07 February, 2010

The two-faced coin

One upon a time, there was a young man. He was the son of a farmer, but wanted to be a goldsmith instead. But everyone insisted that to be a goldsmith would be folly, since you can't really eat gold, so it would be of no value. To get guidance, he went to see a local wise man for advice.

The wise man asked: "What is it that you want?"
- "I need guidance about my future. I want to be a goldsmith, but everybody keeps saying it's a silly thing to do. But I like it, and I can't decide who is right on this."

The wise man tossed a coin to him and spake: "Look at this coin, it will tell you all you need to know."

The young man looked at the coin. Carved on it was an image of a man, cowering in front of a giant. Above the picture was the word timor, which was the Latin word for fear.
On the other side of the coin was a picture of a ship in full sails. Above the picture it said spes, the Latin word for hope.

Fear and hope, two sides of the same. Two balancing forces. Brother and sister - so unlike each other, yet originating from the same source.

Finally, he understood that if he wanted one, he was also destined to face the other.

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