I was going to town on an elliptical machine yesterday (and by that I mean I was working so hard that I ripped the elliptical right off its base and drove that thing straight into town...sort of) when something coincidental popped into my head.

I was (sort of) joking with friend and fellow philosopher Jakob Sokol last week about the fact that SOMETIMES (other times not at all but definitely sometimes) rap lyrics include great wisdom. Jacob mentioned that, long before he found himself mesmerized by the learnings of the more respected philosophers of the world, he enjoyed the hidden wisdom in the lyrics of Tupac and the like.

I think what he was trying to say was that rap was like a gateway drug into philosophy for him. (Sort of.)

I suggested that he blog about similarities between the two.

Fast forward to yesterday, when I was driving the elliptical machine into town. I had just finished listening to a Philosopher's Note about Joseph Campbell (check out Philosophers' Notes immediately) and I had switched over to my favorite workout song of all time: Let It Rock by Kevin Rudolf, featuring (I'm sort of embarrassed to say it)--Lil Wayne.

Now here's the coincidence. Not 30 seconds before (also on the elliptical but before taking it into town), I had underlined this quote in the Philosopher's Note (each audio file comes with a PDF):

a man whose hair on fire seeks a pond.jpg

…which reminded me of one of my favorite quotes of all time:

Are you seeing a theme here? Rumi wants us to set our lives on fire. Kevin Rudolf brings the fire, which apparently makes people come alive.

The way I see it, a heart on fire does not acquiesce to the status quo. It CANNOT acquiesce. It resolutely, feverishly, and unwaveringly seeks positive change.

Are you bringing the fire, my fellow Lovers of Light? Are you following your bliss with the determination of a man whose hair is on fire seeks a pond?

Are the people in your life feeding your flames?

If not, when are you going to do something about it?

HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE?

Something is burning inside of you right now, my friends. Something you KNOW you need to do. I'm sure of it. It's (sort of) the reason you are reading this right now.

Maybe you have a passion you want to pursue. Maybe you need to tell someone you love them. Maybe you need to apologize. Maybe you have a great start-up idea for a non-profit organization. Maybe you have suffered in some way and you know how you can prevent others from suffering the same way.

Maybe (fellow fiery soul), all of the above apply to you.

In any case, listening to that inner voice is going to be scary. You are going to need a fiery conviction to keep you on track when you face inevitable set-backs. (The fiery conviction can be readily available, since we've just established that you already have the flame. You just need to fan it.)

If you think you don't know what is burning within you, please open your mind to the possibility that you actually DO know your inner fire; you might just be petrified to acknowledge it.

For the sake of the world, for our families, and for ourselves, let's commit--once and for all--to honoring these flames within ourselves tonight.

Before they burn out.

Tonight, my friends.

Tonight, we set the world on fire, starting with our own hearts.

we are young so let's set the world on fire fun.jpg

[audio http://www.bethanyo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/We-are-young.mp3]

(Push play and turn up the volume!)

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Tell me about the fire in you!

Or tell me about your favorite quote or lyrics! I love to hear from you.

Feel free to share this with anyone who you think might enjoy it.

Thanks for reading!

Set Your Heart--and the World--on Fire. (A Post Featuring Lil Wayne and Rumi.)

The way I see it, a heart on fire does not acquiesce to the status quo. It CANNOT acquiesce. It resolutely, feverishly, and unwaveringly seeks positive change.

(Push play and turn up the volume!)