Are You Trying to Rule the World?

Give up now

A close-up of my grandson's t-shirt which prompted this blog.

Question:  What do I have in common with Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte?    

Answer:  I have tried to rule the world.

Like these men, I know from experience that ruling the world is not an easy task. In fact, it’s an impossible one. No sooner do I organise the people to my left than the people on my right start mucking up. And I may as well forget those behind me. They’re a lost cause because they refuse to even listen to me let alone follow the great plans I’ve come up with for their future benefit.

No matter how hard I try, the world refuses to be ruled by me (or anyone else).

The truth is that no one likes to be ruled by words, weapons, or even a heavenly rod of iron.

We like to be left alone to sort out things for ourselves.

Way back in 1965, Tony Bennett recorded the song “If I Ruled the World”. Lovely words. Beautiful sentiments. If he ruled the world, every day would be the first day of spring, everyone would sing for joy in the morning and everyone would smile all day.

But we need summer, autumn and winter as well as spring, and no matter how hard we hope, not every day brings joy on the breakfast tray.

We’re human so we get sick, sacked, sidelined, and eventually loved ones cease to sit beside us. We’re incapable of songs and smiles when these moments occur.

Two points became clear when I decided to stop trying to rule the world.

• We can’t idealise human life.

• No one knows what’s best for someone else.

When I look back over my life, there were times when others thought they knew what was best for me. They wanted to fix me, make me do what they would do if they were me. But we are each ourselves and, really, we have to do what we do, otherwise we wouldn’t do it.

Maybe a person needs to be sad for a while. Feel lonely. Make a mistake. Go off the rails. Then get back on again.

If we all ruled ourselves instead of pointing an accusative finger at everyone else, then there would be more smiles, more joy, more songs on more people’s lips.

When I decided to stop trying to rule the world and instead just ruled myself, the world became a much nicer place to live, at least in my vicinity.

It’s too late for Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte to learn this, but it’s not too late for us.

With love, Marlane