I burn in this fire, but I am transient and silent

I burn in this fire, but I am transient and silent… This famous verse, sometimes attributed to Baba Taher and sometimes to Sheikh Bahaei, serves as a poignant reminder of our fleeting existence. What will remain of us after a hundred years? What impact will our lives have on the world after a short time?

Life itself is a fire, where we burn, but time passes swiftly, and we become silent. If we wish to remain, we must choose to be like the sea, not the stream. We must have depth and lasting impact. The passage of time transforms everything; mountains become sand, and the mightiest fall. Everything that has a beginning also has an end, except for love, which is infinite.

The masters of literature and Sufism, like Rumi, have spoken of this transformation. “When you find love, you will discover the path to immortality.” Love is the essence that makes one eternal. Without it, we are but transient ashes. Let us choose to burn with love, so that we may not be extinguished but rather become eternal. This is the essence of true life.

If we want to avoid being transient and silent, we must become lasting. What makes a being lasting? It is to be like a book, a meaningful verse, a lasting work that affects the world. Like a poem that resonates through centuries, or a profound thought that influences generations.