Candlelight is associated with certain moods for sure...romance, mystery, warmth, intimacy.
We navigate so much of our day-to-day lives using harsh, unflattering lights. If you remember the classic movie "Joe Versus the Volcano", Tom Hanks describes how our will to live is sucked out of us by florescent lights. Now, I may not have the quote exactly right but I think you get the idea.
Now, why do we like candlelight so much? Does it take us back to a simpler time? Or, maybe the warmth of the flame itself craddles and soothes us.
Perhaps it is because candlelight is much weaker than our artificial varieties and therefore does not reveal the clutter and confusion around us...that which has become life. It allows us to focus in on what is immediately around us and perhaps reclaim a little more of ourselves.
Candles burn out and we end up back in our floodlit, hectic lives. But, maybe we can shut our eyes once or twice a day and remember the warmth of our souls.