A Bit of Fire
Of Generosity, and Gratitude
One of my favourite English words is ‘ignite’: a word that owes its origin to the God of Fire, ‘Agni’, himself. On this day, the first day of the rest of the year, can we use the light we have, to light up another life?
It doesn’t take up much of our time, or energy. All we need to do is remember the name of one person who helped us on our journey, and tell them about what their one thought, word, or deed meant to us, when we were looking for a way out of a quagmire, or out of the darkness that had enveloped us.
“You have knocked at every door?” she asked.
“Yes”
“Have you knocked at that one there?”
“No.”
“Knock there.”
— Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
Like Jean Valjean, when I was new to Medium, I had no clue about how to gain entry into this seemingly rarefied world of great writers who gained the distinction of amassing 2000 claps within hours of posting a piece. I knew I could string words together and make a commendable sentence, but would it pass muster? And if it did, where do I post the piece? I looked about me in terror and awe: and then, like Jean Valjean, I knocked at a door. And it opened for me. “I have prompts,” said this miraculous being, “start writing. Promptly.” And then this particular Cinderella did go to the ball.
Crazy mixed metaphors, I know, but well…
She is at it again, is Ravyne Hawke. Write a summary about five stories and five writers every week, she says. Let them know you appreciate them and their words. Do this every week till twenty writers feel appreciated, she says.
And I know I am in.
Touch a life, then. Move a heart. Console a soul.
There is no life into which a little rain does not fall, into which darkness and dark times do not encroach, into which death, desolation and dejection do not creep in.
We can make a beginning with the ubiquitous and irritating Festival forwards. If you know a friend personally, perhaps we could modify the ‘greetings’ to say something, well, personal? Instead of the one-size-fits all greeting-and-response? Yes, it will take time, and time is of the essence: but it could be done. Or have we, collectively, lost the will and the power, to think for ourselves, formulate words, and make them count? Have we been indoctrinated so comprehensively by technology, that we have become zombies?
There is only one way to destroy darkness, and that is by lighting a fire. Even stones ignite, if the right match is used, or another stone is strong enough.
Whose life can we light up, today?
