Why did "man" discover fire?

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a conference "in person" after so many months. As everyone now understands there is a certain level of anxiety that comes with this after so long in social isolation. The majority of the nervousness hovered around the fact that I was out of practice of the social norms. Really, what was going to be normal now? What used to take no consideration, now focused heavily.

I was awkward. How would I establish a rapport without the ice breaking handshake? Everyone would be masked. We had committed to the safe distance. How would that work for chitchat? Questions abounded while I considered what to wear, packed, during the drive, the arrival, amounting to my stomach in turmoil right up until I stepped through the doors.

Then, like magic, none of these concerns mattered. 

Like the old saying of riding a bike, I was reminded that indeed we are SOCIAL creatures and will congregate and co-exist...laugh...chat...and share stories.

The masks made no difference, you learn to adapt. The distance was what it was. We spoke a little louder. I missed the hand shake. I'd be lying if I said differently. It was certainly strange to keep the mask in place while carrying on conversation. Certainly, we all realized that the masks were made--duh--for covering, not talking...but we muscled through, because that's what people do. But in the moment, we were like a garden that had just been watered. Lunch arrived and sat untouched as people took their precious "chatting" over hunger to catch up and bask in the sunshine of people's presence.

​Someone said during the session, once "man" , meaning HUMAN,  discovered fire, they gathered, told stories, laughed, cried, shared, cared and SOCIETY was created.