nirbhao

Fire is neither solid nor liquid nor air. In fact, it processes most of the qualities of life: it grows, reproduces, metabolizes, responds to stimuli, and it even adapts, to a degree, to the environment that surrounds it.

When keeping a fire, there are times when conditions are favorable. The air is still or only mildly breezy, the ground is firm, and tinder is plentiful and dry. It is easy to sit back and feed the flames, watching them flourish. But when there are storms and the flame is unprotected, or the flames are fighting against moisture, instability, or lack of oxygen, or when the only kindling is green or painted or otherwise hard to catch, it is more difficult. Sometimes it is best to simply allow the flames to retreat to embers, keeping the fire alive and protecting it for a time when conditions are better.

Because embers are extremely strong. Unlike fire, embers savor their sustenance, as opposed to devouring it. Embers will rest quietly for hours, even days, breathing and waiting. Even under extreme duress, after a fire has been suffocated with water or sand, even if the timbers having been broken and stirred. When they are presented with the opportunity of air and fuel, the embers will give birth to their tiniest tongues until they are once again able to hungrily break forth into a mature and roaring flame.