There is something meditative about watching a fire burn. It’s the crackling embers, the dancing flame and even the aroma that ensnares you into watching it.

Thoughts of the days pass you by and ideas for tomorrow simmer in the unconscious part of your mind, ready to flourish into something usable down the road. The worries of tomorrow melt in the heat.

On a cold day, there is something comforting about getting close and feeling blanketed by its hot aura. The comforts of modern life seem a burden compared to the raw connection to nature in the moment.

And yet, the fire eventually goes out.

The hypnotic trance is done.

The cold air hits you once more and it’s time to keep the fire burning, or retreat to a warm home.

Fire is often associated with passion or destruction (sometimes those two are mutually exclusive), but… we can easily forget that it can be wielded to combat the cold and allay our worries.