Things Showcase ⇒ the Comfort of a “Tamed Flame”

[uuglypher]

the Comfort of a “Tamed Flame”

Thoughts during a scheduled pre-dawn “rolling power blackout”

My thoughts are about -and by means of- the 70% of my brain’s neural synapses that are involved, directly of indirectly, with vision. They are occupying my attention at 4:30 am in the pre-dawn blackness of this South Dakota winter’s morning. And there occurs to me an almost palpable ancestral connection with my forbearers almost four million generations removed as I relax in the dim, comforting glow of a candle - a “tamed flame”. It is somehow fascinatingly comforting to realize that all the neural connections from my retinas to my brain’s cortical visual center and then to the various regions allowing perceptions and emotions associated with awareness of the candle’s glow are via the same basic neural pathways by which my evolutionarily distant direct ancestors enjoyed the comfort of a “tamed flame” that followed upon their epochal taming of fire.

Just thought it worthy of mention....

Imaged with iPhone12ProMax

Dave

[Psjunkie]

just something about fire..some instinct connecting a deep down emotion....

[PietFrancke]

fire - the light yes, and the warmth. Controlled, but not tame, ready to bite you for the smallest mistake. We take comfort in our dominion over all, but the edges are fraying and darkness creeps in.

[uuglypher]

just something about fire..some instinct connecting a deep down emotion....

You got it...just as hoped.
Dave

[uuglypher]

fire - the light yes, and the warmth. Controlled, but not tame, ready to bite you for the smallest mistake. We take comfort in our dominion over all, but the edges are fraying and darkness creeps in.

The concise essence!
Gratifying to the max!
Your last ...” but the edges are fraying....” puts me in mind as evocative of some line or phrase by Garcia Marqués...or Robert Frost...or Basho...or Kerouac ... but it’s pure Francke!!!
Much appreciated, Piet!
Dave

[minniev]

There's something primal about a fire, especially a small quiet fire in the dark of winter. We had a week of fire companionship this week. Never in my lifetime has there been a full week of being housebound with ice and snow. We occasionally get a significant snowfall but the roads quickly melt and travel resumes in a couple of days. This time the roads were impassable for a full week, only opening up late yesterday. We had power but everyone was asked to keep thermostats as low as possible to keep from going into blackouts like Texas, so much of our time was devoted to "tending" the fire, splitting wood, etc. That orange flame was very comforting. So yeah, your image resonates!!