A true story about a young lad named Billy…
Let me tell you a story about a young lad named Billy. Billy was raised in a loving household, with everything going for him, living the good life. He grew up in a prosperous land, free from famine, war, and sickness. Billy himself went to school, and did great in his studies! He had friends, support, and nothing but encouragement to apply his natural curiosity to a whole range of subjects. Billy liked taking on challenges, and his parents urged him to explore himself fully by trying out new things and not being afraid of failure. Billy developed big ideas about the world, ideas about how it could be improved!
Eventually Billy graduates from a prestigious university and for the first time wonders what’s in store for him down the road.
“I wonder what contribution I’ll make to the world?” Billy ponders.
But then, some middle aged people explain to Billy that he now has to get serious about his future. They lead him down to the wharf where many large ships can be found docked.
“Ok Billy, the time for you to be a free and creative thinker is now over” one gray haired man named Tom, dead in the eyes, explains. “Yes” one rather sunken woman named Barbara agrees. “It’s time to be responsible”.
They explain to Billy that these days, most of the promising young graduates who take their futures seriously, board a large ship. In doing so, they set themselves up for a successful future. These ships are manned by lots of crewman, and each ship fulfills a different purpose. Some ships collect ocean materials, some move water from point A to point B, and still others go in big circles to create whirlpools.
“The economy runs on these ships” Barbara says.
“It’s called a career” Tom says. “You’ve got to spend between 40 and 60 hours per week aboard one of these ships” . “You’ll start off scrubbing the deck, handling paper work, and hauling rope. If you do that, and you work long and hard at these tasks, you will be able to continue living the good life back on land”.
“The best part” adds Barbara, showing off one of her rare half smiles that almost just almost made her seem alive again “is that if you succeed as a deckhand for a few years on the ship, you might eventually move up the ranks, taking on considerably more interesting tasks such as navigation, communications with other ships, and the right to berate youthful deckhands for not being on time with their profit and loss statements.”
“Of course” adds Tom, “the ship you board will continue fulfilling its original purpose, no matter what you think it ought to do. A ship that goes in circles creating whirlpools will continue to do so whether you are the deckhand or the captain”.
Billy looks at Barbara and Tom, incredulous.
Tom, seeing Billy’s reaction, and wanting to reassure him, speaks up. “Billy, I know this is really knew to you, so I’m here for any questions you might have.”
So Billy takes a long moment to gather his thoughts, and then points out the following: “It just seems like none of these ships do anything that interesting” he thinks aloud. “Moreover, it seems almost comical that in order to continue living the life I currently lead, I suddenly have to dedicate a significant portion of my time and mental capacities to one of these ships, when I had not even heard of them existing until about 15 minutes ago!”
Another moment goes by, then he finally adds “The way I see it, I’ve only got a finite amount of time to contribute something meaningful to the world. And while I don’t consider myself to be anything special, just like anybody else I have my own talents, interests, and passions. What I really need is to get on a ship where I can decide what it does! A ship where I can see the horizon, where I’m not trapped below deck. In fact, somebody had to create these big ships in the first place, and decide what their purpose is. Who were those people, and how can I do the same?”
Tom and Barbara exchange furtive glances. “Ah, well” Barbara begins. “The individuals who built these big ships, they were wonderful people, visionaries. They had everything going for them. They were very special. Most people can’t be like that. It is much more of a sure thing to just board one of these pre-existing ships than to try to build your own ship”.
“Yes, Barbara is right” Tom says, speaking slowly. “A smaller ship that you build might not stand up as well in a storm. It might not guarantee the quality of life that you’ve been living up until this point.”
Barbara chimes in “Billy, if you try to build a ship that fulfills a unique purpose, it just might not go the way you expect! Everyone else boards these ships, so therefore you should too! That’s just the right thing to do. Once aboard, you will learn to like the work you do. You will be free from any sort of uncertainty. You honestly don’t even have to take the time to think through much of anything anymore, since being a deckhand will probably cause the disintegration of whatever currently allows free thoughts to form in your mind!”
Tom was nodding, triumphant. It all makes sense, he thinks. How naive was this young man, to question the way things were. These ships are here to last, he knew. He lifts one fat and unused arm to the point where his face meets his neck, grazing the underside of his face where most men have a chin.
“…So you see” Barbara was concluding, “All you have to do is go through an extensive interview process with the ship’s captain, explaining to them why you’ve always wanted to be a deckhand for a ship that moves water from point A to point B, and hopefully you’ll get the job.” She looks at him anxiously, her eyes wide and nervous “And maybe apply to a few big ships, just in case you don’t get your favorite”.
Now, Billy looks at them each in the eyes. He feels the warm breeze on his face, notices the setting sun in the background, reflecting a dazzling light off the surface of the ocean. He feels the slight bend in the wooden dock beneath his feet. In that moment, he feels alive.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me” he says in an even tone, staring at Tom the chinless. “You people are fucking crazy”. He walks off the dock, back to shore, smiling with the delight of one who revels in the absurdity of the world.
And so ends the story of Billy, perhaps the only sane one left in all of humanity. God bless his soul, and the souls of those deckhands scrubbing away in the hopes of someday being promoted to navigation. But remember, navigation isn’t really navigation when you are going in circles.