Fire and water, two opposite forces forever lost in epic revelry. Fire seems to be the destructive one, which strangely proves out to be the most fruitful while providing food to humans. Water be the constructive one, floods away civilizations with it. Isn’t it strange ? What force urges these to change their entire nature ?
That was the question that hopped into my mind a couple of weeks ago. It was 7 in the morning and I was sleeping in my room with air conditioner turned on when suddenly a pungent smell entered my nostrils and woke me up. It took me a while to figure out what had forced me to wake up and when I recognized that smell, I turned my neck back and here it was. With all it’s glory it was fiercely shoving it’s orangish-yellow sparks up towards the roof as if it will consume everything coming in it’s way and turn it to black ash.
I hadn’t seen such a big fire live in front of my eyes before. I am so afraid of fire that I had never lit up the stove for cooking food by myself ever in my life. Witnessing this kind of fire that closely was a night mare. I got up and ran outside shouting for help. My room was all covered in thick black smoke and when I opened the door that smoke started spreading all over the TV lounge. My dad figured out what has happened and turned the main switch off. My mom and brother filled up buckets with water but when electricity supply was cut off, the fire extinguished slowly by itself. I stood there with shivering legs and thumping heartbeat and it took me some hours to get back to being normal.
Our Ac got burnt but there was no other loss by the grace of God. The story may be told dramatically, but it is hundred percent true. That scene still give me shivers whenever it flashes back into my mind. If I wouldn’t have got up that time, the smoke would have made me unconscious and I might not be with you right now, telling you stories.
On the other hand, there is water, which has recently played havoc and drowned whole lot of villages and cities in Pakistan. Watching footage of families standing on roofs of their destroyed homes, waiting for getting rescued, watching their animals and luggage flowing away with water. Watching a mother crying for her daughter whose dowry flooded away– It breaks my heart. Army troops are still busy rescuing hundreds of families affected from this devastating flood.
We sit here and watch them suffer. Say some sympathetic words and change the channel. And we are Humans.
What force urges things to change their nature ? I have no idea but, if this force is strong enough to change HUMANS, It sure can prove out to be a weapon of mass destruction.
White Shadows 
oh god! good to see that you and your family is safe. Nature takes and charts its own course- always. We are mere spectators ..
Thanks to alimighty that u n ur family members r fine!
I’ve encountered such fire incidences very closely twice in my life time n they were indeed on a large scale! I can understand ur ordeal! Be careful from next time onwards!
OH that’s scary. I am glad too to find out that you are okay. Thanks for looking out for me 🙂 ❤
Anytime sweetheart!
Hmm..well you’ve only been missing in action..(MIA) for around three weeks now..and yes life in the REAL world does get busy..and i’m sure you are.. but as promised in times of your absence i will come here to say something on the 6th of each month..and yeah.. i’m about thirty minutes early from the 6th..where i live.. but you know what they say..the early bird catches the White Pearl..:)
OK..i guess that is all i have to say for now..but hope you are doing well..love and smiles2..:):)….
Ya Allah, so frightening, Lala! Alhamdulillah you are ok! It is so sad about the flooding, I learned about it lately when I wrote this artical about Islamic Relief for edenkeeper, you might like it:
http://edenkeeper.org/2014/09/23/world-islam-christian-relief-groups-join-hands/
love and hugs, sweetheart, Allah protect you! ♥♥♥;^)
beautiful post lala. when it comes to nature every element gives and takes i guess! none of them are unipolar.
Alhamdulilah You are fine, Lala!
God! The irony of life-fire and water. Thats so true and scary!
Everything when it increases beyond limits is harmful, be it fire or water.
Its really saddening to read and watch about the floods that has gripped our countries. Just thinking about beimg devoid of every basic ammenity, trapped in a room with nothing to live for, gives me shudders. And the mere thought of losing everything, EVERYTHING, is enough to keep me awake all night. Those people have loads of courage to deal with everything thats going on there, political turmoil and natural disasters every now and then. They are resilient. May Allah swt ease their hardships and nurture their abode once again. Aameen.
I’ve never woken in a burning building. Just had nightmares about it. Often when I was sleeping in plywood partitioned cheap hotels with dodgy wiring but mostly when I was living with a woman who habitually overloaded power outlets and left multiple pots cooking on a gas stove while she went off to do other things.
I’m not scared of fire per se, but being trapped in one has been a phobia of mine ever since I was drenched in petrol (and blood) while caught in a car wreck.
Oh, Lala, this is so sad. What a terrible experience in your life. Granny has tears in her eyes, she feels so sorry for you and all the people who have to deal with these natural disasters. Heartbreaking it is. Healing Pawkisses 🙂 Granny and Little Binky ❤
Oh wow, what a traumatic experience you had. How old were you when this happened? It seems as if you were a child or teenager still.
Both fire and water play a double bill. Both are for good, and both in their vibrancy cause mass destruction. And it’s just like you said, here we are as humans, maybe sympathizing, then turning the channel. Hmmmmmm…
🙂
A horrifying sentimentalization of two realities.
Your writing has improved a lot. Thumbs up.
Oh Thanks God you and your family are alright. ! Sigh of relief.
It was a very thought provoking piece, To see two contradicting side of things and how you connected it with us humans. May Allah help us and show us the right path.
Firstly, relieved to know that you and your family is safe. Secondly, your post is very insightful, questioning the very human in us. It is saddening to see so many lives engulfed by the wide mouths of calamities. Fire, water and humans are closely related. We have both constructive and destructive forces in us. It is to us, which force we would like to exercise.
Wow! I am stunned. Is life a ‘carving’ exercise in purifying our spirits? I sure don’t know, but, something else rather than us, is in power and sending us messages. Blessings to you and all who are affected.
Glad you’re okay.
The flood was really bad snd sad to see loss of lives. Gosh! The fire seems scary and glad u fine..
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Oh..and are you my sidekick yet.. i think you are..;)friend..:)
Ahh..the Yin And Yang of fire and water..and of fire and of water..and of woman and man..and of human being…
The balance and change are one..
The effect can be two..
i one for one..experience the floods living on the river growing up..but am spared from the fire of the faulty wiring…
But still with a gas stove too..fire is life..and with fishing in the river..water is life for fish and i too…
But what is human…
Human is connecting to other humans..the Yin of Love…
Solving problems is the Yang of survival..rationality..and cultural extension of comfort..for another day..
the dragon of reptilian and neocortical brain too…
Are we solving problems to live or are we living to love…
That is the dilemma of being human these days..
for i know Now i love for sure….
Now that i am not working and solving literally hundreds of problems a day.. both my wife and i will shed a tear and send some money.. if we see these floods on TV…
And oh my GOODness.. now that you tell me.. we can look it up on the Internet and do the same!
But true before.. i am a machine..while my wife is crying..when the little children are flooded by Tsunami.. and such as that too..
Then i Am the Yang of Robot Reptilian Dragon true..
But the hope is for change..
The balance can come true..
For one is not another..and another is not one…
The effect can be two..
And now i know..
i CAN CHOOSE AND LIVE SACRED UNCONDITIONAL LOVE..:)TRUE!
And that is what i JUST do.
And so..
can others too…
Wow..! The fire seems terrifying..need some money for a new AC..:)
Or perhaps love is enough…
Yes.. i thought so.. I’ll send it to the flooded children.. instead…:)
And does your husband have any warm food lately.. if not.. i can arrange a hot meal too..
That last line is a joke..on your cooking skills dear…:)AND the fear of the kitchen stove…;)
I can’t think of anything that can’t hurt you or nature given the right (or wrong) circumstances. That’s the irony of nature. There’s the potential for positive and negative in everything (including us).
And I’d be scared to death if I woke up to a fire in my bedroom, too!
I’ve wondered the same myself with all the recent natural disasters all around, it’s getting out of hand 😦
very thought-provoking. that question you posted in the beginning. fire to food and water to flood, where one is considered a symbol to destruction and another to life. wow, i never thought of it like that before.
and for the part where your room caught fire… oh my God. i can only imagine it through your words. must’ve been terrible. but thank God it didn’t hurt you people or anything. Alhamdulillah!
and the flood. devastating… may Allah help them out.
being humans we can only offer words and change channels. such empathetic souls. sigh