End of the Road

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is no such thing as bad weather only different kinds of weather”- John Ruskin

As we enjoyed walking through the dense forest with natural light and sunbeams penetrating through the forest, the old man uttered, “In a forest of hundred thousand trees, no two leaves are alike. And no two journeys along the same path are alike”, an in-depth quote by Paulo Coelho. Our stories reflected the diversity of the biodiversity we were witnessing. The rainforest presented canopy layers with an average of 25-30 meters in height and formed a mass of continuous tree coverage, small trees and shrubs, supported hundreds of species of vines and epiphytes such as orchids, bromeliads and mosses. The canopy provided the structure for birds and arboreal animals such as sloths and monkeys.

Agusto had one of the greatest entrepreneurial minds we had ever witnessed. He had used all his savings to run a car business, which faced a lot of challenges, ultimately leaving him bankrupt and hopelessly closing down the business. Zuwena had a remarkable demeanor and had joined our trip. She described her life, to have hit the rock bottom. Her engagement had been called off and her hopes of walking down the aisle were shuttered. “My long-term boyfriend called and said that I wasn't all that he wanted in life”, she said. Afonso, well known for his comic character, was going through turmoil after he was dismissed from his office. “They claimed that I wasn’t good enough for the law firm”. Aissa was a ray of sunshine but more like an iceberg. “I have been dealing with mental health issues for a while…” she explained. “I have been hoping to become a runway model all my life. I created a portfolio, presented it to different agencies. However, they all have turned me down, because, I struggle with acne, my size is not per their standard, neither is my height. I probably shouldn’t be thinking of venturing into the industry. I’m not all that anyway'', she exclaimed. We were all incomplete and at the end of the road.

I had been reflecting on these shared experiences before the old man held my shoulder. He was holding a beautiful hot lip flower. “I’m holding a unique flower. You all however remind me of a rose, how the petals gel in to make beautiful art. You're as beautiful as a rose, novel experiences in life as a reflection of the petals all creating a beautiful masterpiece. Just like flower blossoms, so do you bloom when it's spring. The plants have what the scientists call ‘internal circadian clock’.” We all marveled at his metaphorical and biological lingo. We, however, were keen not to miss a point. “The internal circadian clock is an endogenous timekeeping mechanism that allows organisms to expect and prepare for daily and seasonal changes in their surrounding environment. It is an inner working of plants that allows them to change behavior in response to different environments thus increasing their survival capabilities”. He continued. “It’s assumed that in springtime light and dark are crucial ingredients to produce flowery plants. Just as the organisms have internal circadian clocks, so do we have an inner voice and self that we should work on preparing us to bloom. This is not dependent on the external factors as it resonates from within”.

My logical mind had settled on its habit of thought. I remembered the story of one of the most celebrated authors. Stephen King faced his ultimate end on so many occasions. He enjoyed writing, but failure and misfortune surrounded a huge part of his story. From a single glass of liquor to addiction, as though that was not enough, cocaine was part of the equation. He, however, collected himself amidst it all, accepting help from his wife and concentrating on his hobby and developing one of the world’s greatest books.

“Walt Disney'', his fruity voice saw me through my thought trail. “There is no direct path to success, all dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them. Walt Disney is predominantly known and celebrated for the famous cartoon creatures such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. His story is composed of unsuccessful attempts to join the armed forces, dropping out of school, being bankrupt, being fired and being termed as ‘not creative/imaginative’ enough. He, however, believed in himself, his dream and was committed to achieving the unthinkable.

“That is profound, but how does this exactly happen”, asked Agusto. The butterflies had been flying freely coloring the whole place. The old man led us to a nearby stream. He then asked us to look into the water and share what we could see. Seemed an annoying exercise because the answer was obvious. “My reflection”, Zuwena Shrilled. “Just like a mirror’, he said as he pulled a dusty mirror from his bag. He handed it to Afonso, asking him to look through it. He then wiped off the dust and asked him to look through it again. His reflection was clearer. “We all often look at ourselves from the world’s view. Whatever people say about us, is what we think we are. If they disqualify our ideas, devalue and out-write us... that is what we take in. However, the reality of the matter is, everybody knows who we are, which doesn’t reflect who we are exactly. I will talk about identity one of these fine days. You need to clear the dust of the misconception, myths, ideas and stereotypes that have been built around you. Keenly observe your true self and follow the dream that you have. If they have told you, this is the end of the road. Realize it is the end of the road with them. Stop, Spot and Swap as Jay Shetty would say, redesign your approach, model your plan and perhaps, get into the sea and change the direction of your sails”.

He looked up and spotted hummingbirds flying around. “These are the smallest birds in the entire universe. However, they know how to use their strength, they can fly backwards, sideways and upside down if need be. They know how to protect their territories. In whatever state you may be, flip the script if need be, change the sails if you can, but you don’t have to lose it because it’s the end of the road. Remember, every finish line is the beginning of a new race.

It was a great learning day and I couldn’t help but think, just like the internal circadian clock allows organisms to prepare for change, so should we let our inner selves evaluate and innately steer us to survive in a dynamic environment.