Do you have a problem ?

In a world that feels increasingly complex, it's often the simplest truths that carry us through. I was recently part of an architecture workshop that unexpectedly became more than a transfer of knowledge — it became a moment of reflection.

A senior mentor stood in front of us, sleeves rolled up, with nothing but a marker in his hand and conviction in his heart. Behind him, on the whiteboard, wasn’t some elaborate diagram of layered microservices or Kubernetes pods — it was a question, posed like a riddle from the universe

"Do you have a problem in life?"

It wasn’t the kind of line you'd expect at a technology certification program. But there it was — raw, direct, and recursive, looping back to a core idea: If you can do something about it, why worry? If you can't, why worry?

And suddenly, it all made sense.

Like a Lapwing on Stone

It reminded me of the river lapwing, a bird that lays its eggs not in safe nests, but in bare ground, open to wind, sun, and predator. It has no fortress, no camouflage — only its eyes, its voice, and its determination.

When danger nears, the lapwing doesn’t retreat. It calls, distracts, deflects, and defends — sometimes even pretending to have a broken wing, just to lead the danger away from what it loves most. It doesn't build walls; it builds presence.

And that, to me, is what a real architect does.

• We don't always have the luxury of perfect systems or ideal infrastructure.

• We often work on bare ground, unshielded, building structures from conversations, choices, and courage.

• Like the lapwing, we use our voice — to teach, to challenge, to protect what's emerging.

From Systems to Self

What hit me hardest was that the flowchart on the board wasn’t just about personal problems. It was about design resilience. About leading teams through ambiguity. About letting go when it's time, and acting when it matters.

The lapwing doesn’t worry about the rain or the river rising. It stays alert. It adapts. It trusts in what it can do — and surrenders what it cannot control.

We, too, are often that bird.

In our architecture journeys. In our leadership paths. In our silent wars with stress and doubt.

Overwhelmed ?

So the next time you feel Closing Thought

So the next time you feel overwhelmed — whether in your system architecture or your own life — remember the lapwing. Even on bare stone, it protects life. Even with no walls, it guards the future.

And like the whiteboard said that day in the workshop:

"Then why worry?" — whether in your system architecture or your own life — remember the lapwing. Even on bare stone, it protects life. Even with no walls, it guards the future.

And like the whiteboard said that day in the workshop:

"Then why worry?"