Why Do We Still Seek Fire In A World Full Of Flashlights?

I can’t say for certain, but I am 99.9% sure my ancestors – at one point or another – huddled around a fire, perhaps as a beacon of light in a dark and stormy night, perhaps as a source of warmth to protect them from the bitter cold. In the Year of Our Lord 2025, I can assume – but again, I can’t say for certain, as I have not seen it firsthand – many people have simulated this, somewhere in the wilderness around a campfire, or in their homes around a fireplace. Does man love fire, or does he fear darkness? Some days, I lean towards the latter – why else would we have invented the light bulb? A simulated fire that is both stronger and safer than a true fire could ever be. Or, at least, brighter. Remember the last time you were driving and a lifted truck with LED headlights pulled up behind you? That shit is BLINDING. Why carry a torch when you could carry, well, a torch?

***For the Yankees***
Torch is British slang for a flashlight.

Pun aside, the question remains – why carry a torch? What is the purpose of fire in the modern world? We live in a society of neon signs and color-changing smart bulbs that can illuminate any room more effectively than a candle. And yet, there is still place for a candle. WHY? I ask. There’s no logical answer other than that we actually do just love fire, inherently, perhaps separately from its ability to banish the darkness we fear. Anyone who has a felt a fire knows its warmth. But we all also understand its destructive capabilities. Unchecked, a wildfire can run rampant and cost hundreds of thousands of lives. Burning is one of the most, if not THE most, brutal ways to die. And yet we still seek fire. Why, when we all carry a flashlight in our pocket?

Each one of us carries kindling around with us as well. Sometimes, when we meet someone special, a spark is created, and if we’re lucky, the spark catches the kindling and creates a fire. In my life, I’ve sought this many times. I love the feeling of catching fire specifically. Once I do, I let the fire burn just up to the point where the kindling starts to feel scarce, then I put it out and move on to the next fire. But what happens when the spark turns into a wildfire that completely destroys not only all of your kindling but also any source of firewood in the nearby forest? How then do you rebuild? How can you possibly face the darkness which you’ve so nimbly avoided by hopping from fire to fire your entire life?

Well, maybe the answer is to just grab a flashlight. The first time you do, you realize how much brighter it is than any little campfire or ember you’ve ever seen. Sure, it’s not as bright as the wildfire, but you’ve seen the damage a wildfire can do and you never want to see that again. Besides, even if you wanted to light a fire right now, all your new kindling is fresh wood that’s still too wet to catch anyway. But there’s still the problem of the darkness, so you need the light, and we live in a world of flashlights, so you grab one.

Okay, we’ve solved the darkness. But we’re still cold. So cold, so numb. The brightest flashlight can never be as warm as the tiniest ember. You can turn on the flashlight but it’s not nearly as satisfying as catching the fire, even when all the fire does is turn into a tiny ember. You’ve felt the fire, so you know the value of the ember, but you’re afraid of it turning into a wildfire again. Does having the flashlight make it impossible to light a fire? Why seek the fire when you already have the flashlight? Well, because it’s cold. But if the flashlight prevents the fire… is it not logical to turn it off and man up and face the darkness for the first time? What scary things lurk in the forest? Why did our ancestors light the fire in the first place? And what happens if the last wildfire destroyed not only this forest but every first and there’s no more firewood in the whole world and you’re going to be dark and cold forever because that was the last fire ever and now that it’s out there will never be light again?

No, that can’t be true, you refuse to accept it, so in defiance you vow to seek the fire even in a world of flashlights because the fire is what’s kept life going since the first fish had the balls to step onto land to dry off. Even in a vast city of lights and shiny things you look for the fire because the fire is real and it’s the only thing that’s going to keep you warm, and you need the warmth just like your ancestors did before you and your descendants will after you and you’re a fool to think any society or civilization is more powerful than the fire because statues crumble and castles fall and skyscrapers topple and flashlight batteries die but fire is eternal and you’re really so arrogant to think that you have the power to stop or put it out because when it returns it will come back and burn up everything up again and again and again until the end of time.

Or something.

***To state the obvious***
I’m not really talking about fire.

’Til next time – mbk