Indigenous South African fynbos (fine bush) needs wildfire to spread their seeds. The fire helps the plants release their seeds, which will then germinate and produce new plants. In this case, fire really means the breath of life. But it is devastating nonetheless and one can only imagine the destruction to life, such as small animals that cannot escape the fire quick enough.
In the last year or two, I have been tracking the devastation and regrowth of the fynbos near me. In an earlier post, I shared various photographs of the local fynbos. Sadly, a year after I took these photographs, three-quarters of the mountain burnt down. I shared a post of the fire's destruction on the golf course close by. It was a sad event. I also shared more photographs of the fire's destruction of the flowers and animal life. In this post, I will share with you the regrowth of the fynbos after about 6 or 7 months. I titled the series of photographs "Life After the Fire" for obvious reasons. Afterward, I will write my usual musings about life and fynbos, and philosophy. For now, please enjoy this series of photographs, taken with my Nikon D300 and 300mm zoom lens and 50mm lens.
The first series of photographs are about the devastation.
The second series of photographs are about the regrowth of the fynbos between the dead timber.
In the following series of photographs, I showcase hope in the form of flowers. Various plants survived the fire, so not all is lost.
The last series of photographs are about the life between the fynbos. I found two tortoises nestled together. They somehow managed to survive the fire.
Fire can symbolize many things. Passion, destruction, destructive passion, doom and gloom, and so on. But one thing is for sure, fire is, on the one hand, spectacular to witness, and on the other hand, frightening to see how easily it can devour and kill.
Yet, we rarely think about fire as life-giving. Yes, the product of fire, ash and charcoal, can be life-giving in the sense that it fertilizes the soil. But the fire itself is almost always seen as a negative when it is not made for a purpose (like cooking or warming).
But concerning fynbos, it is life-giving.
It is a total inversion of how we normally view fire. We do not normally see fire as giving life, but rather as taking it away.
And herein lies an interesting point: our minds are so used to a certain way of viewing things that we cannot think the opposite. Fire is bad and water is good, but as the philosopher Heraclitus tells us:
“Sea is the purest and most polluted water: for fish drinkable and healthy, for men undrinkable and harmful.”
The same thing can be good and bad at the same time. This is something foreign to the modern mind which is influenced by Aristotelian logic. Something cannot be A and B at the same time, or as the law of noncontradiction states:
It is not the case that fire is good and bad at the same time, one might say. But in fact, it is. The fire is not good, it destroys and takes away life, but at the same time, the fire is good as it gives new life.
Fire is bad and good at the same time, depending on the context.
Where there is smoke there must be fire. But can we be so certain?
I hope you enjoyed this post about the regrowth of the fynbos. Nature is amazing in the sense that she can regrow from destruction. The green is so beautiful.
All of the photographs are my own. The musings as well unless noted otherwise. Happy photographing, stay safe!
