W, E, B
‘The survival of humanity is in your hands,’ said the resounding disembodied voice. ‘At the end of this year, human life on this planet will be sustained only if you decipher the code and abide by its wisdom.’ At that moment, I received the so-called code: three colossal letters appeared one by one, occupying my whole field of vision: a ‘W,’ an ‘E’ and a ‘B.’
‘Now,’ added the commanding voice, ‘you have been chosen for your unique talents and abilities. You may seek aid on this mission, but do not tell others the purpose or the timeline, for panic may ensue, reducing your chances of success.’
I awoke from this bizarre dream but was still lying in bed in the dark when the alarm bell rang and…
‘It’s six am on this chilly Wednesday morning, rise and shine,’ said the radio announcer in an annoying tone. Wednesday’s Early Bell: W, E, B?!
Could that be it? I joked to myself as I got dressed. I had to admit I was intrigued by the dream. It has a ludicrous quality to it, yet I could not get it off my mind all day long. What if it was not just a dream, but an actual message from some powerful source? What if I did not heed the warning and allow humanity to succumb to oblivion at the end of the year? What if I was entertaining delusions of grandeur?
Come on, I’m not rich, famous, or even religious. Why would I be chosen for such a huge assignment? And what did they mean by ‘unique talents and abilities’? My questions and doubts outnumbered my answers and good reasons, but this dream had given me something to live for, a purpose.
I had gone to bed the night before feeling worthless, helpless, hopeless. I was depressed and despondent. I called myself an aspiring writer yet had not written anything in months and had nothing to aspire to. Since that dramatic dream, though, I was inspired, charged. Maybe I would not save humankind, but at least I would have something to do until doomsday. I could save myself from myself. I would try to figure out the code.
So, I spent the following days and weeks paying close attention to anything that would explain the W, E, B enigma. I observed and listened like I never had before. I began writing again. After all, the code could stand for Writers Experience Bliss!
I started asking questions. I interviewed people from all walks of life, young and old, rich and poor, illiterate and erudite. I asked: ‘If your life and future depended on something related to W, E, B, what would that something be?’
Was I amazed by the answers that were given:
Wondrous Extraordinary Butterfly, Warm Enjoyable Bath, Wet Endearing Baby, White Embracing Black, Wild Exotic Beast, Within Equilibrium Balance, Wait Egg Break, Walk Exercise Begin, Wake Early Bird, Wander Explore Beyond, Warrior End Battle, War Enemy Befriend, Wash Entire Body, Watch Energetic Basketball, West East Bridge, Whisper Ear Beloved, Witness Eclipse Be, Wonder Enriched Bread…
The end of the year was almost here. Tomorrow would be December 31. Would there be a next day for humankind, or Would Everything Blow? I had a Wonderful Exciting Busy month, but I had not quite deciphered the code. So, I set to work.
Writers write, right? I went through my notes of the past month, rereading all I had heard and learned from others. And I began to put it together. I created a gigantic spreadsheet matrix to fit it all. And I started playing with anagrams, placing in all the W, E, and B words representing all the people I had met with the question.
And it appeared, a huge net of high values, honorable practices, good deeds, hopeful intentions. All of them there, intertwined, entangled like an amazing spider web.
‘Wait, web?’ I heard myself say.
‘Web, WEB, W, E, B!’ I repeated.
Of course, that was it! The future of humanity rests on us realizing what Chief Seattle stated many, many years ago:
‘Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.’
