We’ve all been there, scrolling through Facebook and reading through the 1,000 inspirational quotes friends have shared or posted to each other’s walls. Many of them automatically invoke some kind of eye-roll or nauseating irritation that is second to none. Examples of these awe-inspiring quotes include, but are not limited to:
"Just be-YOU-tiful."
"Even miracles take a little time."
"I deserve the world, so I’m going to give it to myself."
"Be a good person, but don’t waste time proving it."
"It’s a slow process, but quitting won’t speed it up."
These life-changing phrases are usually posted on some sort of background that should also evoke emotion, like beaches at sunset or cloudy mountaintops with snowy peaks off in the distance. Now normally, I see these endless posts and scroll on through until an actual picture of someone I recognize pops up. However, one of these trivial expressions actually caught my attention. It said, "One life. Just one. Why aren’t we running like we are on fire towards our wildest dreams?"
The first time I read this quote, I felt like my brain had hit a brick wall. An explosion of thoughts came rushing to my head. “Why aren't I chasing my dreams with a more fierce mentality?” “I’ve got just one life —am I doing everything I can to make my greatest dreams a reality?” “If I’m on fire, shouldn’t I stop, drop, and roll instead of running?” I’ve been told many times that I should try everything within my power to make the best of my life, but never in a way that truly made me contemplate my greater good to society.
The boldness really sparked my attraction to this phrase. “One life. Just one.” The emphasis on our one, singular life forces us to confront the fact that dreams and ambitions are not, should not, and cannot be things pushed into the future. It is easy to say "tomorrow" or "someday" rather than setting marks. The reality is that setting marks is intimidating and it puts a date on success, but it is worth the risk. None of us are going to reach our goals without setting goals in the first place, so get some use out of this one life and go out and set goals.
The imagery was the other part of this quote that triggered my interest. It’s hard to avoid the sheer craziness of actually picturing oneself on fire, and yet for some reason, I am invigorated by the illusion. I don’t believe literally engulfing myself in flames is quite the answer to fulfilling my dreams, nor is it the intended implication of the quote. What the quote does, however, is light an internal flame. Why not go a little crazy and run towards dreams with such a passion that nobody can deny it? Why not take the flame and ignite others with it?
This quote—"One life. Just one. Why aren’t we running like we are on fire towards our wildest dreams"—most certainly addresses the need for all of us to consider these questions.
