Let me introduce you to Toads, inciting nerd rage since 1985. For those of us who remember jumping goombas and kicking koopa troopas back then, the original Super Mario Brothers could prove quite difficult as we journeyed through the various worlds. With just a few lives and technically no continues without a cheat code (hold A+B and then press Start at the Game Over screen), it took time and commitment to play through the entire game. For those of us with the constitution, trial and error would eventually help us endure and persevere. However, nothing was more infuriating than finally making through a world’s castle just to find out all of our patience and effort was wasted saving a toad. Apparently, the princess was in another castle. Hence, this week’s video game epiphany:
“Sometimes you have to find a few toads before you find your prince or princess.”
For some of us, it seems our prince or princess always in another castle and we constantly find ourselves wasting our time and effort on toads. Unfortunately, current trends show that about 50% of relationships today will end in a dumpster fire. It definitely doesn’t help that infidelity and divorce rates are through the roof as well. It’s enough to make many of us just give up and submit to a life of solitude, finding relief from the less stress and pain that comes with it. However, for those of us on the lookout for love, companionship or just trying to ward off the loneliness, we endure. We continue to journey on, hoping that our prince or princess is out there somewhere. Always opening our hearts and minds to someone new, hoping that this time it might be different.
I have weathered quite a few toads in my life personally as well. Too many times have I opened up to someone, thinking she might be the one just to be let down. Let me tell you, it never gets easier when you finally realize that the person you’ve been putting so much effort and time into turns out to be a toad in disguise. It definitely gets old, however, and having that happen to you multiple time is enough to make any person want to give up. Sometimes, it’s even enough to push some of us to the precipice of depression. I, myself, have found myself on that precipice a few times to be honest. We all carry scars from our past relationship journeys. But it’s okay. We take our scars in stride and still we carry on, because we just know that our prince or princess is out there somewhere, waiting for us.
That being said, many of us wonder exactly how far we have to go to finally find our prince or princess. Well, to quote a favorite movie of mine, “The question is not how far. The question is do you possess the constitution, the depth of faith, to go as far as is needed?”. It is true there are toads everywhere, just waiting to waste your time, effort, money and love. But there are also some genuine princes and princesses waiting to be found and saved from their own toads. As such, we must journey ever on while jumping the goombas, kicking the koopas troopas and running towards that flagpole. We all deserve to happy. Don’t ever settle for anything less than that.
So if you are feeling down and ready to give up amongst all these toads, I implore you. Pick yourself up. Dust yourself off. Continue to endure and persevere. Because in the end you are someone else’s prince or princess as well, and they are out there trying to find and save you too.
