LABOURER OR LEGEND? By Muyiwa Afolabi Our journeys in life generally at different points are dubbed with transactions. In fact transactions are the critical and very frequent ventures to any life with meaning. Life is not just about an entry and an exit, life is more about an entry, a purpose a vision, a mission, journey, an adventure, a pursuit, being persistent, accomplishments then fulfilment before finally; the exit. Living a good life with meaning and significance must be driven by all these factors. Right from that point of entry life places demands on us to do something in order to get something. A day old baby can never get fed if it refuses to suck the mothers breast milk. The milk is there alright and the mother is willing to give it, but the baby; just a few minutes or hours old has the responsibility of applying the muscles of the cheek and throat to get fed. From the very moment of entry into this world; all living things must do something to get what they want. As the child begins to grow, the ability to grip, crawl, stand and walk does not happen automatically; it doesnt even happen at first attempt, the baby must be interested and committed to wanting that ability. The baby would keep trying and trying and trying till he succeeds at gripping, crawling and walking, it doesnt happen in one, two, three or four attempts; it takes days at times several weeks before the ability is perfected. And even for some of these abilities it can never occur prematurely, that baby must attain the age and maturity necessary for it to be able to perform the ability. A baby is not expected to walk at three months; no matter the desperation of that baby, it can never walk at 3 months, the baby must wait till at about nine months to a year before it can stand up straight to walk, if the baby does it earlier, it could hurt or damage something in its body or frame because everything in that babys body must be ready for that ability to manifest. No matter the IQ of a baby, a baby cannot start speaking at birth, the baby must be willing to pay attention to the parents and those around to learn the communication language and begin to pick words one after another until its able to form phrases, then sentences. The ability to speak in a child does not occur overnight. Nature also does not absolutely take responsibility for the development and growth of any man, every individual must collaborate; cooperate and invest energy, time, effort, and determination in order to attain a level or achieve anything; life does not dump it on you, you must labour to access anything you want in life. The world around us, the society we live in does not also have room for automatic accomplishment or success, anything you desire and want to achieve must be learnt, mastered and imbibed for it to benefit. Whatever you want in this life must be earned, you exchange something to get something, it could be time, a practice, a skill, an item, money or sacrifice; whatever you want, you must earn it; you must give to get. A decision or refusal to pay for or earn whatever you need or want in life can have dire consequences. For you to access food, clothing, shelter, security, education, employment, business, a good marriage, wonderful offspring, love and affection you must give something too. Nothing in our social life is really free. A child in the nursery or kindergarten is taught to apply his mind, will, concentration and energy to study and learning. The child can never perfect his numbers or alphabets if hes unwilling to apply his mind, his time and energy in study and practice of these subjects. Becoming a graduate and an expert in any profession requires very serious commitment of time, energy and resources to obtain certification and ability. If you refuse to go to school, you can never become a graduate. In skill acquisition, you must go through your stages of artisanship and apprenticeship; you must spend time, energy and resources to become an expert in the vocation. Life; our journey is dubbed along all its part with transactions and exchange; you must give something to get something. The negative consequence of our refusal to give anything in exchange for what we need is the main reason why many labour today. Many are on their way to work this morning in order to earn regular income to make ends meet. Very few are actually going to the office for the fun of the work; I bet very few would take on a job and commit to it every week day without salaries. Hence, you give your time, knowledge, skills and energy in exchange for cash returns which youll in turn use to acquire all that you need to keep body and soul together. Social and economic security are the principal drivers of labour today. Many are laboring today; working diligently and passionately in exchange for adequate returns to secure their lives socially and economically. We all wake up daily in search of means, in search of opportunities, in search of ways to secure and even upgrade our social and economic standing. We need to feed well, we need decent accommodation, we need security, we need education, we need to clothe well; we need to socialize, communicate and of course get entertained. We want to associate, we want relevance, some quest for power, influence and authority and you know what; all these come at a price; you must labour into all these experiences. Lack of cash is demeaning, frustrating and traumatic; no one respects or pays much attention to a poor man, a poor man has no say, no voice, no respect. Being in lack is psychologically traumatic; the world has no respect for he without a means, life has no sympathy for he without a means you sure need means even to stay healthy and alive. Survival is the name of the game; we labour not for fun but for survival. This orientation and mindset however is our default state of mind as we live and grow on our journeys through life. Carrying on with this kind of orientation however, can eventually lead one into leading a life that adds no value; a life without impact, relevance, reckoning and greatness; a life without glory; an ordinary, bland, regular and boring life of a typical laborer through life. I believe no one on this planet has come forth to live a life of labour; to work hard all through life and eventually still die. Whatever you struggle to secure and acquire and preserve through labour all life-long would eventually still count for nothing when you die, hence we have been sent to this planet to live for superior purposes than labour, survival and security. I believe we are here to improve, enhance, add value and leave this world in a better state than we met it. That in my opinion is the life of a legend. A legend is superior to a labourer; a labourer works very hard to secure and preserve himself all life long, a legend on the other hand works very hard, makes sacrifices and gives his best to a course in life in order to improve the quality of living and the lot of mankind in his community, society or the world at large. Labourers work hard to meet up, to protect themselves, preserve themselves, defend themselves and secure themselves. Legends work hard to upgrade and improve systems, procedures, concepts, inventions, processes, methods and people. Labourers do not attract recognition, respect, power or influence or glory. Legends through unparalleled performance, commitment, sacrifice and giving to humanity are respected and honoured for many generations. Legends break old record and set new ones; they push limits and barriers; explore new frontiers and make possible what hitherto was seen as impossible. Legends are famous, laborers remain unsung and unknown. Are you a labourer or a legend? Dear friend, review your journey through life. Dear friend, be a legend; enjoy your day.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 02:19:14 +0000
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