Phrase: Like a moth to a flame

The coming of spring has caused me to think about the phrase like a moth to a flame.

The phrase indicates how much a person is attracted to someone or something.

It also has a negative connotation: a moth will be burned if it gets too close to a flame.

The same is true for humans.

Quite often, like a moth to a flame, people are attracted to things which can hurt them.

Writing this post has also brought to mind a little poem by Helen Hunt Jackson.

Bee to the blossom,

Moth to the flame;

Each to his passion;

What’s in a name?

Since I’ve started talking about spring, I’d like to announce that winter is on the wane.

We’ve already experienced haruichiban, the first warm spring winds here in Japan.

We’re also getting more and more daylight each day.

However, just like a moth to a flame, people will spend increasingly large amounts of time outdoors.

Exposure to the summer sunshine increases our chances of skin damage.

Be sure to slip, slap, slop (slip on long sleeves, slap on a hat and slop on some sunscreen) before you go out.

Even though I wrote about it on Wednesday, Sorachan and I heard a bush warbler for the first time this year while on our morning walk.

That means they’re back, and spring is just around the corner.

Spring is a time of new beginnings.

Some people tend to get excited and do silly things as the weather improves.

Some may be attracted to new ideas, which, although good, could also turn out to be wrong.

Before you begin anything new, such as a business partnership, becoming employed with a company, or entering into a romantic relationship with someone who has caught your eye, ensure you are not acting like a moth to a flame.

You may get burned in the end.

Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test

This post is understandable by someone with at least a 7th-grade education (age 12).

On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 79.

The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.