#137 - Fine Margins
Temüjin, light, and moments
History hinges on moments.
It feels deterministic. Inevitable even. But it’s not so.
The finest of margins change everything.
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Temüjin
In 1162, on the steppes of Mongolia, a boy called Temüjin was born.
He had a tough childhood.
His father died when he was 9, poisoned by a rival clan.
His family was then abandoned by their tribe, condemning them to years of hardship.
During this time he killed his stepbrother in a struggle for dominance.
And then, disaster.
He was captured by a rival tribe who saw him as a threat. Enslaved and placed in a wooden yoke, he awaited his fate.
His life hung in the balance.
But it was not be the end for Temüjin. With the help of a sympathetic guard he escaped.
What happened next echoes through history.
From then on his rise was dizzying. Temüjin, bit by bit, united the Mongol tribes. Until they formed a nation.
Over the decades they swept through Asia, even into Europe, conquering all in their path.
At some point he adopted the name we remember today: Genghis Khan.
Light
It’s hard to understate the impact of the Mongol empire.
By opening up Europe to the far East, culture, and then science, blossomed.
A torrent of inspiration flowed into medieval Italy, leading to the Renaissance. Which in turn laid the foundations for Europe’s scientific revolution. The rest, as they say, is history.
And just like that the dark ages were flooded with light.
What if Temüjin had been killed by that rival tribe? If the Mongols had never united and smashed together Europe and Asia?
Who knows. But it would have been a different world to the one we have today.
You can find the same throughout History.
Take the 20th century, for example, characterised by the dictators who dominated it.
Adolf Hitler ended up in hospital during the First World War; what if that injury had been fatal?
And as for the rise of the Soviet Union?
The revolution that brought them to power was a pantomime. Their incompetence outdone only by that of a drunken standing government. Many times along the way it survived by a stroke of fortune.
These were fine, fine margins. Often hinging on a moment.
Moments
And our lives, too, hinge on moments.
Applying for a certain job. A spontaneous holiday. That fateful decision to start a newsletter.
All of these can change everything. And we have no idea at the time.
So what’s the lesson in here?
Well, life is long and unexpected. It’s easy to fritter it away, second guessing our every action.
But what if we embraced the randomness of it all. Because what do we know, really?
There’s a wonderful Zen saying that: No snowflake falls in the wrong place. Everything happens as it should.
With our lives, too, this is so. Everything happens as it should.
So then all that’s left, is to surrender.
What I’ve Been Reading 📚
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Loved this so much. Took a couple of hundred pages to get into- tricky to get your head around all the characters- but from then it was a complete joy.
It’s a brilliant tale, hilarious in parts, and wonderfully colourful characters .
Definitely my favourite from our book club so far. Highly recommended.
Part of my book club with Hector Alexander. Next month is The Divine Comedy do join in if you fancy it.
A Final Thought 💡
"For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these: ‘It might have been.’"
— John Greenleaf Whittier