The Next Day
Character is in your reaction.
Guy sat on the other side of the street watching the neighborhood
event. At the local grocery store, Tommy was running a local service
project. Guy was very pleased to see the way Tommy had taken some
initiative on fixing problems he saw around the neighborhood. Suddenly,
Guy noticed three of his old friends coming towards him.
Evelyn, Tommy, and John were all
crossing the street together.
“We were just
talking about you Guy!” Tommy said as they got closer.
“I feel honored.
I hope none of it was true,” Guy said as he grinned and stood to
welcome his friends.
“We were all
discussing all the different times we have “accidentally” ran into you
just at the right time,” Evelyn said with a smirk.
“We all agree it
seems strange how you always had the right thing to say,” John spoke
up.
“We’ve all been
able to turn things around. We have this service project going. Evelyn
says she’s been doing great lately, and John graduates in May and he
already got accepted into college,” Tommy told Guy excitedly.
Guy smiled and
he
looked at the ground.
“It’s true, Guy,
it seems we have overcome our own problems, mainly because of you,”
Evelyn said softly to him.
“It seems then,
perhaps it is time for you all to hear one more final story.” Guy said
as he cleared his throat.
Guy began,
“You remember the story of
Rama that I have told you all? I have discussed portions of his life
with each of you individually, when it seemed to me that perhaps his
life might show you something about your own. As you know, Rama finally
destroyed Ravana and recovered Sita to his kingdom. But what you may
have never heard was the end of Rama’s story. Rama had been King for a
very long time, and during his time as King peace and wealth had ruled
the land. The people were happy and safe, and everyone hoped that Rama
would rule the land forever. But as time went on, Rama felt victim to
his own fears. Similar to the rains that had threatened his resolve,
Rama began to be swayed by the rumors of his country. You see, the
people in the kingdom thought that Rama was an excellent King. But they
were afraid that Sita had been with Ravana. After all, she had lived in
his house for a long time. How could a woman have resisted so long? How
could a woman love her husband so much that she resisted Ravana? They
did
not know the character of Sita. And so finally one night, after hearing
from his brother Lakshmana that the people were saying this, Rama
ordered his brother to take his wife out on a trip to see an old
friend, and to abandon her there. Lakshmana tried to convince him not
to do it. But Rama was convinced a King must show his people he was
without fault. So Rama committed a sin against his faithful wife, and
abandoned her and the two unborn children in her stomach. It was not
for some time that this fatal mistake showed its true purpose.”
The three friends looked confused.
They even look hurt. This was a day of celebration, success, and
accomplishment.
“Why would you
tell us that story, Guy?” John asked.
“You see,
friends, you all said you thought you had overcome your different
obstacles. It seemed fitting to tell you the story of what Rama did
when had overcome his obstacles.”
“He messed up…”
Tommy said as he scratched his head.
“Yes, Tommy, he
did. And so will all of you. But what Rama did not know is that this
mistake would be what led to the epic poem Valmiki would write about
Rama’s life, the Ramayana. But more importantly, you need to know that
even Rama could make another mistake after he had overcome so many
obstacles. And all of you have to be ready for that instance. The true
test will be how you react when that time comes. Will you remember who
you are? What you've done, and where you are will only ever be as good
as you make it. Resilence in despair, and the drive to do right when
you see it... that is the true character of the Ramayana.”
Author’s note: This is the story of
how Rama cast out Sita, and their twin sons, because of the rumors in
his city. I choose this story because I thought it was the most fitting
way to end this storybook. I know that many of my stories reflect my
personal interpretation of the Ramayana, and the things I learned from
it. So I choose this story as a way to wrap up the characters in the
last three stories. Also, you will notice that in Buck's version of the
Mahabharata, this story is referenced among the Pandavan brothers in
relation to a similar lesson.
I chose to keep the details of the story more fluid, again. I
recognize that some people may believe that I am not giving due credit
to the literary value of the actual story. They would argue that I am
focusing too much on my own interpretation of the story. I would not
disagree with this opinion. I would assert however, that the point of
my storybook was to focus on these lessons and demonstrate how they are
valuable to the individual today, in the Western world, years after the
epic poem was written.
Image Information: This image is of a normal street corner, in line
with our urban setting. It is a legendary bar according to this urban website.
Bibliography: This story was taken from the Indian epic, The Ramayana.
The Street Corner Guru
Introduction
Be Somebody
Act!
Forged by Fire