--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We think the fire eats the wood. We are…" description: "\"We think the fire eats the wood. We are wrong. The wood reaches out to the flame. The fire licks at what the wood harbors, and the wood gives itself aw..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/jack-gilbert-10996_each-new-day_we-think-the-fire-eats-the-wood-we-are-w_1217946.jpg" --- # We think the fire eats the wood. We are wrong. The wood… ![“We think the fire eats the wood. We are wrong. The wood reaches out to the flame. The fire licks at what the wood harbors, and the wood gives itself away to that intimacy, the manner in which we and the world meet each new day.” quote by Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/jack-gilbert-10996_each-new-day_we-think-the-fire-eats-the-wood-we-are-w_1217946.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/jack-gilbert-10996_each-new-day_we-think-the-fire-eats-the-wood-we-are-w_1217946.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/jack-gilbert-10996_each-new-day_we-think-the-fire-eats-the-wood-we-are-w_1217946.jpg) > “We think the fire eats the wood. We are wrong. The wood reaches out to the flame. The fire licks at what the wood harbors, and the wood gives itself away to that intimacy, the manner in which we and the world meet each new day.” [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It suggests that rather than being consumed, the wood actively engages with fire, symbolizing mutual exchange and intimacy in human‑world encounters. **In simple terms:** Wood and fire interact, not just consume. Key Takeaway Embrace reciprocal relationships. Themes nature connection intimacy Mood reflective thoughtful Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - environmental stewardship - creative collaboration - personal growth - conflict resolution Key Concepts mutual influence dialogue Questions to Reflect On - What does true intimacy require? - How do we balance giving and receiving? A Different Perspective Assumes all interactions are harmonious. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Each new day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/each-new-day/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Flame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flame/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Intimacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intimacy/) [New day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-day/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woods/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [At the start of each new day, remind yourself: I am talented. I am creative. I am greatly favored by God. I am equipped.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/at-the-start-of-each-new-day-remind-yourself-i-am-talented-i-am/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [The tree on the mountain takes whatever the weather brings. If it has any choice at all, it is in putting down roots as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corrie-ten-boom/the-tree-on-the-mountain-takes-whatever-the-weather-brings-if-it-has/) [Corrie Ten Boom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corrie-ten-boom/) > [Then, without realizing it, you try to improve yourself at the start of each new day; of course, you achieve quite a lot in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/then-without-realizing-it-you-try-to-improve-yourself-at-the-start-of/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [I give thanks every day for each new day that the Lord allows me to live and enjoy life to the fullest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nola-ochs/i-give-thanks-every-day-for-each-new-day-that-the-lord-allows-me-to/) [Nola Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nola-ochs/) > [We have to discard the past / and, as one builds / floor by floor, window by window, / and the building rises, /…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/we-have-to-discard-the-past-and-as-one-builds-floor-by-floor-window/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [Each new day is a blank page in the diary of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-pagels/each-new-day-is-a-blank-page-in-the-diary-of-your-life/) [Douglas Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-pagels/) > [God is always seeking you. Every sunset. Every clear blue sky. Each ocean wave. The starry hosts of night. He blankets each new day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-giglio/god-is-always-seeking-you-every-sunset-every-clear-blue-sky-each/) [Louie Giglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-giglio/) > [If you see to it each day that your conduct is impeccable, the following day will be completely clear, and you will be free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omraam-mikhael-aivanhov/if-you-see-to-it-each-day-that-your-conduct-is-impeccable-the/) [Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omraam-mikhael-aivanhov/) > [With each new day, I'm learning how to take control in order to have balance in my life. I plan time for myself and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-keys/with-each-new-day-i-m-learning-how-to-take-control-in-order-to-have/) [Alicia Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-keys/) > [With each new day it becomes more apparent to me that everything and everyone in this world is connected in some beautiful and inexplicable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mcmahon/with-each-new-day-it-becomes-more-apparent-to-me-that-everything-and/) [Andrew McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mcmahon/) > [We must be educated in inner human modesty, so we can recognize that we are not, even for a moment, complete as human beings.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/we-must-be-educated-in-inner-human-modesty-so-we-can-recognize-that/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [How noble and good everyone could be if, every evening before falling asleep, they were to recall to their minds the events of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/how-noble-and-good-everyone-could-be-if-every-evening-before-falling/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [Work is an antidote for anxiety, an ointment for sorrow, and a doorway to possibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/work-is-an-antidote-for-anxiety-an-ointment-for-sorrow-and-a-doorway/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [Approach the New Year with resolve to find the opportunities hidden in each new day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-josephson/approach-the-new-year-with-resolve-to-find-the-opportunities-hidden/) [Michael Josephson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-josephson/) > [In your morning prayer each new day, ask Heavenly Father to guide you to recognize an opportunity to serve one of His precious children.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-russell-ballard/in-your-morning-prayer-each-new-day-ask-heavenly-father-to-guide-you/) [M. Russell Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-russell-ballard/) ## More by Jack Gilbert > [I had lived all of my youthful dreams, but I couldn't think of many adult ones. I finally realized that we don't have many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/i-had-lived-all-of-my-youthful-dreams-but-i-couldn-t-think-of-many/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [I dream of lost vocabularies that might express some of what we no longer can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/i-dream-of-lost-vocabularies-that-might-express-some-of-what-we-no/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [Why do so manysettle for so little? I don't understand why they're not greedy for what's inside them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/why-do-so-manysettle-for-so-little-i-don-t-understand-why-they-re-not/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [Suddenly this defeat. This rain. The blues gone gray And the browns gone gray And yellow A terrible amber. In the cold streets Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/suddenly-this-defeat-this-rain-the-blues-gone-gray-and-the-browns/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [“A DESCRIPTION OF HAPPINESS IN KOBENHAVN All this windless day snow fell into the King's Garden where I walked, perfecting and growing old, abandoning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/a-description-of-happiness-in-kobenhavn-all-this-windless-day-snow/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [When I was walking in the mountains with the Japanese man and began to hear the water, he said, 'What is the sound of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/when-i-was-walking-in-the-mountains-with-the-japanese-man-and-began/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [I'm vain enough to think that I've made a successful life. I've had everything I've ever wanted. You can't beat that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/i-m-vain-enough-to-think-that-i-ve-made-a-successful-life-i-ve-had/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [“There was no water at my grandfather’s when I was a kid and would go for it with two zinc buckets. Down the path,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/there-was-no-water-at-my-grandfather-s-when-i-was-a-kid-and-would-go/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [“Failing and Flying" Everyone forgets that Icarus also flew. It's the same when love comes to an end, or the marriage fails and people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/failing-and-flying-everyone-forgets-that-icarus-also-flew-it-s-the/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [“Horses At Midnight Without A Moon" Our heart wanders lost in the dark woods. Our dream wrestles in the castle of doubt. But there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/horses-at-midnight-without-a-moon-our-heart-wanders-lost-in-the-dark/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [“Imagine if suffering were real. Imagine if those old people were afraid of death. What if the midget or the girl with one arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/imagine-if-suffering-were-real-imagine-if-those-old-people-were/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [The heart lies to itself because it must.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/the-heart-lies-to-itself-because-it-must/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [“ A Brief for the Defense Sorrow everywhere. Slaughter everywhere. If babies are not starving someplace, they are starving somewhere else. With flies in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/a-brief-for-the-defense-sorrow-everywhere-slaughter-everywhere-if/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [To hear the faint sound of oars in the silence as a rowboat comes slowly out and then goes back is truly worth all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/to-hear-the-faint-sound-of-oars-in-the-silence-as-a-rowboat-comes/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [“Naked Except for the Jewelry” “And,” she said, “you must talk no more about ecstasy. It is loneliness.” The woman wandered about picking up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/naked-except-for-the-jewelry-and-she-said-you-must-talk-no-more-about/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) [Explore all 62 Jack Gilbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) ## More Each new day quotes > [At the start of each new day, remind yourself: I am talented. I am creative. I am greatly favored by God. I am equipped.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/at-the-start-of-each-new-day-remind-yourself-i-am-talented-i-am/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [Approach the New Year with resolve to find the opportunities hidden in each new day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-josephson/approach-the-new-year-with-resolve-to-find-the-opportunities-hidden/) [Michael Josephson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-josephson/) > [Work is an antidote for anxiety, an ointment for sorrow, and a doorway to possibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/work-is-an-antidote-for-anxiety-an-ointment-for-sorrow-and-a-doorway/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [How noble and good everyone could be if, every evening before falling asleep, they were to recall to their minds the events of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/how-noble-and-good-everyone-could-be-if-every-evening-before-falling/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [We must be educated in inner human modesty, so we can recognize that we are not, even for a moment, complete as human beings.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/we-must-be-educated-in-inner-human-modesty-so-we-can-recognize-that/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [With each new day it becomes more apparent to me that everything and everyone in this world is connected in some beautiful and inexplicable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mcmahon/with-each-new-day-it-becomes-more-apparent-to-me-that-everything-and/) [Andrew McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mcmahon/) > [With each new day, I'm learning how to take control in order to have balance in my life. I plan time for myself and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-keys/with-each-new-day-i-m-learning-how-to-take-control-in-order-to-have/) [Alicia Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-keys/) > [If you see to it each day that your conduct is impeccable, the following day will be completely clear, and you will be free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omraam-mikhael-aivanhov/if-you-see-to-it-each-day-that-your-conduct-is-impeccable-the/) [Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omraam-mikhael-aivanhov/) > [God is always seeking you. Every sunset. Every clear blue sky. Each ocean wave. The starry hosts of night. He blankets each new day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-giglio/god-is-always-seeking-you-every-sunset-every-clear-blue-sky-each/) [Louie Giglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-giglio/) > [Each new day is a blank page in the diary of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-pagels/each-new-day-is-a-blank-page-in-the-diary-of-your-life/) [Douglas Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-pagels/) > [We have to discard the past / and, as one builds / floor by floor, window by window, / and the building rises, /…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/we-have-to-discard-the-past-and-as-one-builds-floor-by-floor-window/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [I give thanks every day for each new day that the Lord allows me to live and enjoy life to the fullest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nola-ochs/i-give-thanks-every-day-for-each-new-day-that-the-lord-allows-me-to/) [Nola Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nola-ochs/) > [Then, without realizing it, you try to improve yourself at the start of each new day; of course, you achieve quite a lot in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/then-without-realizing-it-you-try-to-improve-yourself-at-the-start-of/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [The tree on the mountain takes whatever the weather brings. If it has any choice at all, it is in putting down roots as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corrie-ten-boom/the-tree-on-the-mountain-takes-whatever-the-weather-brings-if-it-has/) [Corrie Ten Boom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corrie-ten-boom/) > [In your morning prayer each new day, ask Heavenly Father to guide you to recognize an opportunity to serve one of His precious children.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-russell-ballard/in-your-morning-prayer-each-new-day-ask-heavenly-father-to-guide-you/) [M. Russell Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-russell-ballard/) [Browse all 38 Each new day quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/each-new-day/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We think the fire eats the wood. We are wrong. The wood reaches out to the flame. 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