Fire
I was watching a documentary on early human development when the narrator said something that blew my mind a little bit: human beings were the first living creatures who didn't run from fire. Our instinct is to flee from fire, but what helped us evolve into the human beings we are today was the decision to not run from fire, but learn to create, harness and use it.
Wow. I never thought of our development in those terms.
Fire is intersting to me, not for its destructiveness, but as a part of the elements of the earth we live with. Fire is a part of the balance of feng shui. (火 is the Chinese symbol for fire. It looks like it, doesn't it? I love that about Chinese characters.) Fire destroys, but also cleanses, and I find that dichotomy fascinating.
I've never been in a fire, never had to face fire literally. People who have I am sure will have a different perspective on it than I do. The closest I've come to fire is a supervised campfire. But this idea that our development occurred in part because of our willingness to stand our ground to fire makes me think of metaphorical applications: what growth have I seen because instead of following my gut reaction or instinct to turn and flee, I stood my ground and made it a part of my life? That question gives me a lot to think about.
