Freedom in Speech

Written by Jeffery Moses Tuesday, 10 July 2012 11:23

It’s interesting this thing called life. Just when you think you have all the answers, something happens that awakens you to the fact that life is an ongoing classroom.

I doubt anybody has the answers, I know however, that we all have infinite questions regarding so many different aspects of life. I have learned to keep my mind open and to be strong. It is very easy to forget you see, especially when you get to a point in life where everything seems to be working your way. We must never allow ourselves to forget that we really just are on a fun roller coaster ride. Sometimes the ride is smooth and then suddenly, before we even expect it, we are thrust into turbulence and the dust blinds our view and we have to shut our eyes to the pain and hope it all blows over soon.

I have come to learn that despite the challenges we go through, we must learn to look deep into ourselves to find inner strength. Faith and determination is what keeps us going. Just sitting here and writing this is my way of saying that I dare not give up, even when the roller coaster ride gets terrifying and the dust is strewn all over my face, I must hold on and believe that the fun times will be back again. Just what are the fun times? The day when you wake up with nothing but passion in your heart, without a trace of heaviness therein. When you look up to going out and doing the things that truly bring you joy and ultimately satisfaction.

There was a time not too long ago when I looked to people to come and save me. When I gave so much and so happily so and made the mistake of expecting the same or even more back. I was astoundingly disappointed. I later came to learn the true nature of man and why I, was the one on the wrong to have thought the way I did. What I came to discover is that nobody is ever really sure of their oncoming journey in life. We all grapple with insecurity. We are all on that roller coaster. Some people find comfort in working hard and saving for the turbulent times, others like me invest in people and friendships and work to make others happy. Somewhere inside me I thought, when the going gets rough I will have someone to do the same for me. In my case I over invested in the wrong relationships. I cannot however blame the people who have come to disappoint me in the end. They are, after all, mere human beings. We are all the same. Everybody has their own troubles to deal with.

We’ve got to be cautious with people you see. Placing too much trust, opening up too much and loving hopelessly is a weakness I have found in myself. The thing about being such a person is that I am more vulnerable to getting hurt. So how do I go on? By exercising caution and restraint, keeping my friends few and close and focusing on changing the world in a more positive way rather than just focusing on changing an individual. You can never change another human being, even though you sing in the language of angels. What you can do, is inspire change and a reevaluation of attitudes.

There are very people that I admire; these exemplary individuals are people who have established a firm bridge over the waters. No matter the times, they are firm in their stance and very little gets them off course. I am speaking about people who go out of their way to inspire greatness. I have discovered the secret recipe. Believe in yourself even when nobody believes in you. This is the thing that will set you in the path towards achieving any dream.

I have a girlfriend who confessed to me that one of her childhood dreams was to see London. She never lost focus of London even when the people around her tried to assure her that London was beyond her reach. Over the years, she saw people go to London and those who came back fueled her desires with stories of the grandiose of that timeless, beautiful city of stones. She even tried getting there by dating men whose home was the illusive London itself. They all disappointed her. Still she held onto her dream. After years and years of hearing stories she got up one morning and went to the British high commission. She had been told over and over again that getting a visa was like mining gold. She had travelled to many other parts of the world but London was still her big dream, so she fulfilled the requirements and alas! She got her visa. When she finally got to London, she told me later, that it was just as she had imagined; spectacular! She loved getting lost in the rain and seeing the iconic red telephone booths. She loved the chill in the weather and the centuries-old stone buildings. After a few days of London she left her dream having been fulfilled.  It was an amazing story one that spoke of tenacity and hope. A simple village girl who has gone onto conquer so many dreams that bristled inside her.

The truth is that nobody will come here and do it for me. It is entirely up to me, the course that my life’s journey takes. All I have to do is stay true to myself and keep doing the things that bring me joy and satisfaction. A selfish resolution to life you might think, but the truth is that, one is only more likely to make others happy when they themselves are happy and what better to be happy than to do the things that you have always wanted to do? The things that bring you joy?

It is interesting this thing called life. Just when you think you have all the answers, something happens that makes you realize you actually do not have the answers. So many questions, so many reasons to be doubtful and downcast, but then again so many ways to get to the answers and just how do I choose to do it? by being tenacious, hopeful and true to the person that I am and the things I believe in. there is no better satisfaction in life than daring to dream and seeing your dream through, the icing on the cake is when you achieve your dreams and by doing so; impacting the people around in a happy, positive way. From here on; I am just going to do me! Now this I know for sure.