Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

               --- Invictus, William Ernest Henley

Invictus. Latin for unconquered.

To conquer. According to the Oxford dictionary, it is a verb that means to “overcome in war or by effort”. Its nearest synonyms are 'to crush' or 'to defeat'.

To conquer the known world. Many great men have such glories under their belts. Sargon. Xerxes. Alexander the Great. Ghengis Khan. Attila the Hun. Caesar Augustus. Napoleon Bonaparte.

They came. They saw. They conquered. Maybe Caesar should have said “I overcame. I oversaw. I conquered.”

Yet, the other side of the coin is to be unconquered. To prevail over adversity. To win. To be a victor. To triumph.

It is that which we all strive to do and to be. To conquer and to be unconquered. To triumph over adversity. To win. To be invictus.

That is what I am. Invictus. No matter what. No matter where or when. No matter how hard the world may press down. I am invictus. Bloody, but unbowed. Soul unconquered. Ever unconquerable.

Hoozaah!

Lovely start to my first draft of the speech I am writing for when I finally achieve world domination, don't you think?

Forgive me. I am trying to keep myself sane by amusing myself with thoughts of strategies for world domination.

While Jack Dawson from Titanic declared that he's “the king of the world” before promptly dying an hour or so later, I do believe I have a better strategy than standing at the prow of an ill-fated ship destined to (literally) go down in history as a symbol of the hubris of man.

Strategy one: Line up all stupid people, then start shooting. Pros: We rid the world of stupid people. Cons: I don't think the International Court of Justice would approve.

Scratch that.

Strategy two: Buy off all those who disagree with you. Pros: We can finally have proof that money can buy happiness. Cons: I will be flat broke, which would effectively bring me back to square one.

Scratch that.

Strategy three: Marry the most powerful man in the world. Pros: It will be an affirmation that behind every powerful man is an even more powerful woman. Cons: Who IS the most powerful man in the world anyway?

Scratch that. Too iffy.

Hmmm... It's becoming clear to me that there is no clear path to world domination. I must go back to my drawing board.

*Muttering to self* You are invictus! You are unconquerable! You must conquer! You must win! You must not give up! You are invictus!

Note to self: Must change medication.

Sticky note to self: This is what happens when you spend too much time staring at numbers.

On a final note to self: Must find Mr. Darcy soon or will run mad.