Life by fire
It’s our nature. We’ve evolved to thrive in the light. Our eyes are tuned for the light of day, our biological cycles in sync with the light of the moon and our safety and warmth made possible by the ability to create fire whenever we so choose.
Nature is incredibly harsh, it still blows my mind to think how natives thrived though the harsh seasons of any region really…Here, we just had intense windstorms the past couple days which caused a power outage for three days and no water for two of them.
Not a big deal, I’ve been dealing with this kind of living for a decade. I got back up water for this exact situation. I have back up battery power that usually gets me through it too. A plethora of candles that smell pretty damn good and this time, it was total black out after the 6 hours of backup power expired…and I love these blackout adventures thrust upon me as I always do. It’s out of my control, so all I can do is embrace it.
One could say it’s like camping. However, I think it’s different because it’s living in a house/shelter with no power and you are not on vacation taking a break. It’s life where candles and fire are used to see, to cook and to power everything.
There’s a stillness and quietude that comes with it. Being outside feels different when the world is literally, “turned off”. Being inside even more so…
Hanging inside by candlelight feels calmingly pleasant and enjoyable. I played the guitar. I read a bit. I jerked off. And then, I ate a snack and went to bed early.
The next night was an adventurous dinner with friends by candlelight, a few drinks and then off into the darkness that provided an awesome moonlit walk in the stillness of the night, monkeys grunting along the way back to my house and then again, in bed early.
It reveals the why behind our biological clocks…when it’s dark, it’s natural to just go to sleep. What else are you going to do if the world is not lit up with electricity? It forces one’s creativity to manifest to fill the void, because what the hell else are you going to distract yourself with?
One has to be creative for sure and/or go to sleep to only wake up at about 4 am ready for the beautiful sunrise.
Hrmmmm, sounds way more healthy than staying up late, watching Netflix, tweeting or whatever else is on the phone, computer or streaming TV?
My point is, it feels right because we’ve evolved this way. To exist by candlelight, to feel the night, the quietude, to be in sync with the cycles of our planet earth that our ancestors survived in for hundreds of thousands of years before us. And guess what? It’s rejuvenating and at times can be prolific.
I want to live a life by fire more and more, to make it an integral part of my monthly lifestyle and discover how much I change for the better. I believe only good will come from it, however I am reluctant to embrace it, because I want to be lazy at night like everyone else, veg out and check out from this existence rather than be present in it all the time.
Which fascinates me…specifically how our natural tendency is to gravitate to the escape rather than to the present moment.
If this was a net positive for you, please share with your friends and family.
If otherwise, please let me know, challenge me in the comments and I’d be happy to discuss and change my mind if of course it makes more sense.
