To Build a Castle: A Parable

There once was a queen who ruled many years before deciding to pass the crown to her grown children and live out her days in solitude. She set out to build a castle on the grounds of one of her ancestors' properties. She had her servants thoroughly search the land for the perfect spot to build the castle, but no ruins or previous buildings could be located. Exhausted from her search, she finally gave up and just picked a spot for her castle, planning to angle it so she could see both a beautiful sunrise and sunset each day. Before she could start building the new castle, a servant ran to her to tell her that the ancient ruins had been discovered. While inspecting the debris and broken supports for the old structure, she discovered that her ancestors had built a castle very similar to her idea, even featuring a perfect view of both a beautiful sunrise and sunset. Realizing how similar she was to those who had come before, she smiled and now understood that people are much more alike than we are different. 

We always build on the shoulders of our ancestors, and when we try to understand their legacy, we invariably find that all generations have the same goals, dreams, and aspirations. Although we hold them in great reverence, they were humans just like us, though separated by years and constant cycles of revolution. They were not perfect, but neither are we. We should not strive for perfection, but only to build a new foundation on all that was learned before us, while enjoying every sunrise and sunset along the journey. 

Hope is Built Brick by Brick

Do you ever wonder what the people who lived hundreds of years ago thought about in their daily lives?

It is easier to cling to pessimism; we somehow think we are noble and brave martyrs

If we only see life in a glass-half-empty way.

Prepare for the best yet always expect the worst.

Did they worry about their next meal or if a storm would take them away in a swirling mysterious cloud?

It is more noble and brave to be an optimist; to always see the good in others and

Hope that they will learn to show it to the world before it’s too late.

There is vulnerability in seeing the world through hope-colored glasses.

Did they worry about life expectancy, or did they constantly live in the moment?

Many believe that you cannot be a fatalist and an optimist at the same time,

Yet fatalism is always the fallback plan and the way out for the fragile optimist.

Everything is going to be fine, but if it isn’t, then we will all meet the same deadly end.

Did they ever imagine a world of such lavish surplus and technology filling our every waking thought?

Hope is a choice that we make. Not the easiest choice, but the choice that we must make

If we hope to survive in a world that thrives on pain, turmoil, and soundbites.

Hope is the brave choice for those who truly choose to live instead of dying little by little each day.

Did they understand hope better than we do or have humans always hedged their bets on heaven?

Hope is not waiting for eternal reward, but it is what we do when we open our eyes in the morning

To face a new day. On and on we go, never knowing if hope will pay dividends or disappointments.

We are not completely helpless; we can control the rudder that leads us home, but the wind is always beyond our control.

Did they understand that hope is the secret ingredient that keeps humanity moving forward and looking up?

Men and women from the beginning of time until the edge of the next millennium

All understand that life on this planet is unique, but the nature of the game is chance, pain, and hopelessness.

Let hope be the wind in our sails that carries us onward to that bright future over the next horizon.