You’ll never put out my fire

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Whether you are burning bright, or barely keeping your flame lit, you have a fire burning in you. It is the essence of who you are to everyone else in this world, the best parts of you that others are inspired by and admire. It is the piece of you that was meant to be on this earth.

Every day, every week, every season of your life, you will encounter people that will either be oxygen to your flame or wind that tries to burn you out. It is very rare that you find people that are neutral, and even so a fire can only last so long before it needs more oxygen, more wood, more something to keep going.

Lately, there have been people in my life that have left me feeling depleted; people that have left me burnt out. When this happens, I tend to blame myself. I should’ve been more patient, I should’ve been more kind, I should’ve been more something to be able to keep going. It’s taken me many lessons in life to get to this point, but I’ve realized that there are just some people that take up all the oxygen in the room. And it doesn’t matter how patient you are, how kind you are, or how forgiving you are, at the end of the day they will blow out your flame. When this happens, sometimes we just need to let it happen. That’s discouraging, I know. But if we can recognize when it’s becoming a pattern, then we can make decisions that move us away from the people that drain us, and towards the people that fuel us.

There’s a song on my running playlist, by Betty Who, that I just love. The line goes like this…

I won't stop running down that road

I'll keep dancing 'til I die

You can blow out my candle

But you'll never put out my fire

In life, people will blow out your candle, but only you can let them put out your fire.

 The next time you feel defeated, the next time someone tears you down, feel it for however long you need to feel it. Then get back up and keep running. Don’t stop running. Keep dancing. Remind yourself that they can blow out your candle, but they cannot put out your fire.