PAINTING THE FUTURE

Today I went to the market. I had barely spent ten minutes in the scorching sun when I started grumbling within me, "This Nigeria self; see as the sun day hot!", "I wish I was born somewhere but Africa!", "If only I had my car now, I wouldn't be under this pre-hell
As I was walking and murmuring, I saw a young man about the same age as myself. He didn't seem bothered by the sun at all. I watched with keen interest as he pushed a wheelbarrow full of loads which I probably wouldn't have been able to move with only half the load in it. He was sweating profusely and the sun had darkened his skin color in a highly unpleasant manner. Apparently he didn't seem to care about it at all. The most important thing on his mind was the little wage he would earn from that task.
Not long after, I saw 5 little children who were beggars on the street. They were sharing an almost empty plate of rice of which I myself in my least hungry state would not take anything less than 5 times that amount. I kept staring at these little children as they rushed the meal in a bid to out-eat each other and then...


Boom!!!


"Oboy hafa na, watch where you day go jor"


"Sorry ma"


Apparently I had forgotten I was on the road. I didn't realize that I was walking forward but looking side way.

All through my journey back home, I was lost in thoughts. Why is life so unfair?! What did those people do to deserve such a rash life. It wasn't long before my mind strayed to the highly placed elites who were born with a silver spoon and still are not satisfied. To the extent that some are fighting tooth and nail to acquire for themselves golden pots and basins.

I couldn't help but ask myself: Who made this selection? On what basis is one's starting point determined? Why would nature guide some people into this world and bestow them with a silver spoon while others are flung in with spoons carved out of wood? Something had to be wrong with this logic. Someone or something had to be unjust in decision making. Everybody should be given equal chance. Everybody should be placed on the same starting line. How the heck does nature expect that beggar in the street to compete with Obama's daughter?!! How does nature hope that the wheelbarrow pusher would get to the rank of Dangote's son?!!

While of course these scenarios are totally possible, taking Oprah Winfrey as a case study for instance, in reality only one out of a million actually do rise from the base to the top of the pyramid. That's a story for another day though.

On getting home, I had given up on the thought of who makes the golden selection. I continued my normal routines.

Just this evening, after deciding to watch a movie and sleep, I remembered that I have two pending assignments of which their deadlines are tomorrow.

Oh God!!


I'm tired of school!!


What is all this na??!!


Why do I even have to go to school??
And a thought flashed through my mind-to drop your less significant spoon and obtain a better one. You are striving to attain a greater height than where you are currently.
My mind raced back to my question of who makes the golden decision. Another thought popped up:
Imagine a world where everybody was born with equal standards and privileges. A world where everybody was born with a silver spoon. Sounds perfect right?
Well I soon realized it wasn't close to perfect at all. In fact it was far from perfect. The world would have been boringly stupid! I wouldn't have to go to school to attain higher standard of living because I would have had it all. There wouldn't be a lower class to serve the upper class because everybody being born with a silver spoon would already be in the upper class. There wouldn't be any gate man for the president of United States of America. He would also have to wash his car by himself because everybody would be an elite citizen. Then there wouldn't be any need for me to strive for a better tomorrow because I would have had it all.
Whoa... That would be a horrible world. It was at this point I realized that nature had it all perfectly planned out. I could hear the universe whispering in my ears saying, "you can't see what I see boy. My system is a perfectly self organised one".

"Ok nature, you win. I agree with you, some have to be highly placed and some, well at the bottom. But then nature, on what criterion do you decide who ends up at the top or bottom?? I spent quite some minutes pondering on this newly found puzzle and then...

EUREKA!!!


I found the answer...


YOU!!!


Yes you! You decide who gets a blissful beginning and who gets a wretched one( or more technically, you and I).
I am where I am today because of the decisions that people made before my arrival. Alter any event or decision in my timeline and I end up a completely different person entirely either better or worse. Take the following instances:

If at some point in the past, my father decided to be lazy and probably became a drunkard, he probably would be unemployed by now and consequently I would probably be hawking in the streets.

If at some point a doctor decided to waste his time in medical school and become a quack, he probably wouldn't have been able to revive me when I was at near death state; and consequently I would be dead by now.
If my brother had taken the risk of playing that long perfect ticket worth #16million, I probably would be typing this message from my iPhone 7.
If my great-grandfather had listened to the white missionaries and went to school, he would have ended up a wealthy man in his time and consequently I would be reaping the benefits.
Think of the number of events and decisions that had to be made for me to turn out like this; for you to be where you are today. One little mistake on someone's part, and you might have been homeless. It goes to say that the people homeless and hungry today are like that because of one little mistake someone made!
Now think of the number of lives your actions have modified. Think of the number of unborn children you have made homeless by just one wrong choice. By refusing to counsel that lousy friend of yours, you just caused another baby to be born into penury. By refusing to develop yourself, you just wasted the opportunity to be a blessing financially to someone 20 years from now of which that money would have reshaped the lives of his unborn children for good. By choosing to ignore the needy around you, you just pushed another youth to social vices.

For you to be reading this post, it means that you have access to an internet enabled device which means that someone made a good decision that made you escape homelessness. Every decision you make in life affects a life either positively or negatively. You might not be able to give alms to all the homeless children in your community let alone the world, however you could create a better life for thousands of unborn children even by the seemingly most insignificant actions and decisions you make today.

SO FRIEND, WHY DON'T YOU MAKE A DECISION TO SAVE THE LIFE OF THAT LITTLE GIRL WAITING TO BE BORN INTO PENURY.

JOHN ESAN