Posted 18 May 2020
A FAIRY TALE OF LOCKDOWN
Once upon a time there was a king.
He had spent many a long year being a king. Everyone thought he was a good king but his enthusiasm all things king-ness was beginning to fade. His days were long and exhausting; being a monarch was not getting any easier. But it was all he knew. He was so scared of not being a king that perhaps it was easier just to carry-on being a king.
Then one day he wandered into one of the long-forgotten chambers in his great castle to find an old mirror hidden behind a dusty sheet. He carefully pulled away the sheet and stared into the glass. He was horrified at what he saw. Who was this grey and tired old man staring back at him? His eyes looked dull and empty. His whole face looked haggard and worn. Being a king was depressingly taking its toll.
So distraught was the king, he summoned the wise-man of the kingdom to the chamber. “What has become of me?” the king begged, pointing to the mirror. “Where is the young man I once was? Is this all there is left?”
The wise man smiled back at him. “To answer your questions you need to find the mirror of truth”.
“The mirror of truth?” enquired the king.
“The mirror that reflects from deep within your soul. The mirror that reveals the true you.”
“Bring me this mirror” the kind demanded.
“Ah”, said the wise man, “the mirror of truth is something you must find for yourself”.
“How?” the king asked.
“For two months you must embark on a solitary journey. Be amongst the things that really matter to you and to no one else. Learn how to be. Learn how to breathe again; learn how to think again. Connect with others in a way that being a king would just never allow.”
“But how will I know where to go?” asked the king.
“Accept where the journey takes you, let your instincts guide you. In your heart you will know. And only then will you find the mirror of truth.”
Reluctantly the king decided to follow the wise man’s advice. He left behind all the trappings that made him king, and set-out alone on his long journey to find this mirror of truth.
Day after day he wandered further and further from the things that made him a king. He reflected. He learnt. For this first time in a long time he actually started seeing again. Hearing again. He learnt to love himself again. He learnt what was important, really important. He got a glimpse of what it would be like not to be a king. And he liked what he saw.
But after the two months of his travels the king had not yet found the mirror of truth. Had he missed it, he pondered? Had his instincts been wrong? Had he taken the wrong path? Had the wise man forgotten to tell him something? Unsure he decided to return to his castle and summon the wise man once more.
On reaching home, the wise man was bought before the king. “It is two months since we met and I have travelled as you told me. I have allowed my instincts to tell me where to go. I have lived as I have never lived before. But still I have not found the mirror of truth. You need to tell me where I can find it”, the king pleaded.
“It is waiting for you here” the wise man smiled. And to the king’s surprise, the wise man took him back to the chamber with the old mirror.
“But this is the same mirror” the king protested.
“Just look inside and tell me what you see”.
The king did not recognise himself. The man before him was transformed. His face now had colour and life. His eyes sparkled. Wisdom shone from the wrinkles. His was lean and tall where before he had been haggard and worn. The two months had transformed him.
“I don’t understand” said the king, “you said I needed to find the mirror of truth?”
“Your journey has brought you to your truth and now the mirror reflects that truth back at you”.
The king smiled. “I have learnt so much”. He paused. “But what if I don’t want to be king anymore?”
“Then don’t. Live your new truth. Allow yourself to be what you have become.”
WHAT WILL YOU SEE IN THE MIRROR OF TRUTH AT THE END OF YOUR LOCKDOWN?