There once lived a farmer that owned several acres of land, and every day he would go out and sit in the middle of his land with nothing but his thoughts and his faithful retriever dog. The farmer did this ritual every day without fail, no matter what the day or weather, he would sit and think for hours at a time. Over time, people began to move west and build cities closer and closer to the farmers land. A few more years passed and the time came that the old farmer was forced to sell his land, little by little until he had sold the last of his land save for one small one-hundred square foot plot where he continued to sit and ponder.
Then one day the old farmer died, the city bought the rest of his land in its place built a movie theater. No one ever knew of the hallowed ground on which they now tread. Why did this man simply fade away, his memory washed away in the sands of time? What force drove this man of his land to sit and ponder? What thoughts went through his wise mind? How could someone so invest in their land and dedicated to their ways just sit and allow time to forget him without as much as a second glance? Can we learn from this tale? Can we make the choice to not sit idly by as life goes on around us? How many of us can relate to the old farmers story in countless ways? Do we devote our lives to something just to watch it be raped and tarnished, exploited and infringed?
How many of us daily sit and think and dream just to keep it bottled inside, a mystery to the rest of the world around us. We hoard what is inside, ashamed, worried of what others may think or say. We lock away the beauty inside us like a witch locks a princess in a secluded tower, too timid and afraid to let it out. It is as if we are afraid of the ideas we have, scared as if they are beasts, waiting to devour us. What would this world look like if true talent and beauty were allowed to shine, if people had an open heart to new ideas and new ways of life, if people did not live in fear of the change that could be brought about by these new ideas?
Fear not what others think or say for the only power they possess is that which you bestow them, leave them powerless against you. Welcome their hate; go to war against their intolerance. Do not sit complacent and more; show the world your potential; make a statement and leave a mark on your generation that people may see for years after you’re gone. This is your life, only you can make it better, only you can influence the way your world is. Do not die being the forgotten farmer.