So here's a story for you.
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess who lived in a small kingdom. The kingdom was high atop a mountain. When the princess was born to the king and queen, the whole kingdom rejoiced. Her face was so beautiful that the stars in the heavens sighed with amazement. People came from afar to pay tributes to the king and queen, and to catch a glimpse of the princess. They all left amazed.
As the princess grew up, suitors came for her hand. Always, the king and queen turned them all away, saying, "She is still not of age. Come again when she is older."
When the princess had grown up, the king and queen said, "She is now old enough. Let us find her a proper suitor."
The king and queen then issued a challenge and a promise: They would build a tall tower, armed with defences. Every month, for three weeks, brave princes could come and try to conquer the tower. If they breached its defences, they would find the princess at the very top. And then they could have her hand in marriage.
But for one week in each month, no man was allowed to come near the tower, because it would be under maintenance mode. Anyone who came near would see a signboard with the big letters, "404: Under Maintenance".
That was because the princess would be resting at home with her parents, watching Netflix and doing recreational things like gymnastics and horse riding.
The challenge having been issued, the king and queen, and their daughter too, began the process. Every month, for three weeks, the princess was sent to the top of the tower. In the tower there was a gym, a kitchen, and a handful of maids and teachers, who would teach her to be the best queen in the world. Surprisingly, there was no Internet in the castle, so the princess was given a library full of the literary treasures of the world.
Prince after prince came. Many tried to overcome its defences, but none conquered the tower. They always left, defeated.
And the princess would while away three weeks looking out from her window, looking at suitor after suitor turn away. She would recount all the brave attempts to her parents, the king and queen, during her one week in the royal palace. The king would nod his head. The queen would look at her kindly and give her a hug and a kiss.
Then one day a young prince from a small neighbouring kingdom came by. His men were ready to do their best to conquer the princess's tower. But the prince decided to try something different. He knew that many had come before him, only to be turned away. The prince ordered his men to camp around the tower, while he would carry out his plans.
The first day, the prince sang songs and recited poems to the princess. He was at the foot of the tower and she was at the top, but his voice rang out like the clear call of a trumpet.
The second day, the prince painted a picture of the princess and showed it to her. He was at the foot of the tower and she could barely make out the picture, but she liked it anyway.
The third day, the prince told the princess stories of his kingdom, and the wonders contained within his kingdom's borders. He promised to bring her to see every one of them, while he still lived. Then he vowed to win her hand in marriage.
The fourth day, the prince called together his finest men. They had studied the tower and they believed that there were some flaws which they could use to their advantage. Steadily, they made their advance and defence after defence was taken down.
When the prince finally reached the top of the tower, he greeted the princess with a bouquet of flowers and a song.
The princess smiled tears of happiness as she knew she had found her one true love. Or rather, she had been found by her one true love.
Her parents, in their wisdom, had designed the strongest defences so that the foolish princes who took on the tower head on would fail in their mission. Instead, the tower could be understood only by the brave and the intelligent princes who took the time to understand the princess and her defences.
The prince and the princess decided to make the tower their second home, after the prince's own kingdom. In the safety of its confines, they raised a family.
The two kingdoms rejoiced at the prospect of the uniting of the two states. A new state was born.
And they all lived happily ever after.
What it means.
That little story was the story of you. You are the result of the union of your mother and your father.
How many of us think of our parents as kings and queens? How many of us realise that they, too, were once prince and princess? For it is true, they were raised in the love and care of their father and mother, and they were the prince and princess in their parents' eyes.
Every month, a woman is fertile for about three weeks, before having her period. During her period, she cannot conceive a child.
Yet after that, she is ready. And then her man has to do the needful.
When a man releases his load, it is a race. Millions of spermatozoa, wriggling within the liquid furnace, surge forward towards the goal. One will reach it. The rest will stay outside.
You were the result of that one spermatozoa who, despite the competition of his peers, managed to reach the goal before everyone else. That spermatozoa was the fastest one. It was the strongest one. It was you.
When the sperm finally joined its waiting counterpart, the egg, they recognised each other and embraced tightly in happiness. They built a protective wall around themselves and their union became you.
You were the best one, even before you took a single step on Earth.
You were the best one, even before you took a single breath of air.
You were the best.
So why let anyone tell you otherwise? Always remember that with your existence, is a confirmation of the one race you won: The race of being born.
And when you enrolled in school, you managed to get admitted. You were whole and perfect. You could speak and hear and understand what people were saying to you. You were perfect.
There are many who are less fortunate. But they too, were the best one, in their own time. And we were all the best ones, in our own time, but that doesn't mean that we should ever stop trying to improve ourselves.
Because life is in a state of change, thus we must keep on changing.
Someone told me recently that we live in a VUCA world. "VUCA" is a military term, that stands for volatile, uncertain, complexity and ambiguity. And if you think of it that way, you might easily scare yourself into not doing anything at all, and overthinking, or worse, not thinking at all. And ultimately you cannot act at all.
But if you remember that you were the best one, and you can do anything you want, you will overcome any label that people attach to the world around you.
But if you remember that you were the best one, and you can do anything you want, you will overcome any label that people attach to the world around you.
I was so intrigued by VUCA that I went on to watch some YouTube videos on it. I saw that one speaker, Gerd Leonhard, said that we have to flip the meaning around. VUCA could also stand for velocity, unorthodoxy, collaboration, and awesomeness. "If you can do that, you can beat VUCA", he said. Another guy, Kevin Roberts, said that VUCA can stand for vibrant, unreal, crazy, and astounding. He looks at life and says, why can't we tackle it in a creative way?
A friend told me that she had studied in Australia, and, at the end of her course, she had a job offer. But her relatives (who were permanent residents in Australia) told her that life in Australia was hard and she should not stay on. Instead, she should go back. And so she did, despite her deep longing for life in OZ-land. She told me that she feared her granny would disinherit her. (Her granny isn't alive today.)
I asked her a simple question. Why did your relatives decide to become permanent residents and yet ask you to go home? And after some thinking, we realized that they wanted less of their relatives in Australia because those relatives would be a burden. They would need to help their relatives settle down. And increasing the number of immigrants might cause problems for existing migrants.
They forgot that she was the best one. She still is. I encouraged her to follow her heart's desires, even though she is now slightly over 40. It is never too late to follow your desires.
She had fears.
"I will need money to survive," she said. "We all do," I replied.
"I don't know if I can find a job," she said. "You'll find one," I replied.
"Maybe I shouldn't go," she said. "If you cut out everything your relatives said, what did everybody else say?" I asked.
She thought a while and said, "I should go."
But she is still thinking about it.
In the meantime, never forget that you were the best. You can do whatever you decide to do.
Thanks for Reading
Here are some other pieces from me
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