We All Have One
You know the one I’m talking about. It sits on the shelf, perfectly positioned, collecting a fine layer of dust that we both know you’re pretending not to see. It was a gift, or a splurge, or the one you bought to celebrate something that felt important at the time.
You haven’t lit it.
You’re saving it. For a special occasion. For a day that feels worthy. For the “right moment” that keeps not arriving because — well, today never seems to be it.
Here’s the Thing I Wish Someone Had Told Me
Unburned candles don’t improve with age. The fragrance oils evaporate slowly through the wax — even with a lid. That cold throw you loved at the store? It’s fading, molecule by molecule, every week it sits unlit on your shelf.
The candle you’re saving is quietly losing the very quality you’re saving it for. I learned that one the hard way.
So — What If Tonight Was the Night?
Not because tonight is special. But because tonight is the night you decided to stop waiting for permission to enjoy the things you already own.
I’ve caught myself doing the “special occasion” thing with all kinds of stuff — not just candles. And what I’ve come to believe is that it’s sometimes just deprivation dressed up as discipline. The candle doesn’t know what day it is. It only knows flame or no flame.
Holding on to beautiful things out of fear that there won’t be more — I get it. But I’ve found there’s always more beauty to find.
Light it tonight. There’ll be other candles. There won’t be other tonights.
