The Magic of Fire

It's been a bit since I've had a chance to write. It's not by choice, I assure you i am clogged up with good blog post ideas. I've just been busy and preoccupied with the pesky think called "life".

Friday before last one of those days where an awful lot of information get dumped on you at once. It was like trying to drink from a fire hose. Some was good, some was bad, some was neutral. It was just a lot of data at once. I knew I was in for a contemplative night.

There are many ways to handle such a night. I could have sat on the couch and watched my beloved Star Trek TNG and enjoy a beer. I could have visited friends. I could have worked on one of my never ending woodworking projects. I decided to take another route. In the spirit of my meditation practice, I went for a walk in a large pasture near my home in the dark of night.

It was a crescent moon so ambient light was scarce. I had a flashlight but wanted to just make my way without it. There was a path were the cattle that graze the land travel quite often and I decided to see where it would take me. There was no plan, just a walkabout. I went along this path for a good distance until I came upon a large tree of some sort. It was the only tree around for a bit but had been here for many years judging by the size. It was right next to a man made pond for the cattle to drink from. It was a peaceful spot and on the crest of a minor plateau. I decided this was a nice spot to sit. There was much dead fall around this tree. I just so happened to have a lighter with me and began to gather some dead tinder and fuel for a small and peaceful fire.

Fire has always fascinated me. I doubt I am alone in this. I imagine fire has mesmerized humans ever since Ook The Cave Man first brought it into his cave. The ground and wood was damp but I used my boy scout skills to get a very small and intimate fire going. I watched as the flames danced and curled, brightened and dimmed, and consumed the fuel that I fed it. I set my meditation timer for twenty minutes and decided to just stare into the flames for this time. I wanted to see what answers the ancient wisdom of fire could give me. I cleared my mind and just observed the mesmerizing beauty of the flames. At almost the exact moment my twenty minutes of meditation was up, the last bit of flame died and left only glowing coals. I continued to gaze into the orange coals for what seemed like forever until they too died away.

My eyes were quite adjusted from sitting so long in the dark and I began to observed what else was around me. To the south, I could see the glow of the city and could just barely make out the largest tower downtown. I looked to the sky and could see an amazing amount of stars. The crescent moon was still there, but not I could make out what I am pretty sure were planets in close vicinity to it. I believe it was Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. It was breathtaking. I had been out here for quite awhile and was starting to get cold. I made sure my fire was dead and out and started to make my way back to civilization.

I don't know that I gained knowledge from the fire as I had hoped. What I did do is get a chance to contemplate life in the same way people have since the time of Ook up until that very night. The brotherhood of humanity throughout time gave me much perspective on all I needed to absorb and process. There has always been fire and stars just like there with always be days that are a bit overwhelming. That idea is comforting in its permanence.