Picture a goldfish swimming in her bowl. She circles around aimlessly confined in walls made of glass. She has no memory or insight into the future, she needs not have one. She lives for the moment, does what her instincts tell her to do. She receives no happiness or comfort and no pain or memory of fear. She lives only to take up space on a counter, or to serve as a responsibility task for a human being.
The flame is like the goldfish he feels no emotion, nor has a memory, he works at what he is meant to do, burn matter. He burns, quickly disintegrating meaningless space takers, or aids the human in cooking or providing warmth, he makes life easier for the human. Without the flame a human wouldn't survive long. Though his existence is so vital to the human race, and though he's lived in every corner of our land, he remembers nothing of his past virtues and cares nothing of his future.
Both fish and flame are from our earth and therefore serve purposes, as minor as some may be. Every element of our earth is pure in a sense that even if it may serve as a space taker or be the cause of destruction it means no intentional harm and in its faults are often caused by human error or interest. The goldfish may take up space or add responsibility to a human's daily routine but she was bought or caught by the human in the human interest and therefore is victim to human emotion. A flame may destroy an entire home or village but only because the human wasn't present or quick enough to control the flame before it got out of control. Who is to blame when a child acts out it class? The child who was never taught? Or the parent that never taught them?
In conclusion the fish and the flame hold one major similarity, purity. Their differences are nothing surprising and yet something outstanding. Some may argue that to exist in the same planet and hold so many differences is unbelievable, others will think it unbelievable to argue such a thing. Some will argue neither, and believe that the fish and the flame are one and nothing at all. In the end it has to be faced that in everything and nothing, everything and nothing is similar and different alike.
