Got This Bonfire-Feeling

Bonfire-Feeling

(To make it clear: We weren't allowed to get a fire running in the backyard of this lovely holiday house. But when the night came in, we were sitting around a table under a summer night sky and shared all one can share. Just like sitting around a bonfire to share stories.)

Sitting around the flickering flames. All eyes tired but open, because everyone is excited to get the whole stuff of the night. It’s a great feeling. It takes me back to my roots somewhere in time, somewhen far beyond that incredible horizon that is lying behind me.
Bonfire feeling.

In those days of my childhood, it was a privilege to be a part of such an event. I couldn’t await the night to come and when darkness, at last, was hiding the world we walked out to a special place. Someone had prepared it with a large stack of wood and another one used a spark to set in on fire. Shadows began to dance and the well-known surroundings by daylight became mysterious and scary. To make us all feel better, we shared stories. Some of them from storybooks, some of them from the life we lived and others again from fantasy. We pulled sausages on sticks and held it near the dancing flames to get ourselves a proper night meal. That was once …

But, as told before, on this night we had no bonfire. Anyway, the same feeling caught me as it did before in my younger days.
After a delicious barbecue, we sat around the table and were listening to the silence of the summer night. From time to time a single dog was barking at the waxing moon. Silent cats moved like around us like shadows, took a seat at the pool and watched themselves appearing on the water surface.
Someone started to share a story, a single picture from the past. The next followed and the next again. Little story-pieces like links of a chain to connect our thoughts and souls.

Sitting around a bonfire is not about getting a lonely feeling inside. It is about sharing. Sharing food and drinks, sharing stories and sharing a mind. It’s about, to be a part of something greater than yourself. And it doesn’t matter how many people are there with you. A bigger group is giving a bigger group-identity. But that’s not important. You can build a “WE” with only two people. What makes the difference is how you will approach the scene. Are you open-minded as well as open-hearted? That’s the point.

“Let’s have some music!” somebody said.
Great idea, songs are always welcome companions at a bonfire. All it took was that Bluetooth speaker on the table and a connected smartphone with a streaming service activated. I can’t remember who gave the first hint, but once started, one song followed by another for hours. Whenever an idea popped up in anybody’s mind they shared it and I added it to the playing list. I wished I had stored this special collection but I missed it out. But, if you like to do so, you can pick some examples of my all-time favorites from the following list:

Every single song is about thousands of stories. The first guy who shared his story with his song is the author of the lyrics. The next one and with this the first interpreter of it is the composer of the music. Once born into the world the song starts running his stories for every listener. Someday I read a quote that books and stories can be seen as mirrors and windows. What a nice idea! And, of course, it is the same with songs: They are working as mirrors and windows for everyone. And for everyone a little bit different. Nobody is seeing the same things in a mirror, like this guy next to him. And nobody is discovering the same things completely like his neighbor when looking outside a window.

Let's have songs and let's share stories! Let's get this Bonfire-Feeling! From time to time.