“How did he do it”? How did a man with scoliosis become the world’s fastest man? How did a poverty-stricken man become one of the most successful men in the world? How did an angry mob of students catch the attention of an entire nation? In this article, we will find out the reason why these occurred and how they did it. Was it just luck, as some would say? Is there something you have always wanted?
What is that single thing you would do anything to gain or accomplish? Do you think that Oliver was wrong to ask for more? Answer me, what is your deepest and darkest desire? Look deep inside your soul and ask yourself, ‘what do I want’? Desires are two-faced; the positive face and the negative face. One would want nothing but be the best there is in his class, another would want to own a million-dollar business, but on the other side of town, one is seriously pursuing a particular girl while the other has greed, that knows no bounds. The point is that everyone wants something; some want love, others want power and there are the few who desire fame above all else.
These words were written of an ancient philosopher known popularly by the name, Mad Philosopher but his actual name was Diogenes, the founder of Cynic Philosophy. He was very immoral by all standards. He slept with prostitutes and even used to masturbate in public, nevertheless he was very wise. He once held a lit lamp in daylight and moved through the streets of Greece looking for a righteous man. Sadly, he found not even one. Instead, he found a city full of brutes and monsters. It is ironic for such a man, to say that he found none who was human, as he roamed and searched the streets of the city with a lamp but his words did hold water. Indeed, we have become brutes and beasts who have given in to our carnal desires.
Desiring something has never been bad, certainly not! What could be bad is how we go about pursuing the desire. There were days when our ancestors lived in houses without doors and even though they had covetous men, there were few theft cases. There was trust among men to the extent that they had no fear of going to their farm with their doors unlocked. This is not the case in our modern times; I remember a boy once fell asleep while reading with his laptop in a lecture hall over-night, in preparation for an exam and woke up to a stolen laptop. What else could this act be if not brutish? Indeed, the hearts of men have grown cold. We have no love for one another, as this thief thought only of his gain and not of the boy with examination the next day. Look at our educational system now; do you see what I see? The number of grandaunds each year keeps reducing and it is all because greedy men want to fill their pockets; the temporary gratification. What about the future? What about the next generation of leaders?
Does it occur to you that most of the road accidents that the country has seen lately could have been avoided? More often than not, such incidents occur due to mistakes made by drivers and the failure of police officers to bring them to book. Drivers over speed with the aim of making more money in a day. They parade the streets with faulty cars, without a thought of the fate of passengers should the unexpected happen. It still beats my imagination the use of the police and Road Traffic Authority on our roads. To think that now, all you need, as a driver to avoid police scrutiny is a meagre token, between 5-10 cedes. I cannot help it but recount a personal experience, when I sat on the front passenger seat of a ‘trotro’ and realised that the driver did not use a key to spark. The car was so broken that he used hot wiring to start it and the biggest surprise came in when we got to a police stop and he handed an empty licence holder with 5 cedis in it, the police officer took out the money and allowed the driver to proceed. How can we ignore these happenings? A car with a faulty braking system and a faulty gearbox! I could not help it but pray throughout the journey.
Think of paedophiles and rapists; is our desire for sex so strong that we would harm little children in our quests for sexual pleasures? Even Christian teenagers no longer uphold chastity. Men hold their heads high as they commit sins with the forgiveness of God in mind. Indeed, we have seared consciences! I believe that the evils that the world is experiencing are due to the negative desires of the people. They put their personal desires above the interests of everyone else and go ahead to pursue them diligently. Therefore, I bet one is wondering if things could get better or if there is a way to channel our desires into positive outcomes.
Fire is a good servant but a bad master, this is to say that the useful aspect of fire is realised when it is put in its rightful place. The same goes for desires, many of the men who walked this earth were seen as great because they placed their desires right. Mohammed Ali trained hard with all his strength because he wanted to become The King of the Ring, think of Usain Bolt, a man with scoliosis who trained so hard to become the world’s fastest man as well as Steve Jobs, a man from a poor background rising to become one of the richest men of his time. What do all these people have in common? It was simply their desires to make their dreams come true! We all have big dreams, everyone wants something but very few actually put in efforts to get what they want.
Instead of following your desires to undress every girl you meet, why not focus on your desire to become an engineer and read a book instead? Why not get yourself an atlas or a study partner and read together instead of a girl to fornicate with every other Saturday afternoon in the name of studying? You want to start a business, why not read on what you want to do or talk to an expert on the matter instead of hoping your gambling attitude would bring you a huge pay cheque. My point is, we must learn to feed our positive desires and get rid of the negative ones. Why is our lust for women and wine and not for knowledge? Why we are greedy for money but never channel that greed into finding legitimate ways of earning but rather resort to theft and bribery? Channel your desires and let them work for you.
Remember, this too shall pass; the temporary moment of pleasure gained from negative desires. Ask yourself, what next? Why do you feel so guilty and bad about the things you did if they were right? Is this self-torture worth it? I think not! You know you are better than this, become a true human and master your body, never be controlled by your desires. Let your desires drive you to achieve greatness but remember that some men lost their lives and in worst cases their entire estates because they couldn’t stop themselves from committing a single act of theft or that an act of adultery. You would be doing yourself a great service if you could remember Sampson, Mark Anthony, Solomon as they all fell because of women. Solomon, with all his wisdom placed his desire for women over his beautiful relationship with God; let history teach you a lesson, Take control today.
It is not my place to choose your line of argument but I could only suggest that you consider this too… instead of solely pursue personal gratification, why not pursue predominantly, something bigger, something that would last and help alleviate the suffering of humanity?
