DID YOU KNOW: THE SWEET SIDE OF REJECTION

 

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Malice is a snake that bites its own tail ….

I wish I had known this before in my younger years, but like any wise tutor, life teaches you its priceless lessons at an irreversible price: experience. A frenemy whose encounter I learned to regret, and most of all, cherish. A companion that held my hands through the rough and sweet and to whom I would gladly dedicate my whole existence.

When facing malice, I have always believed that good is never the ultimate solution, no matter how pure you can be.  Evil is legitimate and even necessary. Like a duel in a mortal combat, fate hands you three choices: flee, kill, or die.

But with time, as the game of survival went on and my "lives" number was consumed, life had no choice but to offer me a bonus option, the choice to accept, adapt, and triumph, just like Perseus, the Greek hero, born from the ashes of bitter rejection.

Our story begins with the almighty Zeus who, like many tales before, fell in love with a mortal princess named Danae. A love quest not so easy to openly go with, since Danae’s father, King Acrisius of Argos received a prophecy foretelling his fall at the hands of his grandson.

Under the circumstances of the challenging quest, the infatuated Zeus, to whom failure is never an option, turned himself into a shower of golden rain, descended upon Danae, and impregnated her. Out of this unusual union, the princess gave birth to a son named Perseus “the destroyer”.

A hero's name doomed to die, as his grandfather terrified of the prophecy, decided to put Danae and the infant in a chest to be cast away into the sea to perish. A plan well executed, but destiny had a saying of its own.

The water carried the box and washed it ashore on the island of Seriphos, to be found by a fisherman who saved the mother and her son, took them in, and offered them a new life. And as Seneca the Younger once said :

“Every new beginning comes from another beginning’s end”

Perseus grew up to be a man, and like any son of Zeus, the demigod’s life was not purely divine, as his path was strewn with many challenges nearly putting his head at the stake. From the slaying of the Gorgon Medusa to petrifying sea monsters, and fulfilling the Oracle’s prophecy by accidentally killing his grandfather during a sporting event, Perseus did it all.

And, from a rejected, unwanted infant, Perseus seized every opportunity, made his territory fertile, and grew to become a hero. The destroyer of beasts and the builder of hope and great achievements.

Perseus, didn’t surrender to malice by castigating himself under the banner of fear and self-destruction, nor fight evil with revenge, he accepted his fate, used his power and gifts from his lineage, adapted himself to every challenge, and gained the honors of those who doubted and neglected him. Proving once again that destiny is yours, and only you can alter it.

The story of Perseus, holds a significant place in my heart, as it gives me hope of triumph and casts a golden light on “the power of rejection”, if well used.

When the haters reject you, be proud, as you are victorious, and use the space given to build a wonderful kingdom, the one they will never have the privilege to access.

And as they cast you, conceal yourself from their injustice, and don’t chasten yourself. Instead, use that power and energy to vanquish them, and after winning, reserve a toast of honor to their malice, celebrate in their honor, scream out a liberating “cheers”, and let the snake not only bite its tail but feed on it.

Meryem !