No different than a 2 stroke.
A two-stroke engine and humanity—both depend on a delicate, vital balance, each one living by the same paradox: the very fuel that brings us to life can also be the thing that stops us in our tracks. In a two-stroke engine, fuel flows into the carburetor, blending with fresh air to create the spark that lights up the combustion chamber. This spark ignites a perfect explosion, each burst of power driving the piston and spinning the crankshaft, turning potential into motion. The fuel is its heartbeat, the life force that propels it forward, each pulse an invitation to keep dancing, to keep moving. The exhaust port clears away the spent gases, making space for more—more energy, more rhythm. But, just as life can be full of momentum, it can also be stifled. When the airflow is restricted, when the fuel runs rich and thick, the engine becomes clogged with excess. The spark plug is smothered, the rhythm falters, and the engine is choked by the very fuel meant to sustain it.
Humanity moves in much the same way. Our fuel is the drive to explore, to create, to feel the pulse of possibility. With a steady flow of freedom and joy, our spirits move in harmony, our ambitions firing with purpose, our dreams guiding each step. When we’re free to dance, to wonder, to create, we find the rhythm that keeps us alive. Our experiences—our triumphs, our failures—are like the exhaust port in a two-stroke, clearing the way for new ideas, new opportunities, new growth. Every moment of discovery is an open space, an invitation to move forward without the burden of what’s behind us. But when freedom is suffocated, when we can’t move as we were meant to, when the fuel becomes too thick and our drive begins to smother, that spark of life starts to dim. We’re left with a heavy, idle weight—dreams that once danced now turn stagnant and still.
And it’s us that chokes ourselves. We stop feeding the fire, stop nurturing the wonder that keeps our hearts light and our eyes bright. We let the weight of routine, of doubt, of what we think we should be, hold us down until we forget how to run free. Slowly at first, we lose our wonder—until it’s gone in an instant. It’s like a dog digging its way out of the backyard. At first, it’s just a little hole, but when it’s big enough, it breaks through, and it runs. Our drive, our joy, our curiosity, slip away bit by bit—until we look up and realize it’s all gone.
Like a two-stroke engine, humanity needs the perfect balance of fuel and oxygen to keep our spirits alive, to keep that dance of possibility flowing. We’re made to hum with energy, to vibrate with excitement, to twirl on the edge of discovery. We are fueled by the perfect explosion of wonder, by the magic of what could be, by the thrill of running free. But we can be just as easily smothered by our own fuel—by too many restrictions, too little space to breathe, or by dreams left to die on the shelf. The trick is to never let ourselves choke on what once set us free. We must keep the fire burning, the throttle wide open, and let ourselves flow into the rhythm of life, letting our souls dance through the world with all the potential we hold. Let the engine of our hearts roar, let it hum with possibility, and never forget the magic that keeps us alive.