I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no “brief candle” for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations. ~  George Bernard Shaw

Let me not settle for being a candle in the dark.
Once I felt the need to hide, wanted obscurity…
Don’t look at me!! God, make me disappear
or at least blend into the twilight!
Now, though, through the transformation
inherent in the Steps and Traditions
I’m claiming my life, surrendered to God,
but with confidence in the two of us
to face the world. No brief candle sufficient,
I’m ready to be a bright torch, a splendid torch, instead.
And I’m ready to burn brightly to guide those joining me
and help them accept the honor of carrying it
to light the path for those who follow them.