Category : Blogs

Sub Category : World

I had just watched a documentary on the NatGeo channel about the life of Prince Harry. Born with a silver spoon into a Royal family was not his choice yet it was what fate had determined his destiny would be. From a young child, his late mother The Princess of Wales had done her best to give him and his older brother, William, as 'normal' a life as she possibly could. Instead of leaving Harry and William in the care of governesses and nannies their mother insisted on being a hands on mom to them. She took them out to do normal things like going to theme parks and meeting and engaging with 'normal' people. She taught them to be people person, she taught them to see the real world outside the castles and palaces they live in. She wanted them to be strong men with substance and not just some aloof and entitled public figures. She taught them real values from a very young age. 

But the fact remains that he is a Royal Prince, a public figure he was made into again, not by his choice. As a Royal Prince, his life is bound by so many rules and conditions, dos and don'ts, and whether he likes it or not, he is expected to play a role that was set out for him. He was barely 12 when he lost his mother. Walking behind her casket following her funeral procession alongside his brother, father and uncle, and was expected to keep his emotions in check during that very difficult time must not have been easy for a kid that young. Yet, at that young age he knew all eyes were on him. He was told that Windsor men don't cry and they don't show their emotions and so, he had no choice but to do what he was told to do. It was his 'duty' to not show emotions, to not cry at his own mother's funeral as he was expected to brave it up and soldier on no matter how much he was crumbling and breaking inside. I don't know how he did it but he pulled it off. 

Losing a mother at such a young age is devastating for any child. Harry struggled. He still had so much to learn, so much to discover and the source of which he could obtain the knowledge had been taken away from him so suddenly and unexpectedly. Though he had turned to his father and brother for support but still, he was forced to wear a mask. He was forced to hide his emotions. He was forced to deal and numb his pain. He was lost. There were too many rules, too many conditions. He began to keep things bottled up inside, smile when he really wants to cry, be seen when he really wants to disappear. There were certain expectations he had to live up to, he had a duty to his family. In performing that duty and living up to the expectations, somewhere along the way, he had lost himself. It took him 20 years of painful struggle to finally find himself again. And when he did, he now understands the purpose of his existence. He knows now that he was born for greatness. He embraces the fact that he was born to do greater good and to make a difference in the world. 

Watching his life's journey, I can't help but think about people in general. How many of us are aware of our purpose in life? Why do we exist? Is it merely to make up the numbers or is there a reason and purpose for our existence? Everything happens for a reason. That includes our mere existence. Why are we here? Are we just here to exist, go through the motions, study, work, get married, have kids, pay bills and that's it? I don't think so. I believe we each have a purpose for being here, for being alive, for existing. I believe we each have a plan that was planned out for us. What is my plan? What is yours? 

When I look at social media and all the antics of the so-called celebrities and public figures who more or less put themselves in the social media limelight, I can't help but wonder how lost they all are. They are willing to do just about anything to gain popularity, to gain followers. From posting a dozen selfies each day to making a spectacle out of everything they do, it amazes me how much time they have on their hands to be pulling these stunts on a daily. When one posts on social media every half and hour or every hour daily, I would have to wonder, do these people have a life? 

One local 'celebrity' celebrated her 40th birthday a couple of years ago. Weeks leading up to her birthday, she flooded her social media pages (yup, plural) with some 'big gesture' she was planning on doing for her birthday. Two weeks leading up to her birthday, she spilled the beans and said that on her birthday she was going to do something great. She was planning on walking the streets of Kuala Lumpur with her 'entourage' to feed the homeless. She then asked for generous souls of the public to join her in her great cause by asking for sponsorship and donation. The days that followed, she kept up a running update of the 'progress' of her 'great cause'. On the day of her birthday, she flooded her social media profiles with pictures of herself carrying small packs of food and bottled water with caption, "Giving back. It pays to show kindness." Like, seriously? If she really wanted to 'give back', she would have done it all using her own money, right? She would have posted pictures of the people she fed instead of posting pictures of herself carrying packed food and bottled drinks,  right? And if her heart was really genuine, she could have done that at any given day and not broadcast it all over social media, right? It is a different story if the press or media caught her doing a good deed and they publish it, but when she published it herself to show her 'big heart and generosity', I'm not buying it at all. To me, she was just looking for cheap publicity, another way to gain popularity, and of course, her way of letting people know she was celebrating her 40th birthday. Pfft. 

With the way the world is today, it is safe to say that a lot of people have lost touch with themselves. In this age of modern technology and social media, anybody can be an instant 'celebrity' as long as they can play the part. Superficial trumps authenticity; this is what the world has turned out to be. More and more people are living a lie. It starts with one lie then they pile on more lies to cover up that one lie in hopes that it will fly? Pretty soon, they themselves won't be able to tell the difference between what's real and what's fake about themselves. 

In conclusion, going back to Prince Harry's story, I feel a lot can be learned from there. He never asked to be a Prince or to be a public figure or to be in the limelight. All he wanted was to have a normal life where he can do normal things and not have any expectations put upon him. He just wanted to be Harry and do the things he love which is helping people out of the goodness of his heart. That's it. He found that in a remote place somewhere in Africa, away from the paparazzis, the public eye, the social conditions. He found himself when he pulled away from all that he was born into and when he peeled off the layers of social conditioning that was put upon him and bring forth the self as it existed during childhood; unmasked. And once he found that unmasked self, he is finally free.