What is it about sitting in front of a good fire… REALLY.., you can sit there for hours; staring at it, listening to it, feeling its heat warm you -- getting lost in the spell it casts over you… They somehow have a unique way of spurring feelings of nostalgia, reflection, remembrance, relaxation.., and of course romance.
You can sit in front of, or around a good fire with a bunch of strangers.., and by the time you get up to leave, feel like you know them all -- like you have just bonded, shared something special… Besides all that inner peace a good fire induces, they also inspire a very pro-social environment -- by demanding attention, engulfing all of our senses.., we are freed to let go of all the bullshit that consumes our minds -- and just be.
The sheer power a fire holds, runs so deep, it connects us to our earliest ancestors -- when fire was much more than something pretty to look at… It not only was used to ward off predators, extend the day, cook, keep warm -- but it encouraged them to be more social, giving them a clear survival advantage. It is this instinct, our survival instinct, that is tied into our fascination with fire.
Even Darwin considered language and FIRE the two most significant
achievements of humanity!
Besides the necessity of fire.., the ceremony and celebration that revolve around it date back to the beginning -- from a roaring bonfire or just a few simple candles, it has illuminated our lives… But even as we bath in its glow and are grateful for the many ways it enhances our lives, we are well aware of its uncontrollability, the fierce and vicious nature of it, as it devours whatever is in its path… It is this lack of control we have over fire in modern times that is part of its mystery -- since in todays world we use it much less out of necessity and more for comfort and enjoyment, we did not as children master it…
With the invention of stoves, lighters, furnaces and the many other ways we have removed the need to actually learn about fire -- have just added to its mystery. In times and places when and where a raw burning fire was used on a daily basis most children have learned to master it by the age of seven and were less intrigued by its mystique. But in todays world most children are taught of the dangers of fire and told to stay away from it -- although that rarely works, just ask all the parents out there that have had to put out a flame or two… By denying them the opportunity to master this potentially dangerous element, we ensure from one generation to the next, a very specific wonder of fire.
Even with all of the ways it has enhanced and aided our lives.., its biggest contribution could be, the effect it has had on our minds -- shit, it may sparked (bun intended) the evolution of the human mind. Just by changing the amount of hours humans were able to function -- the creation of artificial daylight, it allowed our brains to learn and adapt to remaining alert for ver 16 hours a day. And when the earliest humans slept, they were now safe (as long as fire burned to ward off predators) to achieve the ever so important REM sleep, which in turn improved our memory and allowed us accomplish previously learned tasks.
And that mesmerizing effect, has also made us healthier -- it was essentially the first unintended meditation. By focusing our attention on one spot, for sometime hours on end -- besides the many healthy benefits it provided, it helped us consider more than one thing at a time -- we became better problem solvers, just by focusing on fire. So the next time you are stressed, have a few more things on your plate than you think you can handle, it might not be a bad idea to start a fire (legally) and lose yourself in it. There is something about sitting in front of a roaring campfire, or plopping down by a cozy fireplace that does seem to make everything else disappear.
It has ingratiated itself, so much, into our lives.., that we use its essence in our language -- we "burn with desire," "carry a torch," "kindle a romance." It is part of who we are, where we came from.., and without it not only would there be less beauty in the world -- we would not have survived as a race -- the human race!