“If you immediately know the candlelight is fire, then the meal was cooked a long time ago.”

I have heard this first in an episode of Star Gate SG1 and I would like to have a crack at it. It wasn’t explained enough in the movie and I feel a very strong connection to another conclusion, other than implied in the movie. I like to dissect philosophies, is what I do for a snack challenge. I don’t know where this quote is coming from, I will give credit to the writer when I will know. I found on Reddit a story from where this quote might come from, is about a man who was trying to light a fire but couldn’t find the matches, but looking in the dark for them with a lit candle. The example does resemble “you can’t see the forest for the trees” but the main quote might have a deeper meaning, just like an unknown way into the middle of the forest.

Essentially, “if you immediately” sounds like an assumption, it feels like someone is pushing the listener to see the obvious, and the listener is quick to have an assumption due to the ego’s condition at a given time. I too had problems hearing anything beyond these three words, nothing, not even the word themselves made any sense to me, but I did a little growing up since the first time I’ve heard it, disciplining my ego and opening my mind to the rest of this quote as time passed. This quote had stuck itself in my mind. I am telling you about myself because quotes are profound representations of divinity, this one is deep, and I had to have the correct knowledge to even be aware of philosophic explorations. The “if” in this quote is a big blow to an unhealthy ego, this is why I could only hear the words but not understand them, and bragging that I did. Let’s move on.

If course “the candlelight is fire”, we all know this, after the first time we touch the fire, we burn the pain associated with it in our minds and will never touch a flame again until we die. This is wrong. If we condition our mind that fire is going to burn our flesh if we touch it, we are doomed to remain senseless to our real potential. Literally speaking, it would make sense at a first thought, it would be stupid to think that the fire will not burn our flesh if we touch it (and it is, don’t do it), but we have just created a limitation for our mind, we just instructed our mind to find the first plausible explanation and it will apply this method to all our challenges without pushing through our fears. Fears are our challenges to solve and conquer, did you think you are alive only to enjoy the taste of chocolate? We must always keep the doors open to possibilities in our mind, no matter the logic, logic can take many forms because what doesn’t make sense should not be disqualified as stupid. We don’t like stupidity, especially pointing in our direction. It’s fine when stupid calls stupid, let it be.

The rest of this quote “then the meal was cooked a long time ago” is only for context, yes context can be placed after a conclusion, is the wonder of a philosophy and a joy for the person who wants a challenge for the mind. The word “fire” has many interpretations and its understanding must have a context, context will be added by a person’s understanding of life to this quote. We understand and judge everything through our perceptions and limitations, this is why I started my analysis describing my personality. Is not about being ready for a challenge, is about getting yourself ready for a challenge of your choice. Some people know the candlelight is fire but some people challenge themselves to touch it, feel it or control it, take fire as a metaphor. This quote is about our feelings, is about instructing the mind to decipher the heart’s coding and live in the heart’s space, not limited to our own fabricated limitations. It is about The Choice we all have – to just be or to have a profound experience of life. The heart already knows everything but we don’t listen to her, we have a surface thinking that starts and increases our fears, not our spirit.

This is my interpretation, I could have another as my knowledge expands but, for now, I stick with what I understand.

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FIN

Roberto Palu