We are taught from a very early age that there are often only two choices for every decision.

The good …

The bad …

This is like saying in a world filled with many colors that the only choices are black and white, not even the chance for even a touch of gray.

After looking at all the facts one quickly realizes that the conflict created is supported by information that is already shadowed by perceptions ~ yours or other individuals … and these are subjective at best.

So how does someone choose between two options, without making a list of the good and bad, is it possible? Do you use instinct or analysis ~ rational or emotional?

I have been reading this wonderful book. How We Decide, by Jonah Lehrer. In the book Jonah explains the human decision-making process using neuroscience and behavioral economics. Although the reviews are mixed and they claim some of the interviews are not completely true…. I did walk away with some good ideas and information.  As I said before, information is subjective and it is as only good as the source.

My focus in most of my blog posts is to create a question(s) or challenge(s). Then I explain how I worked through it and share what I learned in the process.

But this time, I pose the question to you…

What approach do you used to make choices?

What do you contemplate about when you think of fire?

It has the ability to destroy, maintain and create. It can keep us warm, cook our food and illuminates our path out of the darkness. It can reduce a forest to darkness – soot and ash with the promise of a new fresh beginning of Jack Pines and Manzanita a new opportunity to flourish.

This week I have been exploring the many different ways that one can experience fire through past memories and their senses.

Sight- the colors of red, yellow, orange, white and blue, the designs communicated with each flicker of the flame, interrelationship play with other objects.

Sound- crepitation /crackle, the snap and pop, the loud overwhelming roar of destruction.

Touch- tactile warmth, burning sensations.

Smell- melting paints, bitter, thick smokiness, sharp, pungent sweetness.

Memories

Roasted marshmallows

Bon fire on the beach

Burning leaves in the fall

Fire

Renew cleansing roar

Crackle burn, flourishing start

Destroy past, new start

In August I will be doing research on the classical elements, a different one each week. Learning and exploring all that I can about each particular element, seeing how it applies in my creative process.

During the week all of the writing and art that I create will be based in concepts surrounding the current element. I will also be working with and creating with those colors that I associate with that element.

For the first week in August the element is FIRE.

The colors that are used for this week

Red
Orange
Yellow
Blue

Four things that I have learned about Fire that I did not know…

1.)  You can determine the temperature of the flame by the color.

2.)  Fire is an event, not a thing. Heating wood or other fuel releases volatile vapors that can rapidly combust with oxygen in the air; the resulting incandescent bloom of gas further heats the fuel, releasing more vapors and perpetuating the cycle.

3.)  A candle flame typically burns at around 1000 degrees Celsius (1800 Fahrenheit).

4.)  On Earth, gravity determines how the flame burns. All the hot gases in the flame are much hotter (and less dense) than the surrounding air, so they move upward toward lower pressure. This is why fire typically spreads upward, and it’s also why flames are always “pointed” at the top. If you were to light a fire in a microgravity environment, say onboard the space shuttle, it would form a sphere!

Common phrases the use the word ‘Fire”

Add fuel to the fire

Out of the frying pan into the fire

If you play with fire, you get burned

Fight fire with fire

Have too many irons in the fire