It comes from poor persons like Zalu. Of the kingdom of Gazo. A spectacle of a place admired for its wealth, vibrant colours, exciting traditions and proud people.

One day, citizens of fell Gazo, fell on hard times. They were hedged in on all sides because of fear of a ravaging plague that had claimed the lives of many people. There was no place to go apart from staying still at home. The farms were empty. And the streets were deserted. Many people began to run on a low supply of hope.

Those who complained initially of boredom soon shifted their attention to the rising level of fear and listlessness. Which was compounded by the fact of complete disconnect of citizens from neighbours who lived in the surrounding kingdoms.

At first, the leaders rose to the occasion. Challenging the people to cooperate and take basic precautionary steps to stay safe while tasking the experts to quickly come up with solutions to the life threatening situation.

Unfortunately, the leaders and experts soon ran out of options but they could not let the people know because of fear it could cause a massive revolt.

Thankfully, Zalu, one of the poorest persons in the town who lived in the most squalid parts of the kingdom, and one of the worst hit by the measures put in place to mitigate the impact of the plague, stumbled on an idea.

First of all, unlike the rest of the poorest persons of Gazo, he found a way to separate in his mind the dreaded plague from other bigger plagues that had been activated by the first plague. Then he found a way to shift his focus from thinking the leaders and experts would bring the solution. He didn’t know what they were doing but he had come to a point where he was convinced he needed to carry out his own independent investigations and search for answers. That he was poor did not mean he was meant to depend on others to think for him or seek out answers whilst he waited for whatever they could find.

He had as much stake in life as much as anyone else. Poor people must not delegate their thinking faculties to their leaders or experts. They must go beyond an almost complete preoccupation with food and survival. There’s plenty they can bring to the table.

If only they would force the thought to get into a flow! They could become like Zalu, the poor but wise citizen of Gazo, who used his wisdom to deliver the leaders, the wealthy people, experts and rest of the kingdom from the ravaging effects of the plague.

Unfortunately, the leaders and experts of Gazo found a way to get the antidote from Zalu, deployed the solution without giving him his dues. They simply forgot him. But his descendants I hear are considering this part of their heritage, and doing their best to change the narrative.