105 – Fire

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I like walking on the beach. It is good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

Looking at the sea reminds me of different fires. The calm sea is the campfire we gather around to talk, laugh, and cuddle, while the turbulent sea is the raging blaze of terror. However, in between those two are a multitude of fires.

Fire, blaze, flame, firestorm, inferno, and fireballs are a few names – all that started with a light, match, spark, trigger, or a catch.

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Fire from burning wood, wax, coal, paper, gasoline, kerosene, propane, butane, natural gas, and more – each producing dancing flames accompanied by musical pops, roars, glows, and sizzles – but leaving us with ashes, soot, embers, cinders, and chars.

I wonder how early humans came to know and harness fire – the same fire propelling humanity out of the Stone Age and into the Bronze Age.

I think about burning coal in large furnaces to boil water to create the steam that turns the turbines to produce electricity to meet our needs. The large furnaces melt metals to form steel, mold iron, and other alloys. The high temperatures of specialized ovens create molten glass for glassmakers to show their artistry.

I think about farmers burning land to cultivate the soil to prepare for planting. However, the hot conditions of fire also cause certain pine cones to release their seeds during the forest fire that will lead to rejuvenating a forest. The natural fire in Earth’s core creates the molten lava that spews from a volcano that potentially leaves a path of destruction on its journey to a final resting spot as volcanic rock.

Fires that we use to bake, burn, melt, dry, boil, cook, grill, roast, simmer, smoke, sizzle, toast, and barbecue.

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The fires of fireworks give us a multitude of colors – colors from different chemicals burning to display their unique color.

Fire creates many contrasting thoughts – natural examples of juxtaposition: majestic and catastrophic, romantic and dangerous, mesmerizing and explosive, sacred and deadly, ethereal and angry, cheerful and devastating, plus soothing and raging.

Fire is something that we can feed, fuel, stoke, and fan; then at the end bury, douse, cover, snuff, extinguish, or even let die out – but not before staring and gazing to allow our mesmerized mind to wander and wonder.

I think of alarms alerting the fire department – those modern-day bucket brigades of firefighters wearing heat and fire-resistant suits. These first responders work with pumps, hoses, nozzles, shovels, axes, foams, retardants, extinguishers, and ladders while dealing with backdrafts, accelerants, fumes, heat, flashpoints, and structural collapse.

Fire breathes, eats, consumers, and aches. Fire can flare up, engulf, and act as a barrier, yet firefighters use their knowledge, courage, and dedication to tackle what most of us cannot do – and not out of selfishness, but for the sake of others.

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Fire has a motivational side because we don’t want anyone to put out the fire within us. On the other hand, there are times when we need someone to ignite the fire in our belly. To provoke, excite, arouse, and initiate the passion, spirit, vigor, vitality, or intensity with fire and brimstone. However, there are times when the untamed romantic fire can get to the best of us.

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire – but not necessarily a smoking gun. I doubt if anyone truly enjoys baptism by fire because problems can spread like wildfire and become uncontrollable – and certainly not when we have too many irons in the fire.

People can also fire weapons, plus bosses can fire employees; but I focused this walk on fire as a noun, not a verb.

Cooking, warmth, manufacturing, effect, lighting, energy, destruction, and more all deal with fire. Flames and blazes always come to mind – let alone the giant fireball we see in the daytime sky that nourishes life and souls at the beach and elsewhere. Meanwhile, I like walking on the beach because it is good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

See what other bloggers have posted about Fire

• The Flame (a poem)
• The Future in Flame (a short story)
• Fight Fire with Fire (poem by a visitor here)
• The Flame! (a poem)
• The Sound of Fire (poem)

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