Where Does the Fire Go?

A cold night. A cozy room. A fire lit in the fireplace. You fall asleep by the fire. When you wake, the fire has gone out?

But where did it go?

You set the table for dinner. The candles are lit. Conversation ensues. The candles finally go out. But where did the fire go?

A forest catches fire. It burns like crazy. And then it burns out.

But where did the fire go?

It’s a trick question. It didn’t “go” anywhere. It went from existing to not existing because one (or more) of the necessary conditions were no longer present.

No fuel, no fire.

No oxygen, no fire.

No heat, no fire.

The same is true with our own fiery feelings. Keep feeding them and they keep right on burning. Stop feeding them, they stop burning.