Inspiration from my girl friend and NickelBack

Quoting my girl friend who quoted Nickelback's song on one of her face book posts,

"My best friend gave me the best advice. 

He sed each day is a gift and not a given right.

 Leave no stone unturned. Leave your fears behind.

 And try to take the road less travelled.

. . . the song goes on to say. . 

.Against the grain should be a way of life
What's worth the prize is always worth the fight
Every second counts 'cause there's no second try
So live like you'll never live it twice
Don't take the free ride in your own life" -If today was your last day/Nickelback

That quote left an imprint on my mind and i wondered if we really live life to the fullest? Do we become all that we were created or meant to be? The world that we live in today is filled with people who are simply trying to fit in and in the process loosing their individuality. The brilliant are toned down in this sea of mediocre, in any case we are all brilliant in some thing, in some way, yet we are made to believe that if you lack brilliance in something someone else is brilliant in that means you are totally dull- right? well No! as unique as your finger prints and DNA are so are your talents. We all have tremendous "potential" and sometimes that is all there is until we get old and die some day, with a lot of potential, untapped, never utilized, just dormant potential.

We live out our lives with this vast store house of potential that never amounted to anything at all and because we know we could have been something or made something of ourselves in days past we then want to lead our kids in the path that leads to our own failed dreams, the path that we ourselves didn't walk in but had the potential to walk in. We come up with very good explanations (mostly excuses) on why we never achieved all we could have in life! The truth is when we started out coming from high school and college, we had our lives all planned out and nothing could stand in our way when it came to achieving our dreams but alas we ended up falling into the same trap we were so careful to avoid- Why?

The truth is conformity starts at a very early stage in life, even from childhood and someone ended up coining the term "peer pressure" and truth be told that animal doesn't go away even in adulthood. Society paints a picture of what's cool and what is not and the media plays a crucial role in this regard. Teenagers are told to believe that it's cool to party all day, do drugs, get high and drunk, have sex, sag their pants and talk in a certain way which is "totally cool". The kids that would go against the grain face a terrible time among their peers, from being ridiculed and shunned  because they are not as "cool" as the kids that are portrayed as cool. Because we are social creatures we feel a great need to fit in and even be popular if we can but there is always a price we pay and in most cases we sacrifice who we truly are!

The pressure doesn't stop there it digs its roots deeper into adulthood. In Africa particularly Zimbabwe there seems to be a general consensus of when girls in particular should get married. The pressure to get married mounts as a woman approaches her mid-twenties (maybe there was a national convention held for that that i am not aware of). From the age of twenty three she is frequently invited to weddings of her friends, peers, former school mates etc and she just feels so left out and again feels this need to fit in that the next "monster to be" of a guy becomes her knight in shinning amour. Every dream is thrown outside the wagon just to accommodate a fantasy of marriage even though she might not yet be ready for such a big step in life but then again the great almighty "society" dictates that she does all to be regretted later on in life. The men as they grow older will also make their attempts to fit in, pretending to like certain life styles they really don't like and cheating on their wives and having a "small house" because "every" man does that!

These social pressures never improved anyone's life neither can we find any value to them when weighed in the balance of life. We desire greatness when we behold it, all polished up and shinny like a finished sculpture but we never take the time to think of the process. The hands bruised with the hammer and chisel, the focus written on the artist's face until his/her masterpiece is done. That is what is lacking in the world, people who are willing to take a shot at it no matter how difficult it might seem. Non-conformists who will go against the current and emerge the truly great people of our generation. People who are not constrained by what others expect of them but rather stand firm on what they believe is right and loose the weight of societal baggage that most people needlessly carry on their shoulders for all their lives without realizing any satisfaction from it and if asked why they became who they are they can not come up with a convincing explanation but that "that's just how things are!" Strive Masiyiwa the founder of Econet Wireless once said in one of his testimonies talking about how Econet was founded and established and the many challenges he faced, he said "i was willing to pay the price."

You can never stand out when you are always trying to fit in. It is not an easy task to "walk the path less traveled" but it is that uncommon path that will lead to an uncommon destiny.That path that will lead to greatness that the world has never known. Imagine what the world would be like for African Americans if Dr Martin Luther King jnr or Malcolm X had decided to fit in with the crowd of their time? Or what if Steve Jobs the founder of Apple had decided to go along with his peers and just do what everyone else in IT was doing at the time? Imagine if Thomas Edison had quit on the light bulb? Imagine today what the telecoms industry in Zimbabwe would look like if Strive Masiyiwa or Miko Rwayitare the founder of Telecel had given up on dreams of owning a Telecommunications company when the current and all odds were against them?

All these great men and women like madame Curie, Florence Nightingale, Mother Theressa, Harriet Tubman and my mum (God rest her soul) had one thing in common and that is they all went against the grain as nickel back sings about in their song with such a profound message. You do not set out for greatness like one mining for gold but you truly become great when you find yourself and do something with a deep conviction that it is the road you need to take to get to where you want to be. You become great when you follow your dream, unwavered in your determination and with the artist's focus on your brow. There are always certain sacrifices to be made, maybe your peers will not think you are "fresh" or cool or that you are strange or you are taking too much of a risk in your pursuits. People might discourage you and it hurts even more when it comes from those closest to you because they might think your dreams are impossible and you are incapable to see them through even if they were possible- you know what that is how people treated the Wright brothers before they took off in the first plane ever made.

King Solomon once said "my son do not waste your time on worthless pursuits". Worthless pursuits are those things you are not passionate about, the things you do to please your friends, or anyone for that matter, those are the things you do because someone else did it. In such things you will never find fulfillment because they are not tied to your destiny and you have the power to choose your destiny. You choose your own destination and that meets with greatness when you find a need you can provide for, when you find a solution to the many ills of our world. You were created unique and no one on earth can best you at being you! Let go of the insecurities, the inferiority complexes, the need to fit in, fear, pride, hate, ignorance and all those negative emotions and thoughts for those are the things that will hold you back from becoming the person you are meant to be the person you can be, the person you are becoming starting from today.

With every day Elohim blesses you with apply yourself regardless of the circumstances. Do not let anyone tone down your unique talents and gifts or pour water on your dreams and no matter how old you think you are, it is never too late to start again. Consider the ant hill with its elaborate tunnels and sheer size for it is one grain of soil upon another cemented with determination.

thanks to the beautiful Wilhelmine Wachter for the inspiration!who also writes on her own blog "The write monkey"

by M c N o r r i s