The Power of One Series: Part 1

For school, we have been required to read the book, "The Power of One" by Bryce Courtenay. I was one of the few who actually read it. It turned out to be an amazing book and I really enjoyed it. Throughout the book, a few quotes would pop out here and there. This has inspired me to create a part of this blog called, "The Power of One Series". I might do it with other books that I find to have many good points. What I will do in this is take a quote from the book and write a post about this. Don't let the fact that the quote is from a book scare you away. The quotes are meaningful and the posts won't bore you. I will be posting other than strictly this series.Without further adieu, this is the first of fourteen quotes in The Power of One Series.

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{I learned that in each of us there burns a flame of independence that must never be
 allowed to go out. That as long as it exists within us, we cannot be destroyed."   }

I believe the difference between people is this flame. Some burn brightly, while others are just a thin trail of smoke like a grey watercolor on  a piece of paper. This flame is us. The water and wind who dares to put us out is everyone else. Everyone will try to put us down, whether they mean to or not. It may be a flippant comment, but you take it as an insult. You are the wind and rain also. Whether you mean to or not, you say things that other people bring themselves down with. This is the flame. The flame of independence is knowing when to take the criticism and when you brush it off. You have to be independent enough to know what the truth is. You can't depend of everyone always telling you what their truth is. You have to be smart enough to think your own thought. If you only listen to what others think and not what you know, then you will be destroyed. You will be torn from the inside out will grief for what you cannot be. People will tell you things that you will just have to ignore. I will unintentionally tell people things that will hurt them. You will tell someone something that pains them to know. Everyone will try to destroy everyone. But it is this flame of independence that will save you from your mind and these people. It is this flame that will give you the right to think your own thoughts. We must keep our flames glowing strong, keeping our heads up. Do not lets yours go out, turning into a wisp of what was.

love, savannah