“Out, out brief candle,
life’s but a walking shadow,
a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more;
it is a tale told by an idiot,
full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”
from Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Our Life’s Brief Candle

The candle that lights our life, or the candle that burns it out, or is it our life that is the candle? Shakespeare surely meant one of these things, or maybe all of them. The candle that lights the way of life from its own life as it burns parts of it until it is utterly spent and everything goes in the dark; this really sounds like life, does it not?

Why would it be an idiot’s tale then? Why would it be a poor player like Mr. Shakespeare put it? If it is this image of giving that never ends until it ends, why should it be so stupid and awkward? I would have disagreed with Mr. Shakespeare if I hadn’t seen what he meant. When we change our life into this bragging arrogant Narcissus to end on the bank of a lake so lonely, so wasted, Or to turn it into mighty brave Achilles to be spent in war with the notion of peace having been vanished in the air of endless and useless conflicts, only then our life would be this poor player and that idiot’s tale we make seeking that fake glory.

All that matters is how we choose to spend this light and burn this candle for some very small candles, which did not last long, are still lighting everywhere after having been gone for a long time. It matters not if the candle lasts for long or not, if it burns so brightly and strongly or if it has but a simple small flame for if you choose to take your flame no matter how small it is and light some dark place, some mysterious place, some place where no one has ventured before, it will be brighter than all their chandeliers because they have put them all in a place well lit where everybody can see his way, or so do they think, with a little more or less light, it has never mattered. The true light is the one that lights the dark not the one that overbrightens places that are already lit, where everybody wants to be under the spotlight.

My friends, your candle and mine are worth living for and using every ray of light coming from which. Let us not search for the lands of flair to add more flair to; first let us seek the dark places of our own and try to light those first, for if we can do that our flame will be like the eternal sun that never grows weak and never dies.

Finally, I would like to pay my tributes to Mr. Shakespeare by writing my version of what I think about our life’s candle:

“Light, light brief candle,
Life’s but a dazzling mystery that is not supposed to be solved, but lived
A great player that marks his path on the stage
and when he’s heard no more, the memory stays forever
It is a tale worthy of being told,
full of love and peace,
with which it gives meaning to this world
and maybe spreads to the next.”