Several questions run through our minds like:
If we stay in this valley, are we not going to die?
Are we going to wait for an Angel to come and rescue us?
If we continue screaming, will someone here us and save us?
Then the answers start coming in:
This mountain is so high and no one will hear our screams.
Maybe this is where we are meant to be, and you never know many more people could be coming to join us.
Maybe we are paying for the sins we committed when we were young and when time comes we shall get out.
The list of questions and answers is endless.
We reach a point where the answers are not in our favour and the mountain does not change. It is the same; a high and gigantic mountain. So we reach a conclusion that this mountain cannot be climbed and we are doomed to stay in the valley for the rest of our lives.
So what?
We have to look for our basic needs: food, water, shelter and clothing!
As we walk around in this valley, we come across a mango tree, what a blessing! We start enjoying the mangoes. As we walk further, we see some kind of a crater lake but the water is dirty and kind of salty. "This is better than nothing," comments one of my buddies.
As we continue walking, we see a cave. Could this be our new home? Okay! These are miracles, let us have fun here. We could be the happiest dudes around!
Day one ends and we go to our cave for the night wondering and confused about what tomorrow has for us!
It is the second day. More questions this time from what I can call a "different angle" or from the other side of the brain bombard us: What if the mangoes get finished, what shall we eat? What if it rains and the cave becomes wet and cold, where shall we sleep? What about climbing the mountain and leaving the valley?
As usual and in a natural way, answers come automatically. They go like this:
This could be a special species of mangoes and the tree keeps bearing fruit.
When it rains, what can we do about it? It is natural and it will have to rain, you can't control nature, we shall bear the coldness until it starts shining again.
As for the mountain, we shall climb when things worsen here.
Answers just come and nothing seems to be changing, and eventually we become comfortable with our new home.
I tell these buddies that this mountain can be climbed, there is a better life beyond this valley and if we are to get to that side we have to climb this mountain or else things will get worse; say, if one falls sick, if we get attacked by a lion, what about snakes? We need to find partners, get married and produce children.
Every time this comes to our mind, the mountain seems to be speaking to us that it cannot be climbed. It is too high. We have never climbed a hill, who do we think we are to climb such a high mountain? What if we die along the way while climbing the mountain? What if we get blown by the winds and fall off to the rocks and break our ribs?
All these thought forces make us fear, doubt our strength and we resign. We look back and say it is better to stay in the valley than to risk and climb the mountain and face all those challenges and hard times. We are resigned and comfortable to stay in the valley as long as our cave is still there, we can drink dirty water from the crater and chew some mangoes.
On the third day, we look at the mountain from a different perspective. What if we motivate ourselves, get positive, inspired, determined and focused to climb this mountain? For surely there must be a way and better life on the other side of the mountain! For conditions here in the valley are getting worse, the mangoes are tending to get finished and the clouds are gathering over our heads and there is a likely possibility of rain in just days or hours. For sure if we are determined, we can get out of this valley. Why not?
We decide to climb the mountain and reach the top, even if it would take us days, but all we want is to reach the top and escape the valley. There is a lot of uncertainty in the valley. So we plan to start our journey the following day. As we get up very early, one of the buddies claims he is tired and we should wait and may be stay one more day, but this time the rest of us are so determined and inspired with all our efforts, he finds himself alone and he has no choice but to get up and move with us.
Half way up the mountain we meet scary snakes, thorns, thick bushes and forests. We feel frightened for we cannot see any path, we start doubting our strengths for no one wants to lead us into the unknown, we are discouraged, we condemn ourselves for wasting our time and energy to walk a path that never existed. We suffer the pain; we can not get the dirty water because there are no craters in this area, no fruits to feed on. Since I am the one who had brought the idea of leaving the valley, all insults, accusations and guilt come to me. I feel rejected for there is no one to defend my cause. I am called all kinds of names: liar, cheat, murderer, you name it.
I condemn myself for taking these members out of the valley, like the Israelites in the desert. These buddies wanted to go back to Egypt (the valley) because all that they can see here is suffering, pain, hunger, and thirst. I suffer all kinds of emotional, physical and chemical feelings.
Can you imagine the shame? Eventually we retreat, forget our focus, determination, "positiveness"' and head back to the valley -- a place where we can find some peace, though not the best but better than the point we had reached in our effort to climb the mountain.
When we were down the members did not want me to eat the mangoes or drink the water for I had to be punished for making them suffer the whole day. Since majority rules, I had to sleep on an empty stomach, so that I could pay for my sins, for leading my friends into the unknown that yielded no results.
Where had the motivation, inspiration, courage, positivism, etc. gone? I could not sleep, I had to do something.
Four, five, six… ten days and life in the valley is worsening, we are starting to starve, mosquitoes and tsetse flies have attacked the area. Something has to be done, a change for the better. We are now divided: while my buddies are ready to stay in the valley and face the effects of mosquito and tsetse fly bites, starvation and dangers of dying by means other than climbing the mountain and being bitten by snakes, hurt by thorns and moving for days and nights on empty stomachs.
I look at the mountain and it stares, threatens. I look in my mind at the life that exists on the other side of the mountain. This life can not be reached if I don't climb this mountain. I look at peace, joy, prosperity. I look at my buddies in the valley and they have given up and are ready to settle for the worst in the valley. The number of mangoes can now be counted, the rains have started drizzling. Something has to be done.
There must be a better life beyond this mountain, joy, prosperity, abundance. People on the other side of the mountain must be happy, if not we would have seen them coming to look for survival in the valley.
What about the thorns, the fear of snakes, the doubt the rejection and criticism if I don't make it to the top? What will my friends say? How will I handle the loneliness as I move alone through the forest?
All these feelings brought me down, but I was also looking at what lies far beyond the thorns, the snakes, the chimps, the pain, the hunger, the loneliness, the rejection, the criticism.
The more I saw myself climbing the mountain in face of all the challenges, obstacles and negative feelings, the more I saw the world of peace, prosperity, freedom and abundance. It was now between my values and me. I had to choose between settling for less and suffering in the valley or being the one who would climb the mountain in the face of anything and everything and change myself and others for the best.
A feeling I can't get a perfect word to explain took possession of my whole being from head to toe. A voice inside of me commanded me to action. I set off the following morning, looking at nothing but the top of the mountain, the peace on the other side of the world, the prosperity, the abundance, the joy.
The more thorns, challenges, doubts, fears, and pain I faced, the greater the courage I gained to step in to the unknown. I was a warrior, a hero, and the first to step out of the valley. I moved from peak to peak, forest to forest, thorny bush to another.
At mid-day, I was at the top, people on this new side cheered me, there was fun and everything was good. I was seeing the New Jerusalem, the first man, the hero and warrior to walk the unknown and take a stand for his values, for being the one for my life and the lives of those to follow. I was a role model, a reference point, sun-like. I was the one who made the change that many only dreamed of but feared to seek and find. As one who had realised his vision and unveiled his ideal.
The buddies at the bottom of the valley looked at me in awesome wonder. I inspired them and at the end of the day, all came out victorious.
LESSONS:
DAY ONE:
The valley is the life that most of us live here in Africa. We find ourselves in the valley as a result of following the beliefs, doing the things and pursuing the goals and careers that our parents, teachers, and the people in authority want us to do. We have our desires and needs, goals and ambitions. But as we grow, the first 20 or more years, we are told to obey and that a good child is one who does not break the rules. They don't give room to follow our own values and in the end, we compromise our integrity for the sake of being good citizens. When we reach that time of living our lives, starting our own families, making our own decisions, being entrepreneurs and creating something that never existed, we are faced with limitations (the mountain). We think we can't do it without the help of parents; it must be impossible because no one has done it before. We end up being caught in the ‘mix' instead of working into the unknown when the opportunity knocks. We resign and shrink back and decide to settle for the meagre resources of our parents (mangoes and dirty water).
DAY TWO:
“When you tell a lie, big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually start believing it.”
We try to get out of the suffering, but we doubt our abilities, because most times we are told, for everything in life there are no's and yes's, do's and don't's, right answers and wrong answers. This mainly happens during school life. So we don't give our vast minds the natural duty of thinking beyond the existing borders. We say, "I can't do it because no one has ever done it." So we wait for our parents, a donor, and rich relative to tell us what to do! What a shame to man! How can man as a creative be thinking this way?
DAY THREE:
Here we get the determination from life, coaching novels, motivators, those who told us to think positively, work harder and maybe one day things will change. These tell us to be courageous, that we should not feel fear, guilt, etc. As we set off, the things they told us not to feel, are the exact things we meet along the way. We try to be positive and focused, but pain, fatigue and doubt take their toll on our minds as we move to more dangerous zones. As we step further into the unknown, people start laughing at us, they call us names, they say we can't make it; they criticise, condemn and discourage. We now divert our attention from the mountain, the "don't fear" attitude, be positive mentality, etc. to the people around us. We resign and think that there is no one who can climb the mountain (challenges) and reach our goals, dreams and ambitions. So we come back to our valley (suffering) discouraged, helpless, hopeless and weak. We choose to settle in the valley and are convinced that the mountain can not be climbed. We can't withstand the criticism any longer. We start blaming ourselves and others for what is taking place in our lives. We say things like: I was born unlucky, I am not bright, it is curse on my family, this is how God wants me to be, may be one day things will change, etc. This goes on for years and years. We look at the good times we had with our parents when we were still young, we waited and instead of looking for opportunities and ways to get out of such conditions we get convinced to settle for less. Some people resorted to drugs, crimes, depression, suicide, and others found their solace by declaring themselves insane.
DAY FOUR:
Here comes the opportunity, it is a path where few dare to go. It is a battle, and a man put it like this: “All men have fears, but the brave put down their fears and walk forward, sometimes to death but all to victory.”
Those who walk this path, never regret. They are the warriors, heroes, entrepreneurs and wealth creators. They are driven by nothing but honour, passion and forces of nature can do nothing but obey. They are the freedom fighters, the peace makers. Here we find Gandhi, Mandela, Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King Jr., Bill Gates, Abraham Lincoln. Here you take a stand for BEING the one for your life, family, relationship, community and health in the face of anything and everything. Here warriors are driven by what they want to see happening. They meet the challenges of life, such as opposition, fear, loneliness, guilt, rejection, criticism and name calling. And in the face of felling all the challenges above, they look at what is worth standing up for and realise that they are the only ones who can create it or make it happen. They look at their communities, families, businesses, and relationships; they see themselves as being role models, reference points, and examples. And if they don't take a stand, things will not change. It is up to them to take that stand, nobody else!
The more they see this in the face of felling challenges, in the face of taking a stand, they see people changing, they see a mission accomplished, a society changed, peace realised, abundance and prosperity for all. They see a people with a changed perception of things and circumstances. This urges them to action, naturally and automatically, in the face of all challenges and distractions. They climb the mountain and reach the top.
At the top every one is watching, talking; those who were criticising have nothing to do but swallow their words and join in the good fight for freedom, happiness and success.
The question is: how many people are willing to walk the path? Are you going to stay in the valley because you are afraid of the snakes, criticism and challenges along the path, or are going to step into the unknown and be the one to stand up for for your values, your family, life and community?
The power is in your hands!
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