running man

A King needed to deliver a letter to the queen of another country, so he called for his trusty messenger, Travis. Travis was a fast runner and an honest man, he could run for miles and not lose his breathe. Rumor has it that the King provides a secret source of energy where by whoever taps into it would receive unlimited strength!

In the King's court, Travis received instructions, directions and the letter for a Queen in a distant land. Before sending him off, the king blessed Travis with strength and a safe journey.

The King gave Travis three hours to prepare for the journey. He packed 2 stacks of books for entertainment, one huge pile of food for self-satisfactory, eight sets of clothes, three pairs of shoes, two swords for self-defense, a guitar for music in the night, firewood for setting up camp fire, a tent and a sleep mat to rest. The weight of all those could crush a normal man but Travis is strong and tough.

Travis picked up his huge sack and sets out on the journey. After two days of running, the land of the queen is still nowhere in sight! He looked back, only to realize he had covered only a short distance as the King's kingdom is still visible! Puzzled, he did some thinking, trying to pin-point why he was making such slow progress even though he had not stopped running for even a second! He looked down at the foot prints he made and noticed they sank deep into the ground. He was too heavy!

Travis threw away the books he brought for entertainment, instantly, his pace quickened! He felt lighter than before. After a short distance, he thought of how important the letter was; maybe the Queen needs it urgently. So he threw down the sets of clothes, sandals and guitar. His pace again increased tremendously!

A day has passed and the Queen's kingdom was still no where in sight! He thought of the King, how good the King has treated and loved him. With that thought as his motivation, he threw down his remaining burdens and gave all his strength to running.

Within moments, Travis was in the Queen’s court. The Queen was overjoyed upon receiving the letter so quickly and wants to award Travis, but he rejected the offer by saying, "My reward is in the kingdom. Besides, they may weigh me down." And so, the Queen sent Travis off.

In less than a day, Travis arrived back at the King's court. The King was amazed at the speed Travis ran! On that day, Travis was made a noble and was able to eat with the King at the King's table.

"You may have unlimited strength and energy to work but burdens and shackles slows you down. The outcome may not be as productive as when you gave it your all. How long you could run is important, but how fast you run is as important."

images

A projector can only project something on its projecting tray. Before anything was placed on the projecting tray, it projects a white light. It was so bright and pure, everyone could see it.

However, the projector wants to project something else. It wants people to see something different on it. So an image of a ‘rockstar’ was placed on the projecting tray. Now the white light is taken over by an image of a ‘rockstar’. Everyone could see the projected image and figured that the image projected was the real self of the projector.

However, the projector wants to project something else. It wants people to see something different on it. So an image of a ‘playboy’ was placed on the projecting tray, over the image of the ‘rockstar’. Now the white light is taken over by an image of a ‘rockstar’ and ‘playboy’. Everyone could see the projected image and figured that the image projected was the real self of the projector but could not make out if it was a ‘rockstar’ or a ‘playboy’.

However, the projector wants to project yet something else. It wants people to see something different on it. So an image of a ‘gangster’ was placed on the projecting tray, over the image of a ‘rockstar’ and ‘playboy’. Now the white light taken over by an image of a ‘rockstar’, ‘playboy’ and ‘gangster’. Everyone could see the projected image and figured that the image projected was the real self of the projector but could not make out if it was a ‘rockstar’ or a ‘playboy’ or a ‘gangster’.

As the projector continued piling images upon images on its projecting tray, the images was so much that the white light could not shine through anymore. No one could see the projections nor do they know what the projector was any longer.

"Do not be like that projector. Instead of trying to be someone else you are not and allow that light of yours to be partially or fully blocked out, be yourself and shine like the light house! Let everyone around you see that bright and pure light."