Fire Salamander

"The salamander is the elemental being that composes fire and without him, fire cannot exist" -it is said in ancient lore. He is also credit for teaching us how to make fire. I like this theory because I like to believe that early humans were far more imaginative than what is believed about them and that they were inspired each and every step of their way, by nature. I like to believe that they let the animals be their teachers and that all humans were once shamans. Isn't this a far better image than the one in which we praise one culture and automatically differentiate it fundamentally from ours? The "what if" factor is healing if it is done constructively and the "what if" is something that unites us and includes us in something beautiful.