Everyone has a light within them.
Deep down, we all want it to burn bright. But keeping the flame alive requires effort.
The strong winds of adversity, loss, hardship, and pain can threaten to blow out our flame. Our job, however difficult, is to keep the flame lit.
For those of us whose flame is strong, we must use our light to help others kindle their flame.
So that they can illuminate the world, too.
No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another. — Charles Dickens
Paul Reid is a UK photographer whose light is burning bright, even if his work is often in black and white. His monochromatic photography was recently featured on the cover of Black and White magazine.
Reid shoots portraits, street images, and weddings. He likes to get involved in his wedding photos, capturing unrehearsed, unposed moments that capture the energy and light of his subjects.
I discovered Reid’s work by accident while researching the Leica Q2 Monochrom camera on YouTube.
Reid’s beautifully shot and poignant short film “Dreams” left me moved and inspired, due to its marriage of words and imagery.
A flame can go out at any moment
Sometimes we are the hero in our story, and other times we are the villain.
It’s easy to fall into a rut.
Endless routines and habits dull our spirit and the light within us can dim. Youthful dreams are stowed away in the dark cabinet of our minds. We focus on work, the mortgage, relationship challenges, that next promotion.
Occasionally, we peek inside the dark cabinet, to see the dull eyes of our dreams staring back at us.
The eyes are lugubrious and pleading as if they’re saying, “Don’t forget me. I’m still here. Waiting. Hoping. Praying.”
Paul Reid’s short video “Dreams” explores the importance of chasing our dreams.
In his video narration, Reid says:
My father would tell me that there is a plan for me. My mother still tells me that all of my dreams will come true someday. Their hair is now as white as flames on candles. Wonder if they got everything that they wanted in life? Theirs is the greatest achievement of all, a love that has lasted a lifetime. My candle is burning too. A flame can go out at any moment. I’ve still got time.
Take a moment to watch Reid’s video “Dreams” below:
Where are you at with your dreams?
Have you peeked inside that dark cabinet in your mind lately? What changes could you make in your life to free those dreams?
Get up and do something
It’s not easy to climb out of a rut, but if we are to nurture our candle flame, climb we must.
There are people every day who find a way. Sometimes all it takes is bold action, like quitting your job and moving.
For others, positive change is incremental.
Think of the movie Shawshank Redemption. The actor Tim Robbins brilliantly plays the protagonist, Andy Dufresne, who was sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover. Only Andy knows he didn’t commit the crimes.
Andy methodically plans his escape from prison. He builds trust, obtains tools, patiently works, bit by bit, toward his goal. It takes years.
Whether it takes years or you’re able to make immediate changes to stoke your candle flame and chase your dream, the key is to start.
Don’t be that person who never starts. Who just goes through the motions, never changing, always shooting yourself in the foot.
Get up and do something. Every day.
The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.
— Barack Obama
Have something going on somewhere
We’ve all met clingers. People who are just holding on to where they are. Hoping things will change.
The problem with hope is that without action, it’s unreliable. Sometimes the gods smile upon us and improve our circumstances. But mostly it’s up to us.
…it’s important to have something going on somewhere, at work or at home, otherwise you’re just clinging on. — Nick Hornby
Action is the oxygen that stokes the flames of our candle. But the action has to be intelligent.
If you have a dream for a creative passion or better life, start by researching the steps necessary to achieve your dream. The ones you admire who achieved the same dreams usually leave clues.
It might require going back to school, or maybe finding a mentor. Saying no to time wasters (TV, social media, addictions, etc.) to maximize your efforts.
You can be the hero of your own story. If you want your candle to burn bright, and your dreams to come true, then roll up your sleeves and get to work.
And when your candle is burning bright, and your dreams come true, remember to use your light to brighten the lives of others.
In this way, all our candles will burn brightly, and the world just might have fewer shadows of doubt, despair, and hopelessness.
Before you go
I’m John P. Weiss. I draw cartoons, paint, shoot classic black & white photos, and write elegant essays about life. For the latest cartoons, art, photos, and writing, check out my Saturday Newsletter here.
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This post was previously published on Medium.
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Illustrations by John P. Weiss
