Achieving The Impossible!

Upon deep reflection in our quiet moments, it is possible to see why the names of some people are seemingly unforgettable, whether alive or dead. It is general knowledge that it is not everyone's name that has become unforgettable. It then means that for every name that has become unforgettable, there is at least an achievement attached to it that has defied characterization by mediocrity or common place. Rather such achievements are as rare and spectacular as the Haley's comet that appears every forty years. Such achievements are the products of great minds gifted with ingenuity, simplicity and clarity of expression. The simplicity and the clarity of expression of an idea are a reflection of the clarity of thought producing it, and by extension the high possibility of its successful implementation.

If achievements are to be the yardstick by which human life is measured and valued, what then do we say about the value of life lived by the people whose memories are not imprinted in the sands of time? Or put in another way, why is it possible for some people to do those things that make them unforgettable when they could have been mere statistics like very many other people? I must sound a note of caution though that it is not only those people who have been highlighted by the media that are unforgettable. There remains so many wonderful people who have impacted the lives of their small communities in unforgettable little ways for which the people of those communities will forever cherish their memories.

It is no mean feat to achieve anything extraordinary. I remember back in the days at the university, the first class seeking guys used to be called triangular students. Like the triangle with three sides, their lives revolved around reading, eating and sleeping. Nothing more, yet nothing less. Reading was their major vocation. They only ate and slept minimally so that they would not die in the process of acquiring a first class degree. Being in reckoning for a first class degree was a heavy burden because a little loss of focus could mean the end of a lofty dream. Though many people admired them and would even wish they were so opportuned, they frowned at the inconveniences it entailed. They frowned at having to always attend every class and very early too. They frowned at having to frequently abandon the succor of their beds for the mosquito bites in the classrooms at nights, and especially while their other colleagues were fast asleep. In fact, they frowned at having to read to live or live to read. But those intent on first class degrees did not have any choice. They knew what it took and were prepared to give it their all, everything that they had. The rest of the people could enjoy the luxuries of their freedom, not so for those who must put imprint their feet in the sands of time.

You will have to attempt to move the Mountain Kilimanjaro. You will even have to attempt to relocate the River Nile. In a manner of speaking, such are the monumental things you will have to do. Sometimes, I wonder how so much brighter and lovelier life would have been if people handed you success whether on a platter of gold, silver or bronze. But no, you are going to virtually snatch at it. That is why you will have to work hard to overcome the challenges in your path. And it would be foolishness of the highest order to under-rate the enormity of such challenges. But should the awareness of the challenges vaporize the effervescence of your brilliant idea, the I-can-do spirit? Would the bird stop flying because the hunter has learned to shoot without missing? Of course not. The bird would rather not tarry in learning to fly without perching. Life is a system of forces in contention with a particular force overcoming the others for a period of time. But the contention never stops. This is why success, like a right, is not freely given even when recognized.

It would indeed be funny should you earnestly yearn for a better situation in life with just the belief that it will come upon you without any change in your thought system and the way and manner you have always done things. You will need to challenge the way you have been doing things so that you will become a better person. But you should remember that you cannot conveniently cling to the old ways of doing things while expecting a different result.