Cala Lilly

My father was a flower farmer. He would prepare their seedbed, tend the seeds, weeds, water and put in manure until the flower came of age. Having matured, he would harvest the flowers, cut them into size and then put them in water and preservatives the whole night. The next morning, he would put them in "sleeves and pack them in cartons ready for export. It was a very deliberate process that took conscious effort.

In the vicinity, there grew a variety of flowers known as Cala Lilly. Checking them up today, I realize they are actually a popular variety on the Internet. However, back then we considered Cala Lilly to be wild flowers. Reason being, they grew all by themselves. You would find them in the bush where clearly no man took deliberate action in planting them. That notwithstanding, they are good flowers and there are people who made money out of them. To be a successful farmer, one could not merely rely only on this breed of flowers. They grew in the wild and their supply could not be determined.

In the same way, though we have some "Cala Lillies" in life, they cannot be relied upon to provide lasting solutions. For example, we cannot count on windfall gains (such as winning lotteries) to provide for our financial needs. Life requires that we take deliberate action to invest in a process whose result may take long. Yet, though it takes long, it can be relied upon. It is sustainable.

The Trojan War

You may have watched the movie Troy. It is based on the war waged between Greeks and the Trojans. The war went on for a long time. The end of the war came with one final plan. The Greeks built a big wooden horse, an animal that was sacred to the Trojans. The horse was hollow on the inside.

On the outside, the horse was inscribed, “the Greeks dedicate this to Athena for their return home”. Enough Greek soldiers got into the hollow belly of the wooden horse. The rest of the Greek army burned the camp and sailed away.

When the Trojans discovered the Greeks were gone, believing the war was over; they joyfully dragged the horse into the city while they debated what to do with it. Some thought they ought to hurl it down from the rocks, others thought they should burn it, while others said they ought to dedicate it to their god Athena.

The Trojans decided to keep the horse and turned to a night of mad revelry and celebration. When it was midnight and the clear moon was rising the soldiers from inside the horse emerged and killed the guards. They entered the city and killed the sleeping population.

The Life of the Butterfly

Once upon a time, there lived a very wise man. He was the wisest man in the whole village. 

One day, a young boy came to the wise man holding a butterfly in his hand. The boy asked the man, "Wise man, I'm holding a butterfly in my hand; is it dead or is it alive?"

The boy was crafty in his intention. He intended to prove that the old man was not as wise as it was perceived. The old man could read into the boy's craftiness and said,

"My son, if I should say that the butterfly is dead, you will open the palm of your hand and let it fly, to prove me wrong. Should I say that it is alive, you will crush it in your hand, to prove me wrong."

"Therefore my son," the old man continued, "THE LIFE OF THE BUTTERFLY IS IN YOUR HANDS."

As the old man stated, so is it in our lives. Think of your life, your career or even relationship. 

Often times we feel as if its destiny is way beyond us. Yet, in truth, we have a significant role in determining where it ends up. We have been empowered to determine the shape of our destiny. We can either allow it to soar and be beautiful in flight, or we can crush it in our hands.

So, be it in your career, relationships or life as a whole, remember this: "THE LIFE OF THE BUTTERFLY IS IN YOUR HANDS."