Leaders Provide Light

And the right kind of heat

The Destruction of Pompei and Herculaneum by John Martin, 1822 (public domain - Wikipedia)

“Fire is a natural symbol of life and passion, though it is the one element in which nothing can actually live.” —Susanne K. Langer, 1942

Among all of mankind’s inventions or innovations, the most transformative was fire.

In Greek mythology, Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans, thus granting us a status that no other living creatures enjoyed.

Fire served as a building block for society, allowing us to cook our food, be warmed during the colder seasons, and enjoy a source of light after the sun had set.

But it also acted as a negative force — a weapon of warfare and destruction, either intentionally or accidentally deployed.

That’s the strange nature of fire: both a giver and taker of life.

Fire sustains, but it also burns.