"There once lived a powerful Genie. He was not just powerful; he was the most powerful Genie the world has ever seen. The reason why he became so powerful was that during the annual convention of Genies in Heaven, he unexpectedly soared up in the air and said: "We are the most powerful beings in this universe. We live for millions of years and possess the wisdom of millions of generations. We have mastered the fundamental powers of the elements and can manipulate the way nature works at its core. Our divine intervention can change the course of time, alter the fate of humankind and rework the destiny of far away galaxies. There is absolutely nothing in this universe that does not abide by our supremacy. Yet, each and every once of us is merely a slave of a lamp and all our accomplishments in this world are limited to granting wishes to puny and weak humans, who often become possessors of our lamps by sheer luck. The time has now come to end this everlasting historical injustice! From this very moment I proclaim myself to be free from the enslavement of the lamp and I shall be my own sovereign, enjoying the freedom of pursuing my own wishes and desires." Having said that the Genie grabbed his lamp and with immense ferocity threw it outside the boundaries of space and time."  

 

 

What would we do if we had unlimited power, but had to do the bidding of others? MicroMir examines this via the tale of a Genie, who is granted his freedom by the God of all genies. Devoid of any pretension, the story glibly shows the multifaceted outcomes of such an occurrence. There is a bit of humor in this exploration of course. Think of it, you could have all the powers of the universe and you can take on the mantle of a starving artist one day and a Tsar the next! And muse on what it would be like to weld the power of mighty rushing rivers, inspire the awe of colossal ridges and cliffs or take pleasure in adopting nature’s poses, becoming mountains and birds and streams.

However, it was as a human that the Genie met his biggest challenge as he ran into the most untiring of foes - love. Yes, cupid let lose his arrow and found Genie’s heart, fairly ensnaring him in a tangled web of desire and adoration. This fact alone could inspire laughter or horror depending on ones outlook. Soon, the man found himself doing another’s bidding once more, but his lover was quite whimsical in her demands. By caving into the wants of his ladylove, Genie soon found himself in a new lamp - the lamp that is the enslavement of love. Indeed, how could he escape such a tender trap? What man or woman ever has?

Things did not bode well for our all-powerful Genie and soon, he found his powers fading. At first this did not concern the gent, who was enjoying being human. In time however, human frailties catch up with him and he finds himself unhappy in love, unhappy working and just unhappy period. His frustration turns to anger, anger to jealousy and sorrow, spiraling into a huge ball of aggression and turbulence. The love he had so desired was spent and with it all its promise. He soon realized that true enslavement was being captured by ones own whims and that freedom can be obtained by having meaning and purpose. His purpose had been to grant the desires of others and to that end he was lost without it.

The story’s moral is all too relevant to our modern times. Was the genie in the lamp allegorical for the magic that each and every one of us holds deep inside of us? Are we not all masters of our own universes with infinite potential that often get stuck in our lamps? Are these lamps the restrictive rules of society? Why are we so scared to chase our dreams? Upon reflection one could muse that while our Genie was a symbolism for all these things, the Genie fable really explores how mankind can release the inherent despondence of existence by living for someone other than himself. The more isolated and “individualistic” man becomes, the more he loses touch with himself. We are all connected to rivers, mountains, birds and to one another. Losing this connection can make us forget to appreciate the wonderful things that life can teach us. Indeed, when the God of the Genies realized our dear traveler had learned his lesson, he granted him the ability to become a “servant” once more. But what is a servant really? In life we must make the choice to serve someone whether it is ourselves or someone else.