While sleeping next to the campfire one night, we allowed the fire to die completely out. Previous nights, we would let it die down and when we woke up cold, we could get it restarted from the glowing embers. All we did was throw some more wood on it, then fan the embers to start some flames. The night we let the fire go out completely required more resources, more work, less time sleeping and more time laboring just to get the fire restarted. We all learned a lesson — tiny embers are worth more than you think.
"Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all of your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement." ~ Golda Meir
If you’ve never heard of Golda Meir, you are not alone. She was born in Ukraine in 1898 and emigrated to Wisconsin in 1906. In 1921, she emigrated to Palestine where she held key political posts. After Israel proclaimed its independence, she served as minister of labor and then foreign minister. She was appointed prime minister of Israel in 1969 where she worked tirelessly for a peace settlement in the Middle East, only to be halted by the outbreak of the fourth Arab-Israeli War. After her retirement, she continued to be an important political figure. Upon her death it was revealed that she had suffered from leukemia for 12 years. The entire five years she served as Prime Minister, she was sick. No one ever knew or even suspected.
Take a look at that quote again. “Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life.” It certainly seems she mastered that. She was happy to live as a healthy, active, contributing member of society and so that’s the self she created.
Fanning the tiny, sparks within us requires awareness. We have to know when to throw the wood on and fan the embers. Paying attention to the possibilities both within us and around us is essential to keeping the flame burning.
What does it look like for you to fan tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement? What kind of self are you creating?