Dear Blog,

I would like first to begin by sharing with you a quote I had recently heard. It was a quote I had heard of when I attended Kingdom Invasion a while back, highlighted by Lou Engle in one of his sermons regarding the power of the self. I guess I’m sharing this with you now for it’s been lingering in my mind for a while now; the words of which I hold with much fervour and still rings in my mind.

“History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it” – Winston Churchill

It is a quote by Winston Churchill, Britain’s wartime minister during World War 2, and though I might not have known him when I first heard of the quote, I know him now.

Churchill was known for his awe-inspiring speeches, and his uncanny ability to rally the masses behind him even in trying times. He was a resilient and charismatic man in the eyes of many, held with much respect for his confidence and reassurance for a nation during a time of uncertainty. Food, shelter, safety. These are just but a few things that were not guaranteed in the wake of the very real invasion of the UK.

Honestly, I had not known who he was till only recently when I learnt that he had spoken many other good quotes. I guess we all ought to learn a little from the things that interest us. Who would have guessed?

Anyhow, I admire Winston Churchill for his courage. The quote he spoke could only have been born from a man with a positive and present mind, and in certain ways, I envy him for that. I wish I could have the courage to say that history will be kind to me.

History is kind to those who intend to write it, and those who intend to write it are also the ones who plan to prevail the test of time. Indeed, history is written by the victor; and it should come to no surprise that those are also the words of Churchill.

However, as easy as it is for us to be captivated by the large-scale implications of the words of Churchill in the context of a nation, I believe that the quote holds the most implications in the context of the lives of individuals. One interesting way to think about this would be to consider this variation of the quote.

‘Life will been kind to me, for I intend to write it.’

To say something like that will take a lot of boldness – courage that is only to be admired and one that I can only strive at. I guess I decided to share this verse to you for that reason too; not so much as a quite to encourage you, but also to remind me of how I should live every day of my life. With a sense of purpose and intentionality.

Life will be kind to me for I intend to write it. It will be kind to me because I intend to endure it, and it will yield before me; for though life may hit me hard, my decisions are still my own.

Writing history, Ka Wai