly hilarious and sad at the same time. Funny, because the visual just somehow tickles the funny bone. Sad, because it sounds way too much like a few folks we all know. Danger ahead for them is as plain as the nose on their face. And yet, they plunge headlong onto the ‘bed on fire already.’
Like the old boy who was struggling in his marriage. He knew that breaking up was not what he wanted. He didn’t really feel like coming home to an empty apartment every night. But yet, for some reason he went ahead and got a tattoo of another woman’s name on his stomach. Didn’t exactly help his cause. Definitely ‘bed on fire’ when he did that.
Or when a woman decides to get into a relationship with a guy that has already lost two marriages due to domestic abuse – that is jumping into a “bed already on fire.” When a person has donated his rent money to the casino and is borrowing more to “double down,”…oh yeah, “the bed is on fire.”
It is one thing if bad stuff happens that you can’t see coming and you can’t predict – that occurs to everyone at some point and it is inevitable. But, folks, when you can smell the smoke and see the flames, and yet you decide to go ahead and leap into that bed – that is insane! As the old saying goes; ‘Learn to look before you leap.’ But even better; ‘Learn to look and sniff, and then don’t leap.’ Otherwise you may wake up to find your life going up in flames. That’s what happens when you know the bed is on fire, and yet you lay down on it.
We are Dr. Andy & Renie Bowman, authors of the nationally syndicated "CoffeeTime Column" and hosts of popular podcast "CoffeeTime with Andy & Renie Bowman". 