A run through fire

        Fire, as we all know, destroys. Over and over again we here stories of fire killing innocent people and burning down entire villages and houses. Even Jeong Jeong from "Avatar: The Last Airbender" knew how destructive fire was. "Its nature is to consume and without control, it destroys everything around it"-Jeong Jeong. Even my girlfriend, whose house was burned down, only knows fire as a deathly force. A force that represents nothing but pain and suffering. 

Jeong Jeong, the fire-bending legend and philosopher of all things fires.

       Jeannette Walls contradicts this standard view of fire in "The Glass Castle". Walls' near-death experiences with fire burned a path for her to walk down. Each time Walls had an encounter with fire, she grew as a human from it. For Jeannette, fire was a source of education, which she lacked in her life. The chaotic force we know was nothing more than a tool for her to learn from in her already chaotic life. Jeannette saw passion in fire. She saw a beautiful force that could not be tamed. She saw beauty in the freedom of fire. Maybe this speaks to how humane Jeannette really was compared to us. For Jeannette, fire was a door to her true self. Instead of seeing fire has a force to kill, she saw fire as a new beginning. An end to order and a beginning to freedom. 

       Jeannette's view is a view we all need to adapt if we truly want to be free. She explains that "You can't live in fear of something as basic as fire" (Walls, 9) and that holds so much truth and potential. Maybe if we as humans decided to leave the little things alone, and focus on the bigger problems of our World we might be able to accomplish something. We are stuck trying to fend ourselves from fire but we aren't afraid to kill people by creating fire. Humans are just a bunch of hypocrites I guess. Kinda suck when you think about it. I mean, we as humans are scared of males who like other males but not scared of bombing an entire city, killing hundreds in the process. Woohoo us!!!!!! Humans are just scared of fire because it is something we cannot control. Maybe one day we won't fear fire, but instead learn from it. Study it. Be the fire that guided Jeannette's path. Maybe one day fire will destroy this scared view of something that can be so beautiful. That can be so freeing.