Modern Refugees

A story is told of a young fish that heard its parents mention how beautiful and big the ocean was. The young fish then set out to search for the ocean. It wanted to find that big ocean with lots of water and lots of other fish too. It looked forward to finding a place where it would be loved and feel at home. It yearned for that beautiful ocean. In its search, it asked many a fish on the way, but most of them being young, could not help this particular fish locate the ocean. So the young fish determined to find the ocean went on asking all the fish it came across with no success. However, on its search, it met a very old fish and as usual asked the same question it had been asking all the other fish: “ Could you please direct me on the right path to the ocean”, the old fish was perturbed and replied, “why are you searching for the ocean little one?”, “because the ocean is beautiful”, replied the young fish. “Yes little one, the ocean is beautiful indeed”, answered the old fish, “But you are in that beautiful ocean right now, all oceans are the same, which ocean are u looking for?” “I am not in the ocean” replied the little fish, “All I see is just water around me.”
Like the little Fish, many of us are looking forward to that time when we shall have peace, when we shall be in great loving relationship, when we shall have lots of money, when we shall have a great family. Many of us are looking forward to when we shall complete school, when we shall buy land or build a house; in short we are looking forward to that beautiful ocean that the little fish was looking for so as to start living a great life.
Truth is that like the little fish, we are living in that exact ocean that we are looking for. For life is about the little small things that we do daily. The ones that go unnoticed are the ones that actually define who we are.
But because we are ever looking for something to make us happy, something to make us better, we keep on searching and searching for that which we think will make us happy. We have become refugees in our own lives.
Maybe soon, when we finally get what we are searching for, we shall find that peace and love and that we all long for.
But in the event that we fail, shall we go on searching until we die?? I believe that if we do search with one heart, like the little fish, we shall find the answers, maybe not as we expected but we shall find the answers. And we shall find that peace and love that we are all looking for.

I am still on that journey, a journey of learning and discovering the waters around me, maybe like the little fish, I hope one day to find that answer that will make realize that indeed the waters that I have been swimming in is the ocean that I have been looking for. But until then, I will keep on searching and searching for the ocean. And you should too.