This
Article is in honour of the 1944 World War II D-Day.
Today
is the 70th Anniversary.
Today
this story came back to me.
You
probably know the story.
Once
upon a time in land far away, there lived a very aged king. The King was nearer
his grave than he was his crown. So aged was this king everyone knew it was
just a matter of weeks, no, days before Papa crossed over to the afterlife.
That
was quite alright.
What,
it would have been quite okay by Everyone.
After
all, the king should be over a Century.
But,
where is the heir?
No,
the Question is...
Why
did this king not have any son alive to take his place?
The
patriotic sons of the good king died in wars – sacrificing their lives to
protect those of the people.
The
village always had to go to war. The King was a warrior. So were his father,
grandfather, and great grandfather. All of his brothers were warriors too. So
were all of his sons.
And
virtually all of them had died.
Only
a brother remained. Old chap like that – A typical Veteran.
Shit
Happens.
So,
the wise King prepared his house, called his chiefs and told them of who the
crown would fit after he is gone to the hereafter. The criteria are quite
straightforward: Only two people match the search – The King’s only surviving
brother and a nephew from one of the dead siblings.
So,
when the king slept with his fathers, the chief called the two candidates for
the test to determine who would succeed the now gone king.
This
was the test:
There
were two trees, two gargantuan trees, standing in the middle of the village. To
each candidate a machete was provided. For each, a hut was built. Food supplies
were made available.
And
to each of them, a tree was assigned.
To
be felled.
Within
7 days.
Whoever
brings down his tree first becomes King.
Trust
the young dude.
Immediately
the bell was rung, he sprinted out, grabbed the machete and started hacking at
the tree – to the applause of the whole village.
And
the old chap?
Immediately
the bell was rung, he sat down, grabbed a stone and started filing his machete
– to the sheer bewilderment of the whole village.
When
the sun started setting he came out and started delivering blow to the tree.
This
went on between the two for the first three days.
But
on the fourth day, it started to dawn on everyone who was going to win.
The
young nephew had trusted on his youth and had used brute force from the start.
The
old brother relied on his aged experience and had used brain from day one.
On
the fifth day, down came the old man’s tree.
And up came the crown upon that grey
head.
I love being young – Well, who
doesn’t?
If it is possible, we would all like
to have access to that fabled fountain of youth.
Remember that film?
Anaconda
II?
Remember that plant those scientists
were after – Perenial Immortalis. The
plant that promises Longer Life.
They died for it. Heck, they killed
for it.
Yet, they gave it up.
For Perenial Immortalis was just as much a fable as Utopia is.
Pity!
However, there is something else I
want us to hold dear.
And that is Experience.
True, Experience and Age are
directly proportional to each other.
However, You do not have to be aged
to be a sage.
Hmmm… I love that!
“You
Do Not Have To Be Aged To Be A Sage.”
You do not have to wait till you are
90 before you start gaining experience.
Neither should you think you are too
young to start that project.
Start now while you can.
The World would bless you for it.
[This Article shall be leveraged and
transformed into an audio, a mini e-book, or both – just for you to remember
this day, this lesson, and this life. Stay on this blog for update.
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Hi TOPE FABUSOLA
ReplyDeleteToday I came to know why every writer nowadays insist to write a post with story telling to convey the message more effectively.
How clearly you narrated the whole story without any difficult diction and how you remained focused to the gist of the message is really awesome.
Thanks a lot for sharing this wonderful story-based post that has oceans of meaning for those who understand and also for those who can't understand to make them understand in an easy way.
I appreciate your Comment, Mi Muba. Glad there was something there to convey.
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