All hail the mighty T-Rex, king of all living creatures in The Valley! Except that there were no other creatures around at the time to pay homage to it. Those that had wings or which could traverse long distances had moved on, the puny mammals had taken to sheltering in caves or tree trunks whilst a large number of other reptiles had perished or were about to be overwhelmed by all the changes happening in The Valley. The T-Rex tried to roar, but only a whimper came forth. This experience of being weak and helpless was something very new to it, something it never thought could be possible.

Then again, the T-Rex never thought that rocks could fall from the sky either.

The asteroid that fell out of the sky arrived at an extremely high speed, quicker than the T-Rex had ever moved. It landed on, or rather hit, the outer edge of The Valley with such force that the ground shook, the hillocks nearest to the crash site collapsed and every creature in the territory was overcome with fear. So much dust and soil was thrown up into the atmosphere that the sky darkened and there was barely enough light to see with. This had never happened before and it bewildered the T-Rex that every creature in The Valley, its dominion since birth, became more fearful of the darkened sky than they ever were of their liege. The T-Rex recalled feeling insulted and enraged by this change in behaviour at the time.

The plankton in the lakes were the first to succumb after the asteroid hit, but as far as the T-Rex was concerned that was only to be expected of weaklings at the very bottom of the food chain. The plants quickly followed as the lack of sunlight prevented photosynthesis; not that it mattered to the king of carnivores. The T-Rex was not a plant-eater and it considered such creatures to be far beneath its own status as apex predator. Herbivores were prey for when the T-Rex needed to feed.

Not being a creature of science or a fan of logical reasoning, it escaped the attention of the T-Rex that the lower layers of any food chain feed the layers above it. If the T-Rex had been able to visualise the symbiotic relationship between all living creatures in its dominion, it may have been able to observe that all the lower levels of the food chain served to sustain the carnivores and eventually the apex of that pyramid: the T-Rex itself. The carnivores realised too late that dying plants were an existential crisis for the herbivores, which in turn would affect the carnivores’ own food supply. Towards the end, the carnivores became cannibals, preying on each other when not feeding off carcasses.

The grand exodus of herbivores began as the climate turned less warm, and the winged reptiles followed them. The tiny mammals had sought cover in caves, tree trunks or little burrows which the large carnivores could not squeeze into. This was, in fact, a development that would help ensure the survival of mammals even as carnivorous reptiles faced ever dwindling food supplies. The T-Rex itself had taken to preying on other carnivores, but it was always a riskier undertaking than preying on herbivores. Carnivores fought back with a greater ferocity than the average plant-eater. This was yet another new experience for the T-Rex, having to fight in order to feed or else scrounge for unsatisfying carcasses. It was angry at everything that was changing in The Valley. The T-Rex never considered joining the exodus, regardless of the bountiful prey which formed that caravan, as The Valley was its dominion and birthright. The T-Rex refused to leave The Valley to the rule of the puny mammals currently hiding away in little shelters like cowards. That would just not happen. Ever.

A rumour eventually reached the T-Rex that a crater had formed at the edge of The Valley where the asteroid had hit. It was said that there was vegetation thrown up by the movement of the soil around the edge of the crater, and a very large herd of herbivores that had not yet left The Valley were congregating there, feeding on dead vegetation that was rotting away. It was fantastic news to the T-Rex which longed for fresh prey. Never mind the fantastical nature of the rumour, never mind that herbivores in The Valley were not known to feed on rotting vegetation, because there had always been fresh vegetation to feed on. Its desire for fresh meat drove the T-Rex to wander to the asteroid crater at the edge of its dominion.

There were other carnivores already at the edge of the crater when the T-Rex arrived. All had heard the same rumour, and each one discovered that such hearsay was not true. There were no herds of herbivores at the crater, just carnivores which had believed a rumour. The T-Rex refused to be so easily defeated and moved to the very edge to see if maybe there were herbivores at the bottom of the crater. The soil at the edge was soft and not stable, however, and the T-Rex slipped. It slipped and fell into the crater. Falling was another new experience for the mighty apex predator, which had never actually missed a step in its entire life.

The T-Rex landed at the bottom of the crater with a heavy thud against the asteroid, adding a spinal fracture to the injuries it sustained falling down the slope of the crater. A whole new level of pain overcame it, together with anger and embarrassment and a new sentiment altogether: fear. The T-Rex had never known fear before, hence it wasn’t really sure what to make of the self-doubt and uncertainty that it was feeling. The other carnivores at the edge of the crater only looked, not wanting to suffer what had just befallen the T-Rex. Thinking it had heard some of them laugh, the T-Rex roared in anger. Those carnivores gathered at the edge of the crater simply turned around and left. That was several days ago.

The T-Rex was now weakened by hunger and injury, unable to pick itself up as it lay wedged into the nook of the asteroid, immobile and defenceless. Too weak to roar, too weak to escape, too weak to do anything but turn into a lifeless carcass. And soon enough it did. No other creatures were present to pay homage to the dead king of The Valley.

There is a lesson in this tale for every person and organisation, no matter how advanced or powerful we perceive ourselves to be.

The world is full of presumptions, ideologies and innuendos that refuse to go peacefully into extinction.

Often the path of least resistance leads us onto a most painful journey, especially when evolution is the key requirement for continued existence. There comes a point in time when it becomes necessary to evolve in order to thrive, and in the present moment that metaphorical need extends to all of humankind. The evolutionary process may appear painful because it necessitates breaking all the routines, habits and that beloved comfort zone everyone possesses, but change need not need not be limited to the experience of pain. Think of it as an intellectual exploration of new mindsets; a journey of rediscovering ourselves, the world around us and the human beings with whom we share it; a process of reevaluating all the things that we have come to take for granted or neglected to nurture. May we also find the path to realising our dreams.

Together we make Tomorrow better than Yesterday.