Springs of Dawn

DISCRIMINATION

D

iscrimination is a very friendly horse that has been ridden by everybody both young and old at one time or the other. It is the reason he was elected Chairman of our Association though he is less educated and generally less qualified by all standards than his opponent. One look at the short bald headed man in a rumpled suit and the voters made up their minds that they would rather have the tall dignified-looking man on the seat of power for the next two years though we knew he had nothing to offer. The reason is not farfetched. Everybody is searching for perfection in our everlastingly imperfect world. Looks can be deceptive and appearance is not always reality but humans always seem to prefer ideal over reality.

At the interview in my office last week, a heated debate ensued between two colleagues over which of two short-listed candidates to be given the appointment. One candidate had a Masters’ degree from University of Leeds in UK while the other had a First class Honours as a first degree from a Nigerian university. At the oral interview both performed laudably but we were more impressed with the performance of the confidence exuding first degree holder. After watching the white collar men wrangle like two children arguing over whose dress is more beautiful, I decided it was time to put an end to it with a simple solution. I suggested that each should put forth one of their strong reasons. In favour of the Fist degree holder, he was a male and as such less likely to ask for a ‘leave’ any time soon. He chuckled as he said this. He didn’t seem to mind that a woman was in charge of the decision making process. On the other hand, the female candidate was beautiful and armed with such an impressive foreign degree, would be an indispensable asset to our company. After a few seconds of silence, I made a decision and the position was given to my beautiful cousin. 

What about the fashion show that witnessed the most exotic looks of the year? Blemished skins were skilfully polished till they gleamed like that of a new born baby. Flabby waist lines were painfully tucked into smaller hose-like under wears with little room for respiration until a size 14 went four sizes lower. The plastic smile was then captured by eager pressmen and admired by unsuspecting fans. Unknown to them, behind the smile was a suppressed bout of panic attack but this was lost on on-lookers as they mentally devised new beauty regimens to attain the desired look. The attentions of the photographers were drawn to a modest looking apparel accentuating the hour glass figure of a beautiful ‘no name’. A few glances came her way by the clicking cameras but after seconds of trying to attach a name to the exquisite face they redirected their attentions to capture a popular actress that had just entered the hall. 

Yes this common horse has been ridden by all, even the best Samaritans among us. A few seconds of conscience pangs are often quickly replaced by justifications. 

Discrimination is no longer exclusive to the white vs. black tussles or the ethnic cleansing brutality that pervades Africa. It is in our offices, our social gatherings our homes and our selves. We are all guilty of it one way or another. 

his own view

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room’s only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation.

Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn’t hear the band – he could see it. In his mind’s eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days and weeks passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside.

He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed.

It faced a blank wall. 

In his surprise he quickly asked the nurse as soon as she returned. "Oh, but he was blind" she replied.

culled from http://academictips.org/blogs/moral-tale-hospital-window 

This inspired me to see more than the ordinary especially when life feels so bleak and gloomy. Paint the picture of the life you want.

Be inspired!

more than a conqueror

People may use the annoyance of the issues in their lives as toxins to rid you of the happiness in your own life. Learn to recognise these toxins and purge your system on time because it could clog up inside you and attract other negative attitudes while the person that dumped it on you goes on with his own business. Try to see a lighter side of every thing that happens in life. Your issues should not be your major concern. The joy of the Lord is your strength. That strength lies in the innate knowledge that even if things are not going well as they should, they soon will. As a Christian, you are more than a conqueror.

There is nothing the mind can conceive that the mind cannot achieve….. Your power of imagination is one of your greatest gifts and you need to cherish it. Everything that has ever been achieved started as an unseen spark in a creative imagination.

MORE TO LIFE

 Have you ever woken up in d morning and wondered if there was more to life? It is true that no two days are the same but some times we find out that our lives seem to fall into the same routine for days on end. In taking an inventory of all you did in a day, you might find out that nothing new might have taken place in your life for a whole week. That alone can be frustrating. It is the reason some people suddenly do certain things that are out of character. For instance, a man can suddenly divorce his wife after 30 years of marriage just to marry a twenty year- old girl and on the extreme, it is the reason someone can wake up in the morning and shoot himself. Yes it has different expressions in different people.

            There is more to life than what we see. We just have to be vigilant enough to know it in our youth.  Search for happiness in life but always remember that happiness consists of the things you were able to achieve for others and not yourself. Life is only meaningful when others are happy because of you. A time will come in your life when you will ask yourself if all the years you spent on earth were worth it.

            Take time to think about the lives of great men that ever lived. Most of them are remembered for their impact on the lives of others. Nobody will ever remember you for the amount of wealth you amassed or the number of houses you built but at least one less privileged person will remember you for the helping hand you gave when he was in need.

            Take time today to think about someone in need and pour out your life to help. That way, when you tuck yourself in to sleep at night and find yourself taking stock of all you did that day, you will suddenly find a smile creasing the corners of your mouth and joy will permeate your being. Then you will know that there is more to life than just living.

A CHALLENGE TO SURMOUNT

When I came back home that day, I was no longer the starry-eyed baby I was that morning. I flapped my wings twice and puffed out my chest proudly as my mother nodded in approval. She didn’t need to say it but I saw the pride in her eyes. Not every one of us usually made it back alive on the first day. I realised how difficult it must have been for her to push me down that ledge and I understood that it was necessary for me to grow into maturity. One of her favourite quotes was that it is only adversity that can truly shape one. That night, we ate our meal in silence. It was a squirrel she had haunted earlier that evening. For the first time I ate with so much gusto. Maybe it was because I had actually seen the end of my life flash before my eyes several times that day, maybe the adrenaline was still pumping through my head or maybe I was relishing my new found status. All I knew was that it felt good to be me at that moment.

As I chewed my meal, I had a sudden flash back and experienced the same level of panic I had felt when I fell off that ledge. I had truly panicked and my wings suddenly seemed glued to my body. I couldn’t collect my thoughts well enough to know what to do. It was when I was so close to a protruding rock that I suddenly spread my wings and some unseen force propelled me upwards. My mother later told me that she would have swooped down to rescue me before I hit the rocks but at that point, I was so afraid that I believed that she must have wanted me to die.

Admiring my mother’s calm exterior, I asked her how she was able to fly so well. She said to me, ‘Practice, my son. There is hardly any thing you can be good at in this life without practice’.

The next day, mother came home without any food for me. Initially I thought she must have hidden it somewhere for me to find it but it was when she lay down to sleep that night that I realised that I was to go to sleep hungry. I went to her and asked her if she had eaten. I felt as if the winds had knocked me down when she said yes. I felt betrayed so I asked her why she didn’t bring any home for me. That was when she told me that I was old enough to fend for myself. ‘But I’ve never gone hunting before,’ I protested. ‘One day begins a story,’ she said to me. I went to bed that night feeling hurt. It was obvious she didn’t love me anymore. Pushing me down the ledge was not enough for her, she also had to starve me. I made up my mind that I was going to find my own food the next day and I would derive so much joy from proving to her how strong I was.

As I flew out the next day, I kept reminding myself how good I was. I had achieved a feat most of my friends were yet to achieve. I circled a cluster of trees like I had seen my mother do. I was there for a few minutes and I became impatient. I remembered my mother saying that sometimes she had to wait for hours before finding prey. I couldn’t imagine waiting for hours. I was hungry and tired. I shifted impatiently wondering if I was ever going to find any prey. It was six hours later that my wait was finally rewarded. I saw a little head peaking out through the hole in a tree as though it wasn’t sure whether to come out or not. I silently wondered if the creature knew I had been there all along. Slowly, it came out and then darted across the branch to the other side of the tree. I remained in my position silently waiting for the best moment to strike. Not having seen any danger lurking around, the little creature suddenly climbed down the tree and moved to the rocky path. I was still in the same position however, I was no longer patient. I must have lost my patience when hunger clamped his iron hands around my stomach. I therefore suddenly flew out of my position and swooped down, diving straight for the little creature. I had replayed several times in my head, the way I would grab the first creature I set my eyes on. Besides it was something my mother did everyday so I never expected it to be difficult. However it was the moment I got closer to it that I realised how fast little creatures could move. With the speed of light, it suddenly darted back into the hole it had come out from. It may have been the way my wings created a shadow, blocking out the sun or the amount of noise I had made but I was certainly not fast enough for it. I stood there in frustration, watching my meal taunting me from inside the hole. I clawed at the tree in impotent rage all to no avail. I wanted to wait a little longer but I noticed that the sun was fast disappearing into the darkness and my mother had told me that we never stay out at night.

I went home that night not knowing which was more painful, my wounded pride or my empty stomach. I had gone out that morning feeling like the king of the sky. I never believed I could be humiliated by such a small creature. My mother was in front of our home. I was too ashamed to be angry with her for not providing my meal. When I came closer, she dropped something at my feet. It was a small beaver, so wounded, it was almost dead. I quickly grabbed it and sank my claws into it.

‘Patience is a virtue,’ Mother said to me. ‘Nobody ever attains success all of a sudden. You work hard and you practice and no matter what, you do not relent.

‘But mother, I failed,’ I was downcast. ‘I’m not good enough. I’m not as strong as you are’.

‘Yes, you are not as strong as I am but you will be. Don’t judge yourself by what you were unable to achieve on your first try, rather you should be proud of yourself for your courage to try. Failing at something doesn’t make you a failure. You are only a failure when you give up and quit trying. Always magnify your learning over your experience. Whenever we fail at something, our first instinct is to deride ourselves and magnify our failure. However, you must learn to focus on what you have gained form the failure. What you learn from failure is usually more deeply ingrained than what you achieve easily. The next time you go out to hunt, you will surely be more successful’.

I looked at my mother’s calm face, wondering how she got to be so wise. When I went to sleep that night, I assured myself that I would go back there the next day and keep trying till I finally succeed.

SUCCESS IS NEVER FINAL AND FAILURE IS NEVER FATAL. IT IS COURAGE THAT COUNTS.