The Bottle's Message and the Ruler

The Ruler has been a long-time school employee. He gathered many sayings, statements, and interesting thoughts throughout that time. Some of these he told his students aloud, while others he kept to himself. They were collected over a long period of time. Some of them were amazing, just like life. Some of the lessons had not been completed yet. Some of the lessons had already been completed. Some were responding to questions from other great Rulers.

The Ruler would frequently go to the beach, where the ocean waves pounded the sand, to watch the waves and ponder the problems he had not yet resolved. He would revel in the problem that was the worst of all, and he would, of course, occasionally conjure up new ones. Going to bed and taking the time to think had become a ritual for him.

The ruler did not go to the seashore one Spring day. When the ruler failed to show up for class, the students began a search for him. They discovered him in a little room, lying in pain on his bed. They took him to the doctor right away. She honestly thought it was too late when they arrived at the doctor's office. That whatever had knocked the old ruler down would not be able to save him.

Spring came and went, but the master remained unwell. The students would come in every day, and the master would offer them a quote or a problem from his large collection of quotes and problems. The students went to the hospital one day, only to find the ruler's bed empty. The Student sought the doctor, fearful of the worst.

Is the ruler still alive? The students had inquired about the situation. With a smile, the doctor answered, "No, he was released this morning." The children knew just where to seek for the ruler, and they were all happy. They walked to the beach, where the ruler stood watching the waves, thinking about the problem that had been solved, thinking about the problems that had not yet been solved, and imagining new ones.

As they entered the classroom and took their seats, they bowed to the ruler. The lesson was delivered, and the problems were disclosed. One of the students stood up and said, Ruler? as the ruler was ready to release them. Is it okay if I ask a question?

You may, of course, said the ruler with a smile.

"If you die, who will teach us the quotes and problems?" the student asked the ruler.

The ruler smiled, pondered for a bit, and then replied, "I don't have a solution for your question," adding, "Give me time and I'll see what I can do."

The students continue to search the beach for bottles to this day.

The ruler went to the beach the next morning, as he usually did, and pondered the Student's question. Perhaps the universe sensed his pain, or perhaps it was just great luck. The ruler, on the other hand, sat there watching the bottle float in the sea. The ruler walked from the grassy knoll where he always sat to the bottle, and the bottle finally reached him. He discovered a piece of paper in the container, which was sealed with wax.

The seawater had left no mark on the paper. He delicately took off the wax and placed it in his pocket, away from the beat. He delicately removed the letter from the bottle, which simply stated, "If you discover this note, thank you." For a brief period, the ruler considered the possibility that someone would leave a message in the ocean. The ruler then recognized the universe had provided him with the solution to his Student's question.

As the class entered the room the next day, the ruler summoned the Student who had asked the question the day before; the Student rose in the ruler and said, "I have considered your wonderful questions." Student smiled, knowing that his question had been recognized. I have an answer for you; the ruler stated I should write each of the quotes I'm speaking, as well as the problems I've solved and those I haven't yet solved, on a piece of paper and roll it up. After that, I'll put the paper in a bottle.

The ruler used wax to seal the bottle. Every day, I'll take the bottle with the note inside and throw it into the ocean, where it will float away. We'll never know for sure. However, I will have saved and shared all of my quotes, problems, and thoughts with the universe.

"Ruler, throwing the bottle and message into the ocean is an interesting solution to my question," the student who asked the question stated with a smile. The Student then sat down again.

The ruler wrote down his first and favorite quote the next morning. It was a response to a well-known line from a popular poem. Why do caged birds sing? is a line from the poem. For many mornings, the ruler had analyzed this and had eventually realized that the caged bird sings because the cage surrounds its body but never touches its soul. He then threw the bottle as far as he could into the ocean and watched as the riptide pulled it away from shore.

The ruler, who lived for five more years, kept his promise by throwing the sealed bottle into the ocean. Then, on the day prophetically that the ruler would die, he wrote a note now I am done by. And through that into the ocean. To this day his former students walk to the beach and always watch for bottles of wisdom.