Promise

Peter’s Net

Have you ever been in this situation before: You wanted something so badly. Then you got it. After that, you are almost shocked to death that you got it?!! It has happened to me so many times and I’m going to share the most recent with you. By the way, if you looked at the title of this post and you are expecting a story about Peter Pan, you are in for a very big surprise.

I started blogging late May this year. After the initial excitement of maintaining a blog had died down (Check ‘Number Of The Day: 11’), I decided to surf around the blogosphere to interact with other bloggers. That was when I saw it. Bloggers who had spent the same time period (or even less) that I had spent had almost ten thousand times more clicks and follows than I had. I was a bit downcast and discouraged because I had tried all that I knew to just make sure I had more traffic to my site. I told my friends about my blog, I shared links to my blog on twitter and groups on facebook. But I just couldn’t raise the amount of traffic that was getting to my blog. Then it happened. One of the bloggers I follow dedicated a particular post to his readers. You could ask anything and write anything. It looked like fun and it was fun. I read the previous comments on that post and I saw other bloggers writing links back to their own blogs in the comment section. So I said to myself, ‘Why not give it a try?’. Before that day ran out, I had the highest number of views that I had ever seen on my blog. It was scary. Suddenly, I found myself running out of breath to keep up with the comments that I was receiving. It took me the presence of mind not to start wishing for those ‘dry’ days all over again!!!

Funny enough, I saw a similar story to mine in the Bible. It happened between Peter and Jesus in Luke 5. And no, they were not blogging! Jesus was preaching at the bank of a particular lake. However, He was having a little of a crowd situation since the people were pushing on to Him to hear Him better. Who could blame them? Anyways, Jesus beckoned to Fisherman Peter who appeared to be through for the day since he was already washing his nets. Jesus asked to make use of Peter’s boat as a floating altar in the lake since that was the only way He could avoid being crushed by the crowd. It was an ingenious plan that probably prevented Jesus’ earthly ministry from ending prematurely. As soon as the highly interesting teaching session was over, Jesus discerned that Peter had a bad day. Apparently, Peter had washed his nets, but there were no fish. Now, pay attention. If you read the King James Version of Luke 5 vs 4, Jesus said, ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your NETS for a draught’. But in vs 5, Peter’s response was, ‘Master, we have toiled all night and have taken nothing: nevertheless at your word, I will let down the NET’. ‘Nets’ and ‘Net’ are NOT the same thing. In case you didn’t know, ‘NETS’ is the plural tense of ‘NET’. Peter was a fisherman and he might have had dreams of the day he would catch so many fishes. However, the Day came and he decided to play it safe. Maybe the guy just didn’t want to embarass anybody, in case the whole exercise flopped. At least, the fact that Peter even ventured to drop a single net showed that he believed Jesus’ words. Peter expected the miracle but his preparation for the miracle was poor. How many times do we ask for rain to fall, yet we don’t carry umbrellas? How many times do we ask for babies, yet we don’t buy baby cribs, clothes and the works. Luke 5 vs 6 tells us what eventually happens to Peter’s net. It broke. The miraculous supply of fish tore Peter’s Net. Infact, One ship and other nets later, the weight of the catch still threatened to sink the ships.

The next time you are earnestly seeking a miracle in your life, I think it would be better to start making adequate preparations, especially in your mind, to receive the miracle. After all, it’s better to die in misery than to die of the shock that a stupendous miracle would bring!!!

Operation S.A.L.T.

‘When salt looses its saltiness…’

Imagine what would happen if suddenly there was a scarcity of salt! It is a fact, although relatively unknown, that salt was once a luxurious good. Only those with influence and affluence and power had it. Once upon a time, salt was so much valued that it was the acceptable legal tender in many different communities round the world. Though the times have changed, salt still weilds so much power and authority over our diets and lifestyles. Salt is synonymous with flavour and taste and without it, the world would be colourless to our instruments to gustation.

Jonathan Swift in his adventure novel, ‘Guilliver’s Travels’ clearly portrayed a scenario resembling what would happen if we were to stop using salt. Guilliver had travelled to a horse tribe and there, salt wasn’t used at all. The amazing thing was that after initial challenges, Guilliver adapted. I believe the same thing would happen if salt should suddenly go scarce. People would adapt!

Salt is naturally salty in taste (of course!), and when it is added to tasteless food, the food adopts the taste and flavour of salt. In the same way, we are meant to influence our environment with the good and positivity we have in us. Now, imagine what would happen if salt is sprinkled in tasteless food and the food still remains tasteless. Salt then has no reason for existence. It is no longer salty and hence lacks the ability to cause taste and flavour. It’s now adopting the tastelessness of the food to which it was added. In the same way, the moment we stop oozing goodness and positivity, we can no longer influence our environment. Instead, we are the ones being influenced by whatever is going on around us.

As I mentioned in ‘Evil’s Open Secret’, the international policy makers and top government officials of the nations of the world are in a state of confusion. Just the same way people would adapt to scarcity of salt, people are adapting to this state of confusion. For example, in Nigeria, corruption, bombings and accidents have become almost a daily occurence on the news reported by the various media houses. However, on the days when there are no stories of bombings or accidents or corruption, the populace say there’s no news. It amazes me how people adapt in just a short period of time because ten years ago, there were no bombings in Nigeria!

The situation we find ourselves in the world today is a dire one. First there is a scarcity of individuals who can be called ‘salts’. The good thing about salt is its power of influence. You don’t need a whole bag of salt to flavour your food. Just a little is enough. However, the few ‘salts’ we have are loosing their saltiness by being the ones influenced by their environment.

In a world that is lacking in positive role models, why not stand your ground and be a person of influence to your environment. Be the positive change you are dying to see in the world. Remember, if you don’t influence your world, the world would adapt and find some use for you.

‘…it is cast out and trodden under the feet of men’

Let me know your thoughts.

Aaaaaargh, Think!!!

I took the television set and smashed it on my head. There was blood everywhere. And glass too. Okay, I’m sorry to disappoint you but I did not actually do the aforementioned. I just decided to let you in on the situation I’m in now. I’m having a hard time here because I’m not having the inspiration to write anything. Nothing. Nada.

I tried writing a poem to express what my mind is feeling but all the words came out flat. I know there’s a lid covering the wellspring of thoughts. Usually, I try to locate the lid and do something about it. Other times, I simply wait for the inspiration to hit me. Today, I’m going to try something new; I’d just take a leap of faith and write.

The only word that is ringing in my head now is: THINK!!!
And that about sums up my emotions right now.

The world does not run on petroleum, coal or any alternative source of energy. Err….at least not primarily. The world is run on ideas. Ideas rule the world. Why? Because if the mind can picture anything, then that thing is possible (check my article on ‘Words Onwards).

For starters, how about working on that creative part of your mind that is still lying fallow after all these years? And for those who are thinkers, what do you allow your mind to regurgitate upon? Thoughts that can benefit you and the world at large or thoughts that would ultimately bring you down.
The choice is yours. Choose wisely

You Are Not Alone

Check the article here:
www.belifteddotme.wordpress.com/2013/08/13/www-promisetewogbola-wordpress-com/

The Aftermath

A sickness to my marrows, a sorrow to my soul,
Initially sweetness in my mouth, now bitterness in my bellies.
It’s a struggle and I’m not alone in it, but
the company I keep, I’m better off without.
‘I must get out of this rigmarole’, I cry, challenging myself with my self-induced pep talk

I try climbing out, ever slowly, never surely, clinging desperately
to the slippery borders of the Valley of Despair I find myself in.
By sheer exertion and willpower, I fool myself into believing
that I’m making net progress, no matter how little, but
I soon lose my footing, for the umpteenth time and I come
crashing down, hitting rock bottom, again.

Suddenly, it dawns on me, the sun’s countenance smiles on me.
With a flash of discretion, I discover that it is not in me to deliver myself.

I’m now tired- with the situation, and with myself
I’m tired, bleeding all over, but even in my full strength,
on a good day, I’d still be found wanting

I am down to my knees in my ultimately lowest point, and
I shout- Your Name

There is silence.
I consider throwing in the towel,
thinking, at least, it was worth the try, then
Thunders come crashing like cymbals hit by a drummer in a frenzy,
Lightnings come striking in a beautiful wonder,
The earth is quaking and out of the skies, The Ladder descends to me.

The choice is mine: with my last ounce of strength, I touch
the first rung of The Ladder.
Nothing happens.
Then I blink and everything happens
I see myself translate from Darkness into unfathomable Light,
I wallowed in self-pity in the company of strugglers,
Now, I’m in a wide, spacious open place, where
the grasses are carefully manicured, the evergreen trees evenly spaced,
A picturesque backdrop of mountain and hills mingling with
the graceful showering of dew, Gentle rivers meander through
their course like a ballet dancer, before cascading down the
magnificient waterfalls.
With hot tears streaming down my face, I mutter, ‘I’m free!’

Evil’s Open Secret

Just take a good look around you. What do you see in the health sector? What do you see in the educational sector? What do you see in World politics as at now? The international policy makers and top government officials are all confused because nothing seems to work. As it were, they are just moving around in circles, giving Band-Aid to the deeply ingrained cancerous problems the world is facing now. They hope that these problems would just go away by a placebo effect or something.

The whole world is waiting. Anxiously waiting. Waiting earnestly for the manifestation of the Children of The Light who would serve as problem solvers for this generation, for posterity and for the world at large.

But what do we have instead? We have Religion shifting its focus away from its old foe- Science, and engaging in a mortal combat with Spirituality. I’m not saying that it is bad to go to church or it’s bad to fellowship with other believers. But it is the Spirit that gives life, sheer muscle and willpower do not profit anything: if you spend a million years in a church building and you are not filled with the Spirit of God, you are only wasting your time, religiously. Religion is NOT Spirituality!

The problem now is that despite the fact that we have numerous individuals who are filled with the Spirit of God and Wisdom, they prefer not to go out of their comfort zones. The world is like a battle field and the Church is more or less like the Barracks where the Children of The Light should be inspired and motivated to shine their lights into the darkness in the world. Instead, the Children of The Light prefer to stay in the Barracks and shine their Lights to each other when there’s thick darkness out there.

It is at this point that EVIL’S OPEN SECRET is being made manifest. The products of Evil are NOT kept in the warehouses. No, they are pushed into the various walks of life. They are made to infiltrate the entertainment industry, the health sector, the legislative, judiciary and executive arms of government. They are even made to infiltrate the so-called Barracks of the Children of The Light. So today, we have pointless and distasteful bills are are being passed into laws at the houses of parliament all over the world. Why? Because the Children of The Light would not go out of their comfort zones to shine in the darkness. Today, we speak of the evil music industry with more and more being led into the captivity of darkness. Why? Because Lights are busy shining and smiling to each other religiously in the Church while darkness is being enthroned in the world out there.

I’d conclude with this: Daniel was a very spiritual man of God in the Bible. He did not have a church, he didn’t heal the sick and he probably heard God audibly speak more times than we would ever hear in our entire lives. Yet, if he had lived in today’s world, he would have been a politician holding a high public office.

I’m being given a platform. I’m being given a voice. And no matter how shrill that voice may sound, I WILL TALK! Enough with the arguments about doctrine and let’s move out en masse and restore normalcy to the dark, upside down world that we’ve been comfortably living in. Let’s Shine!

Escapist Mentality

When I was in junior secondary school, my English teacher read a poem to my class.
I can’t remember the exact wordings of that poem but I know that the poet was describing the various ills that are faced on a daily basis in the typical Nigerian society.
However, what struck me most was the ending when the poem suddenly changed in tone and the poet started professing his undying love to one Maria- his mistress…

In the end, we are all humans. No matter how tolerant we might be to whatever is going on around us, we would still eventually get fed up with things we don’t like.

When situations and circumstances go adverse to you, where does your mind escape to? When you feel you can take it no more, what comes to you as a means of escape? What’s your escapist mentality?

Found!

The emptiness is all gone,
taking a French leave like Darkness at the scent of light,
which shines so brightly, such that
Purpose cannot cover her nakedness no more

Let Nothing weigh me down, ’cause I’m buoyant now
Upwards in the sky, I float, my head above the waters
Gloating over all my fears that are no more, flushed
away in the Sewers of Nought.
I can touch the skies, I can touch the earth
Like the hands of the clock when it’s on the hour of six

Moving hills, moving mountains,
Moving stars, moving galaxies
It’s in me, I’m just waiting,
waiting to bring it all out.

The Novel Way

‘There is a way which seems right to a man…’

There is now a new way that we are getting increasingly familiar with by the day. Hmmn, how novel. Well, the typical plot has the main character uncovering a conspiracy, usually within the corridors of power. Usually, the character in question is one with a far superior level of intelligence. He may or may not shoot. He is also a master of disguise. He is highly calculative, rarely makes mistakes and so smoothly gets himself out of uncompromising situations. He is good-looking, mild-mannered and has a taste for the high life. Women are drawn to him as though he were a magnet. His brain is his asset and he is sound in international diplomacy. He is rich. He is connected and he travels far and wide, usually in search of nothing in particular. He exists, in the pages of a novel….

Or at least, that was what majority of us thought. Until the world met Snowden. Edward Snowden. The guy’s a computer nerd who was working with one of America’s national security agencies. He stumbled across some info relating to how the government was keeping tabs on its citizens. His ‘conscience’ pricked him and he released this scoop to a media house. From there, the news sold like hot cakes fresh from the oven. Good move? Maybe, maybe not. One of the basic human rights is the right to privacy. Snowden felt this right is being infringed upon as a result of the surveillance that the government is keeping on its citizens. On the other hand, in a world as porous as the one we live in today, nobody can vouch for the character of anybody else. Your gentle neighbour yesterday could be Boko Haram’s leader tommorow. Snowden’s release of this info could jeopardize America’s security since the perpetrators of evil are now fully aware that everybody’s being watched. This would only lead to better planning on their part.

But did Snowden do the right thing? That’s a relative question which would be defined by what you think ‘right’ is.

I, for one, am particular about what could have driven Snowden to do what he did at such a time as this. I did a little research and could only come up with one reason: Adventure. Yea, The Adventurer’s Life. Take a good look at the Snowden situation now. He’s playing hide-and-seek with the nations of the world as his playing ground. He’s a brain afterall and he has consistently proven that via his understanding of international diplomatic policies. He’s meeting Presidents of countries. He’s literally smashing nations against each other by virtue of the requests for asylum that he’s sending to countries that do not want a ‘cold war’ with America.

Apparently, we can say Snowden is ‘living the life’. The kind of life we only knew in the pages of the novel. Funny enough, with the Snowden example, authors have found newer materials to base their stories on. Consequently, the readers would find more stimuli to whet their subconscious apetite for adventure. A new trend has now been imprinted on the sands of time. A pacesetter has blazed the trail and it is only a matter of time that more people tread along this life from the books. Indeed, the adventurer’s dream life now seems to be the new, novel way!

v 2.0

‘Good, Better, Best,
I will never rest
until my Good is Better
and then my Better Best’

With time, personal records are broken, explosively
shattered into pieces as though they were China glasswares.
Awards and trophies are thrashed, nonchalantly
dumped on the ashheaps of life, existent only in memories.
That is Life, in its characteristically illogical fairness,
stubbornly unrepentant in its dealings with one and all.
Rewarding all: the discipline, the dedications and the pains
that reaching the unbroken and untouched took.

With time, the top of the game is attained and made one’s own.
At the pinnacle, the last rung of the ladder, it is heard in hushed tones
‘Nothing left to conquer’, the mind sadly mutters, finding it difficult
to accept that the taskmaster is now content with zero returns.
Left alone, the hero becomes seduced by success, who turns
his head, till he sees eye to eye with failure.

With time, the Best would eventually be bettered
‘By who?’- The timeless question that continually echoes
through the very essence of time itself:
the Best bettering himself;
or others giving a helping hand.
But the initial drive is no longer on seat and in exile,
the glowing coals of passion are finally extinguished.
Gain, and maybe greed, pokes the intuitive inner third eye.
Unemotionally cold and savagely inhuman,
they grin at the ensuing darkness within.

With time, the forgotten, like shadows in the early morning sun,
are remembered to be forgotten.
But when none except one is forgotten, in blind justice
why shouldn’t all be forgotten?
Like hitting on the reset button and kicking hard against the milestones,
Restarting the missions all over, so refreshing for the vision of old.
Update, and upgrade the drive, so passion burns unhindered within
As a beacon for posterity-
The Grammy winning swansong…

‘Good, Better, Best,
I will never rest,
until my Good is Better
and then my Better Best’