A Tangible Mystery
The most tangible of all visible mysteries - fire. (Leigh Hunt) "When we build a fire it will be to cook our food. At night, we will take turns watching for the wildlife," Mandla has a way with instruction that sucks you in, "but do not let the fire get too big. This fire is to show the lion and hyena that this spot is taken for tonight." That is not to say that during our 2 hour night watch shifts in the wilderness of South Africa, wildlife would not occasionally venture near our small fire. Mandla shared stories of folks drifting off during their shift only to be woken suddenly with a lioness across the campfire curiously checking them out. This method of keeping away potential predators was most likely birthed in this very landscape hundreds of thousands of years ago by our hominid relatives. I think of this transformative experience and Mandla's words nearly every time my eyes are entranced on a fire. Fire. What is our human relationship with ...
