I like the salamander comparison. Or maybe it's like the old forever-bubbling pot of soup/stew they used to keep on a simmer in kitchens in olden days. People keep eating from it, and you just keep adding new ingredients. There's a similar concept in beer making; you keep adding new beer to be fermented in a large container as you drink it off. So the stuff you're drinking is always aging and changing, depending on what you add and when you drink it.

Anyway. I like your view of it. :)