What lies behind us
and what lies before us
are tiny matters
compared to what lies within us
What lies within us, you ask?
The beautiful, juxtaposed mishmash of all our hopes, fears, inspirations, values, beliefs, prejudices, random thoughts, pet peeves, idiosyncrasies, peccadilloes.
The memories that have tagged alone for the ride, be they ones we want to remember or ones that are too painful to let in.
The defining moments.
The harrowing moments.
The mundane, apparently boring moments.
The realities and truths we convince ourselves are truth are what shapes our realities. I think that our own experiences have enormous gravitas in dictating how we see the world. Of course, we choose what we take with us. But often times, we don’t fathom which parts of our past continue to tag along, coming out in the most subtle of ways.
This is the narrative within us: Our story.
You know what else lies within us?
Our potential.
The unmet goals. Our hopes and dreams. The grand schemes and the blueprints of the next tallest skyscrapers. The mastermind behind a criminal organization. The chemical composition of the cure for all human maladies. The list of ingredients for a weapon of mass destruction. The rough draft of the next Pulitzer-Prize winning novel. The script to the next Oscar-Award winning Best Picture. The training sessions of the next undefeated heavyweight champion. The sheet music of the next Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. The efforts of our newest Nobel Peace Prize recipient. Phase 1 of ending World Hunger. Phase 1 of World Domination.
The potential for light and darkness exist in all of us.
Which side outshines the other? Which story will we tell?
That’s up to you.
Soul on Fire 