Fire Danger
Do you fear fire as I do? So much fuel after snow melt. Grass the color of straw burns with ease before spring greening. Lately, it seems, the threat of wildfire extends beyond the forest into our homes, our news, our politics, our public places. Once a slow drip of discord, now a raging dissonance draws us to our screens, fueling the fire-breathing dragon within. Wildfire season in early spring, late summer is natural and cause for great care. Daily, high-dosage discourse is not. “Fight fire with fire” they say – it’s wildfire season every day. Carelessness and caring less are causative, not curative. It seems to me our future depends on fire prevention – pruning and protecting the forests, cutting back on cruelty and cold-heartedness to stop the hollowing of our humanity. Greening will only happen off screen when spring rains bring change, when seeds of hope sprout, when caring and kindness become as natural a human response as sunflowers turning towards the sun. Fire danger – isn’t it time we tame our dragons, demand those in power to do the same? Haven’t we been burned enough?
I love how the fire metaphor is so polyvalent - not only as something that continuously burns in nature, but also as a metaphor for the human condition.
Man has from the beginning had a fascination with fire, the ashes of uncontrolled rage are yet another wonderment… we all ask the WHY. Thanks Holly, excellent perspective, well penned.