These are tough times and indeed all the stories we read and hear nowadays point in that direction. We have been told that it is the worst global financial crisis since 1930 and that companies are liquidating, there is credit crunch, mortgage failure is looming and the stocks are crashing world wide. You really may be wondering if we are already in the Great Global Millennial Depression. I am about to add to your fear because I am not going to tell you that the depression is not real. In fact, in life journeys, we face similar depressions every time.
Writing about tough times reminds me of Dr Robert Schuller whose book, Tough Times never last, but Tough People do’ has remained an evergreen best seller in Positive Thinking World. All Dr Schuller’s book have eye-catching titles which are capable of softening any tough situation. Many of his books have changed many depression and recession to rejuvenation and jubilation. Many of the words in his books are also life-changing quotations that if imbibed have the potentials of changing ways to handle tough times.
Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.
For us to grow in tough times then there are things we need to do. We should not listen to ‘tale carriers’ who in my area we call amebos. They bring tales of doom and expect to create fears in you that all is not well. Tell them ‘It is well.’ I never liked watching CNN because it tells negative stories or bad things happening all over the world, especially in Africa. He tells us stories of hungers, of poverties of people living below $120.00 dollars a day, about Katrina, tsunami and military men molesting civilians. When good things happen in Africa, CNN seldom reports. But CNN thrives by selling bad news and the company continues to grow from strength to strength.
There is always a silver lining in every cloud. A proverb in my language says komai nisa n dere, geri sai waye. In other words, no matter how long the night is prolonged, there will surely be the dawn of a new day. To survive in a turbulent period we need to be tough and indeed, very tough. A corollary to this last statement is that we need to train ourselves to be tough before the tough times come. If an athlete does not practice before the tough game, he is not likely to come up top. In order to come up top in tough times we need to prepare rough paths for ourselves.
We are all growing up and so it is not late to start preparing to practice the rough paths of life in case we need this to face tough times. Ask those who climb to the top of any mountain; the path is very rough. Ask the military and they will remind you that the more we sweat in peace time the less we bleed in war. This message is particularly important for the parents: teach the children to grow up expecting tough times by making their paths rough sometimes. This is because it is tough people that survive in tough times but it is their rough past and paths that have given them the right attitude to survive. Grow up tough!
Akintomide
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DIFFERENT STROKES
The World, just about one week ago, woke up to witness the election of a Black man as the president of the United States. Since then, even the opposition have not been left out in applauding the uniqueness of this election and its unifying effect of the World. We congratulate Barack Obama. But the dream of Martin Luther King Jnr is still far from being fulfilled until all races and creeds wake up to embrace equality of opportunities which Obama's election demonstrates. We salute the Americans for standing up for change.
In Nigeria, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, that indefatigable Labour Union leader, reclaimed his mandate by being approved as the Governor of Edo State. The epoch making occasion for his swearing in on Wednesday 12 Nov 08 is being seen in Nigeria as another change. We salute the judiciary of Nigeria which for long has identified with the aspirations of Nigeria by supporting democracy.
These are different strokes but the message is the same. The people are yearning for good governance and will do all within their power to get it. The world is becoming smaller and smaller and so change is imminent. All must be prepared for change as nothing is more permanent than change.
Akintomide
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