The mental ruler
Johnny worked the banana plantation every day, his hands calloused from the rough leaves and his back sore from bending low to pick the heavy bundles he carried. The scent of earth and ripe bananas filled his senses, but it did little to comfort him. He had worked on this land for years, just like his father had before him. Yet, every time he pulled a bundle from the tree or wiped sweat from his brow, a nagging voice echoed in his mind.
“You’re never going to amount to anything, Johnny,” his mother’s voice would ring, a familiar echo from the past. "Look at you, lazy and slow, always dreaming but never doing nothing."
His father wasn’t any better. "Hard work is all that matters, boy. If you don’t work with your hands, you’ll be nothing but a failure, just like your grandfather."
Their words cut deep but Johnny believed them. He believed that his worth was tied to how much he worked and how hard he worked. But despite the long hours in the hot sun, he never felt any sense of accomplishment. The weight of their words and their disappointment, felt like chains around his heart. He would work until his body was aching, and then lie awake at night, guilt twisting his insides. Was he doing enough? Was he good enough? Every day, the same thoughts, the same feeling that no matter what he did, it would never be enough. He fulfilled what they prophesied — he was nothing.
One evening, as Johnny walked home from the plantation, exhausted and mentally drained, he looked up at the sky. The sun was setting, casting a warm, golden hue over the island. He paused, for the first time in what felt like years, to take in the beauty of it all — the soft rustling of the trees, the distant sound of the river, the warm breeze on his face. And for a brief moment, the weight of his emotions seemed to lift.
In the quiet, he heard a quiet voice within echoing the words of his grandmother, a woman who had always believed in him, even when the rest of the family hadn’t. "Johnny, you’re more than your work. You are worthy simply because you exist. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise."
Johnny closed his eyes, the sound of her voice comforting and calming, like a soft hand on his shoulder. What if she was right? What if he didn’t have to carry the burden of guilt and the fear of failure anymore?
That night, Johnny decided to let go of the weight he had carried for so long — the emotional burdens that had shaped his days, the guilt of not living up to others' expectations. He realized that working hard wasn’t the only measure of his worth. The simple act of doing his best, of showing up, was enough. The sun would rise again tomorrow, and with it, he would have the chance to try again, to choose a different path, one where he wasn’t bound by the mistakes and harsh words of the past.
The next morning, Johnny woke early, before the sun fully rose, and as he stood at the edge of the plantation, he took a deep breath. The air was cool, and the world was still. He felt lighter than he had in years. Maybe it was the promise of a new day, or maybe it was the realization that the chains of his past didn’t have to hold him forever.
Johnny wasn’t sure what the future held, but for the first time in a long time, he felt hope. Every day, he reminded himself: Today is a new opportunity. And with that, he stepped forward, free from the weight of yesterday’s burdens, ready to discover a path that was his own.
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