“the only people for me are the mad ones,
the ones who are mad to live,
mad to talk,
mad to be saved,
desirous of everything at the same time,
the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing,
but burn, burn, burn,
like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars”
- jack kerouac
It's important, as creatives, to surround yourself with those who can step up to the plate, and require the most of you, in the best of ways. Who don't let you quit. And who celebrate, acknowledge, and protect every milestone of your wild and crazy ideas as they come into being.
They are few - and very far between, for me... But I couldn't make it without them. The Unusuals. The Firestarters. The Brave ones. The Mad ones. The ones who are overflowing with enough passion to send me straight to work, doing passionate things. Meaningful things. The things that are recorded forever and ever into my memory. The things that bind me to the now, and that drive me to the soon. The ones that help me to know, and define - without a single doubt - what I believe, who I am, and why. They've left a web of support - to catch me when I look away, in that fleeting moment of doubt. They are part of my journey, and part of my story ... They step in, on purpose, stare me right in the face with that beaming light. They melt away my silly excuses. They burn right through the fog. They make me uncomfortably vulnerable. They require me to be still, to pay attention to what's right in front of me - and accept the beautiful mastery of a plan woven right into my every step.
To the mad ones - you are a vital part of my life. Thank you - for never settling for who I am, but for seeing who I would be, one day. Thank you for always driving me - to be more. Thank you for not being gentle. Thank you for pushing and shoving, when necessary. Thank you for setting the bar high - and expecting me to jump, leap, burn bridges if I have to. Most of all - thank you for seeing that same light in me, and swelling with pride as it burns, burns, burns.
So here's the message that has been ignited in me - undeniably - for the last few months...
You've been appointed. You've been given a singular gift. A great and mighty God created you - to fulfill a purpose that you, and you alone, can accomplish.
RUN. That's right - RUN.
Don't dally. Don't shrink. Don't hide. Don't destroy. Don't fight. Don't follow. Don't copy. Don't take. Don't fear. Don't blend. Don't try to assume the role of something you are not. Don't settle. Don't make excuses. Don't pick from the leftovers. Don't take the easy route. Don't just merely exist.
Look beyond the everyday. Look beyond what is.
Be a firestarter. Be MAD.
And begin something new. Something worthwhile. Something big.
I am.
" ... let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."
Hebrews 12:1
