Personal Post - #1

Fire has always been a powerful entity in my eyes. It has many qualities and serves a variety of purposes. It can provide light and warmth and also, mass destruction. Fire is neither form nor formless. It can be bright, burning, rapid, sacred/holy, and deadly all simultaneously. To have form and to not have form at the same time is a concept most things cannot relate to. Fire is paradoxical and unique in comparison to other entities. To quote the Bhagavad Gita, “weapons cannot cut it, nor can fire burn it; water cannot wet it, nor wind cannot dry it” (2.23). When considering the power fire holds, many people focus on the damage it can inflict upon the world. Being something and not being something at the same time is a different kind of power. This approach to power is one that is probably overlooked most of the time and/or not appreciated. The irony is another entity which is neither form nor formless is water—the opposite of fire.

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