These ten two-lettered words, which have made a deep impression in me, take me back to my years in the university. As a student, I was a keen reader of Zig Ziglar's works. I had stumbled across one of his best sellers, 'See You At The Top', and could not put it down until I devoured all the pages. So, during my mandatory national youth service in Zamfara State; when I came across 'Over The Top' (a sequel to the former title), I quickly grabbed it and literally, started chewing the pages. It was in one those pages that I came across a quote of these powerful two-lettered words. There was also a story behind the quote, which I will like to share (in my own version). So, enjoy and learn the lesson!
Once upon a time, in a mountainous village, there lived an old hermit, who was renowned for his wisdom. In fact, he was acclaimed to be the wisest man in the world as at that time. In that same village, down the valley, there resided two little boys, who were in their early teens, full of mischiefs.
One day, the boys went on a hunting expedition, and in the course of their adventure, they shot two sparrows, which were barely alive. They picked them up and decided to go test the hermit. They agreed that if the wise man was able to tell the type of bird that they were holding, they would then ask him a question that will ridicule his reputation and wisdom forever.
So, they climbed up the mountain with the birds in their hands. On getting to the old man's hut, they knocked on his door. It took some minutes before a creaky old man opened the door. On seeing them, he knew that they were up to something mischievous.
"Good afternoon, old one", the boys greeted. "Good afternoon, my boys", the hermit responded." What can I do for you?", he asked. Hiding their hands behind their backs, they answered, "Wise one, we have some things in our hands, and we want you to tell us what they are". The man responded, "They are birds". Then, the boys asked, " What type of birds, are they?". The man, looking straight into their eyes, answered, "They are sparrows".
At that point, the boys chuckled because they knew the time had come to make a mockery of the man's wisdom. Then, they asked the next question," Wise one, tell us; is it dead or alive?". They did this with the intention that, if the man says the birds are dead, they will open their hands and let them fly away. If he says they are alive, they will squeeze the remaining lives out of the little creatures; so, whatever response the man gives, the boys were ready to prove him wrong.
At that juncture, the wise man knowing who they were, kept silent and roved his eyes over them for about five minutes. At this point, the boys became uneasy. So, they repeated the question, "Wise one, are the sparrows dead or alive". "It's in your hands", the man answered to their disappointment. He continued, "If you want them to live, they will live; however, if you want them to die, they will die". The boys, seeing that their objective could not be met, left dejected.
Dear readers,
Just like the mischievous boys, we have so many things in our hands, whose outcomes depend on our actions or inactions. These include but not limited to our academic, career, health, marriage, family, relationship, environment. We can be whatever we want to be. We can achieve whatsoever we set out to achieve. All we need do is to quit the blame game and start taking responsibilities for our actions or inactions. Whatever situation we find ourselves, there is always a choice to be made; and the choices we make now will either make or mar our future.
As a student, you have a choice to either sit and burn the candles now, and then reap the reward in the future; or burn away your future on the fruitless ventures of today.
As a married man or woman, are you ready to sit, discuss and settle your differences with your spouse in order to make your marriage the beauty and joy, it is meant to be?; or are you setting your own home on fire with your mouth as you go about seeking counsels from third parties, who have skeletons in the cupboards of their own marriages, which you will never know about? Always remember that in marriage, three is a crowd!
Our country is the way it is now because of the choices we made as a people. The over reliance of our economy on crude oil has kept us where we are today. For the past three decades or more, we have been paying lip service to agriculture and solid minerals exploration, and now that we have been given a another chance to make things right, we are busy passing the buck.
Some of us may be wondering why I am blaming us for the failures of our leaders. Yes, I cannot completely blame the leaders because democracy, we are told, is a government of the people, for the people and by the people. We were never told it is a government of the leaders, for the leaders and by the leaders. This invariably means that the ultimate power resides with the people. If we are not happy with the way we are being led, we have a choice.
What about climate change? Can someone tell me, did the climate just change overnight on its own? Of course, not! It is the effect of the choices that man has made over the years. Nature throws back at us, what we give to it because it was designed to always maintain a state of equilibrium of the ecosystem. So, whatever action that is taken, which will distort that equilibrium, will be vehemently rejected, according to Le Chatelier's Principle in chemistry.
For the fact that we are alive, means that we have the opportunity to amend our ways. Therefore, let us put into practice all the measures we have learnt on controlling environmental pollution. It is never too late, because nature has always existed before we were born and will continue to exist after we are gone. The question, then is: Will you leave it in a better or worse state than you met it? Remember, nature does not need us, we are the ones that need it!
Follow us on Twitter: @gmtacademy
WhatsApp: 07034776117
Comments
Post a Comment