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.