Filter Coffee #157

On the World is Your Oyster

FC #156 on ‘Rent-free in my mind’ was widely appreciated. Thank you, readers. Let me share some of the comments:

• Nisha Sinha: “FC is always a thought-provoking way of starting my Sunday. Thanks, Prasanna. Here's a good quote by Steve Maraboli ‘Holding a grudge & harbouring anger/resentment is poison to the soul. Get even with people…but not those who have hurt us, forget them, instead get even with those who have helped us.’”

• Tarun Kunzru: “Negative thoughts are battery dischargers while positive thoughts are battery chargers. Two things I do most effectively is to deal with negative thoughts and rein in my ego.”

• Krupa Murthy: “What a brilliant way to start my Sunday, with my brilliant cousin's steaming filter coffee brewing a multitude of thoughts, and to think of an ideal answer to his mind-blowing topic on ‘rent-free in my mind’! The thoughts that are jostling for space in my mind are, If wishes were horses, beggars would ride!! Life is a web of complementary opposites, impossible to choose!”

• Ashvini Ranjan: “Since the last 156 weeks you have stayed ‘Rent-free’ in my mind, renewing tenancy every Sunday! Will keep the space available for you provided you keep serving the cuppa hot and strong! Good going, Pras.”

• Karthik: “Many congratulations on completing 3 years!! Time as usual has just flown. Great anniversary article, impressing upon readers to clear unnecessary rent-free thoughts and 'rent a space' for constructive and thought-provoking Filter Coffee messaging. Similar to newspaper articles reserving space for certain topics. Filter Coffee too has its space reserved in people's minds. Here's to many more thought-provoking articles from a fantastic writer!!”

• Rajnikant Behera says: “Very insightful and interesting. Most people need to be made aware of this concept.”

I made a faux pas in the last edition by omitting to mention the comments made by Radhika Krishnaprasad. Referring to the ostrich effect she said: “Speaking of burying your head in sand—the worst cases are where there are problems and issues in domestic relationships. People involved tend to ignore them as a trade-off for peace.”

🦪 The World is Your Oyster

Sir John Falstaff, a fictional character, appears in three plays by William Shakespeare. He appears in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV Part 2, where he is a companion to Prince Hal, the future King Henry V of England. I wrote about this role of Falstaff in 🔗Filter Coffee #147 - by M R Prasanna

In The Merry Wives of Windsor, Falstaff is featured as the buffoonish suitor of two married women, planning to con them out of their money. He has a disreputable companion called Pistol. There’s a scene in which Pistol is trying to extract some money from Falstaff and the conversation goes like this:

Falstaff: I will not lend thee a penny.

Pistol: Why then the world’s mine oyster, Which I with sword will open.

Falstaff: Not a penny. 

Pistol is implying that he will use force to find his fortune, much like breaking open an oyster to seize its pearl. But the expression’s meaning has evolved over the years and has come to mean simply ‘the world, symbolised by the oyster, is mine”

One has to use a sharp instrument to pry open oysters. Pistol has a sword with which to open the oyster to get the pearl. We equate the sword to the unrelenting efforts one needs to make to find something or achieve something in life and when one succeeds, what that person gets is equated to the pearl in the oyster. This quest for achievement is at the back of this quote ‘the world’s mine oyster’ evolving into the metaphor “The World Is Your Oyster”. This has become the saying that we often say to youngsters who are embarking on adult life or to those who are about to go in pursuit of entrepreneurial success. It’s like telling them “The world is your oyster. It’s up to you to find the pearls”.

The world has enormous potential and ‘oyster’ is the opportunity that one is encouraged to pursue. Finding the pearl is the end objective, which when achieved, indicates that the pursuit has been a success. Not all oysters have a pearl in them just as not all pursuits are successful. An unsuccessful pursuit brings with it an understanding of the hurdles faced and prepares you to pursue another opportunity. 

Pistol’s sword implies that It is not easy to pry open an oyster. It requires some exertion or effort. Likewise, some life pursuits can be very challenging requiring a lot of effort and perseverance. If you are in pursuit of success, the pearl is what you are looking for. Sometimes we may have to settle for less. Instead of the pearl, we may get the ‘mantle’, the fleshy layer in the oyster shell. 

Well, we are familiar with the idiom ‘take up the mantle’ or ‘carry the mantle’. ‘Mantle’ as you all know, is an article of clothing. A prophet named Elijah left his cloak behind when he ascended to heaven. A new prophet Elisha picked up this mantle to perform the roles played by Elijah. Consequently, the idiom means ‘take up responsibility’ or “assume a role of leadership”. The former means taking over responsibility from someone else and the latter symbolises taking up leadership responsibilities.

Mantle fits in well with the narrative about a person who finds the oyster but not the pearl inside its shell. They don’t get disheartened as they are rewarded with the mantle inside the oyster shell, prompting them to continue their efforts to find the pearl. It doesn’t matter if, despite efforts, they cannot find the pearl as they are now carrying the mantle. In essence this means they carry the mantle of leadership and stay in quest of the pearl, which is synonymous with being in pursuit of the end objective. It is like challenging oneself. This is different from throwing the gauntlet or picking up the gauntlet which I discussed in 🔗Filter Coffee #135 - by M R Prasanna

Though ‘world is your oyster’ is aimed at encouraging youngsters who are making a beginning, it is equally applicable to anyone embarking on a mission or a challenging task. The metaphor is pursuit agnostic. Whether it be the field of academics, research, sports or profession, the world is an oyster to each, and the quest for the pearl is daunting and yet exhilarating if one is determined to find it.

The Canadian philosopher Matshona Dhliwayo says ‘Wisdom is a pearl whose oyster is truth’. This quote takes the discussion to the spiritual level. If one succeeds in pursuit of truth he or she is rewarded with wisdom which is the highest form of intelligence. Disregarding truth results in a trust deficit. If one were to combine the two concepts, the inference would be that one should be in truthful pursuit of the desired objective and not achieve it deceitfully.

The oyster is home for honesty and purity, symbolised by the pearl. It is, therefore, logical that a person in pursuit of that pearl should not be dishonest and deceitful. In As You Like It, the bard Shakespeare writes: Rich honesty dwells like a miser, sir, in a poor house, as your pearl in your foul oyster.

The oyster, given its tightly closed shell, is used metaphorically to describe a person who is close-mouthed and who speaks the truth and words of wisdom. We are familiar with the phrase ‘pearls of wisdom’. It means words that embody wisdom. It is also used to mock a person who holds forth as if he is an authority over a matter. Like for instance, someone could say “Oh! He was speaking eloquently as if the audience was hungry for his pearls of wisdom”.

Dear readers, ‘oyster’ and ‘pearl’ not only represent opportunity worthy of pursuit but are synonymous with discretion and wisdom.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post. Please share your views and comments.

Now in a lighter vein:

• Why did the oyster become a detective? To crack the case wide open!

• Why did the oyster refuse to tell jokes? It didn’t want to crack under pressure!

See you next week. Take care and relentlessly pursue your dreams. Your world is an oyster. Ciao!