A young man stood,
with all of the arrogance of youth,
looking down at his father
impatiently.
He viewed with disdain
the life that his father,
by dint of hard work,
had carved out for himself
and his family.
This was all such a waste of time
when there was a whole world out there,
waiting for him to discover
and enjoy!

The young man stood, confidently,
demanding to be given
all that was rightfully his,
refusing to listen to reason
as his father tried to encourage him
not to rush headlong, headstrong
and alone
into this venture.

But the young man’s mind was made up
and he later set off,
with his fortune in a bag
and a spring in his step,
looking forward to meeting
the destiny that he desired.

His father was inconsolable;
his beloved son was lost to him.

Some years later,
a bedraggled figure approached
the family home
uncertainly,
and the father gave a roar of delight
at the return of his long-lost son.
He rushed to meet his son,
greeting him with a bear hug.
The young man stood before him,
looking down at the ground,
unable to meet his father’s eyes.

This young man had lost
everything.
After initially living the high life
in an exotic land,
partying and celebrating,
he had lost all of his fortune
and with it,
all of his fair weather friends.
He had been left penniless,
alone,
and so lonely!

But just when he thought
that he had lost everything,
the young man found wisdom.
He realised
that his difficulties
were entirely of his own making
and that he had nobody to blame
but himself.

The young man found inspiration
when he realised
that he could go home to his father
and take up a place there,
not as a son,
but as one of the farm labourers.

The young man found humility
and decided to return to his father
and to admit
that he had been oh, so wrong.

The young man found courage
that he needed
to return home and face public humiliation
because of his abject failure.

Finally,
as the humble and penitent young man stood before his father,
looking down at the ground,
he found forgiveness
and he realised
that he hadn’t lost everything after all;
he had found his father’s love.

Nothing else mattered.

© Claire Murray