Here’s a quote I heard the other day:
“At times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” — Albert Schweitzer
As someone who’s spark has gone out in the past, I can attest to the fact that when that happens, you cannot rekindle it on your own.
We are humans. Sometimes, we need to uplift each other.
Schweitzer smartly uses the plural ‘those’ because it’s not always one person who lifts us up. It’s often a combination of people, coming in and out of our lives at different times, in different forms.
It may be as direct as a therapist, doctor, coach or friend trying to help. It may be less obvious and come from a stranger. It may be in a book or on a podcast. It’s more likely to be some combination of all of those things.
I am thankful for those who help to rekindle my spark, and I am happy to say that once your fire for vitality is burning, it can sustain itself. Your light isn’t gone, it’s just temporarily in the dark.