It was a beautiful day in the forest. At least, that was how Brer Anansi saw it.
The sun was shining, the trees were lush and green, the springs were running clear, and the birds were singing their little hearts out.
Ah! Paradise!
Anansi walked along the forest path with his head held high, smiling from ear to ear. Life was good. Very good.
Everywhere he looked, he saw evidence of how wonderfully things were going. He had everything under control. His people loved him. The forest was in good hands.
And if anybody thought otherwise, well, that was their problem.
But not everyone saw what he was seeing. Along that very same path a little creature sat outside her burrow, staring at a bag she had packed so carefully. She had been locked away for what seemed like forever. She didn’t even understand why. But finally, she was going home!
She had imagined it a hundred times. A long shower. Clean pyjamas. Her own bed. Oh, how she had missed her own bed! She was almost out the door when somebody came with the news.
She wasn’t going anywhere. Not today. Not tomorrow. Who knew when? She sat down beside her bag and cried.
Further along the path, another animal was still trying to understand how an ordinary Sunday outing had turned into a nightmare. He had been heading to the shopping centre, minding his own business, when suddenly there was shouting and gunfire.
He ducked his head, closed his eyes and prayed. When the commotion was over, he thought the worst was behind him. Then came the murder charge. Murder?
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
And in a damp corner of the forest, a group of animals huddled together, wondering what had happened to all the wonderful things they had been promised.
Things had been hard before Anansi came along. Prices were rising. Work was difficult. Some of their bosses were making life miserable.
Then Anansi arrived with promises of better days. Oh, how they had welcomed him! Finally! Somebody who understood what they were going through.
They believed him. Why shouldn’t they? They never imagined instead of getting better, things would get worse.
They at least used to be able to pay their bills, hard as it was, now they can’t. They used to have jobs. They did not like them, the pay was crap, their bosses were rough, but they had jobs. Now they don’t.
The trouble was Anansi was behaving smugly as though every promise was kept. Who could they complain to?
Not far away, another creature sat alone, exhausted. For a whole year she had worked her heart out. Early mornings. Late nights. Weekends. Taking night and making it day.
She had been promised that one day, the enterprise she was helping to build would be hers. And she believed it. Every sacrifice seemed worthwhile because she knew what she was working towards.
Until one day she discovered that the future she had been building was only in her mind. From Anansi’s perspective, that conversation never happened.
Just like that. A whole year. Gone…with little to show for it and no clarity on the next steps.
What was she supposed to do now?
Meanwhile, Brer Anansi continued his happy stroll through the forest. Seeing only sparkling springs and flourishing trees. Happy creatures everywhere.
He heard the birds singing and smiled. What a wonderful sound!
He didn’t notice the little creature crying beside her packed bag.
He didn’t hear the bewilderment of the animal whose Sunday outing had changed his life.
He didn’t see the frightened creatures huddled together, or the exhausted one wondering what had become of her future.
And those sounds drifting through the trees? To Anansi, they were the sweetest birdsong.
He had no idea they were cries of despair.
He stopped, took a deep breath of the lovely forest air and looked around with satisfaction.
Everything was going just as he had imagined. What a wonderful forest he had created!
And off he went, smiling to himself.
Reflect & Apply
Have you ever been so certain about what you intended to happen that you failed to recognise what was actually happening?
Perhaps you believed a promise, invested in a relationship, worked towards a promotion, or pursued a vision which seemed so clear you never thought to question it.
Or perhaps you were the one making the promises, so confident that your intentions and decisions were producing the results you wanted, that you never noticed they all fell flat.
What happens when what we want to see becomes more convincing than what is actually there?
Our intentions may be sincere. Our hopes may be reasonable. Our confidence may be genuine. But none of these changes reality.
And the longer we mistake what we want for what is, the greater the distance may become between the future we imagine and the one our choices are creating.
Are you seeing what is—or only what you want to see?
In Be the Person You Dream of Becoming, I ask:
“What you see determines how you lead — but what if your lens is distorted?”
If you’re ready to look beyond what you believe, question the assumptions shaping your choices, face the consequences of your actions, and see clearly what may be standing between you and the future you want to create, Be the Person You Dream of Becoming is available on Amazon, at RIK Bookstores, or directly through me.
Keep becoming.
Monica Rogers-Fletcher
Listen to THROUGH THE EYES OF ANANSI