Photo courtesy of Eric Albitz, http://www.ericalbitz.com/
Whether you are experiencing a cold snap in the Yukon, or spending your summer nights on trail; building a fire is not only critical to your safety, but also a crucial boost for your moral. The heated logs that serve as a platform for the flickering fire, the embers that shoot up along the smoke into the night air, and the general sense of warmth; building a fire is always a great night-cap to a long day.
Imagine if you will, the first cavemen who saw the lightning strike, the flint rock ignite, and the fire burning. What amazement he must of felt, what humbling natural beauty he had to succumb to. How long do you suppose he stared at the sudden iridescence playing the song of life? Hours, days, weeks? This is how I feel as I suddenly snap out of my thoughts and realize I’ve been lost in the glowing center of the fire.
What natural instinct brings man to fire? Some say it’s the need for warmth, the gentle toastiness the right distance and the right fire can bring. Some say it’s the need for light, each flame bringing a dark world closer to view. But I would say that fire attracts man because it is one of the most raw and quickest forms of the natural world. Uncontrolling and unable to be touched, the fire spreads from log to log with fury and passion, with rhythm and chaos. The fire dances to whatever song it pleases, naked and without ambition, unbiased to the world around it.
Go create a little spark to your day, stoke the embers, and add a little fire to your life.
-BDL
