Author: Promise

Promise Tewogbola is a Christian writer, behavioral economic researcher and author of several books. He has a master's degree in Public Health and a Ph.D. in Applied Psychology.

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’

I Am Gay

‘I’m not one to make excuses; I’m not one to place the blame on others. I’m not one to take the easy way out, I’m just a man trying to do the best I can…’, thus went the immortal words of J. Moss’ song ‘Just James’.

In the world we live in today, various human rights activists have come to the forefront as regards the way gays are being treated. Diverse interest groups have pushed various governments into making laws that ensure that homos are being protected by the constitutions of their countries. From the U.S. down to South Africa, more individuals are becoming more open about their preferred sexuality. ‘We are normal humans too’, they all seem to cry at once and they back this up with the appropriate actions, so we have gay profs, gay scientists, gay politicians and even gay priests.

I have my personal and quite unique opinions about this issue but I must admit to you that I’m gay. ‘Gaier’ than you might even think. Sometimes, I could be very gay and at other times, I’m not as gay as I would have loved to be. However, there’s no point in time when there’s not a bit of ‘gayness’ in me. Infact, I’m going to share the source of my gay life with you, because I woke up this morning feeling particularly gay.

Anybody reading this piece, thus far, could either be disgusted with my blatant admission to being gay; Or be quite impressed with my boldness to admit that I’m gay, in such a very homophobic society as this country. Whichever way, the English language is a very queer one. Back in the Victorian ages, people would talk of having a gay coloured hat, a gay temperament or even a gay life and nobody would feel offended. Then, the word ‘faggot’ only meant a bundle of anything and being ‘fagged’ only implied that one was extremely tired. However, you fastfoward a century and all these terms have a completely new meaning.

I’m not going to use this piece to condemn the activities of anybody. However, I would appreciate it if you, (yes you!) took a little time out today just to look at the wonderful works of God through nature. Or just take some time off your busy schedule and make a mental flashback of all that has ensued in your life in time past. Definitely, you’d find something to be thankful for. Then, you’d end up being as happy as I am. So gay!

Substance Over Style

Let’s start from the scratch: The noise that a hollow container would make is definitely much more than the sound that would be made when a half-filled (or half-empty, depending on how you see it) container is struck. The rule is – The fuller the container, the deeper the sound and the lower the volume of the sound made. Apparently, this was what the observation of the English folk, when they came up with, ‘Empty barrels make the most noise’

Let’s go a little bit deeper now: The noise that the hollow container makes would also be quite similar to the noise that a fancy coloured container would make, so far as it is still empty. Though the amount of noise that would emanate from the empty container is dependent on the material from which the container is made, it is nevertheless also still relative to the fact that the container is empty.

Still hang in there. Now, the sound that would be made by a fully filled container would be dependent on the type of material that is used to fill up the container. For example, the sound made by a container filled with gravel would be different from the sound that is made by a container filled with engine oil.

Eventually, whatever that is within you would count!

If you’ve managed to come this far in this particular post, you might be wondering about what I’m talking about. I’m actually asking a couple of questions.
What do you have within you?
What do people see in you when the stakes are down?
Who is the ‘real you’ that people don’t know of?
I’m asking, ‘Is there an ‘animal’ within you that comes out when the pressure is on?’

And talking about pressure. Pressure is that phenomenon that allows people to see what you’ve got inside you. Whether you are just an empty vessel filled with HOT AIR. Empty within, yet on the outside, people see a well decorated, courteous container. Who do you think you are fooling? It’s high time you underwent a ‘self check-up’.

And for those who are glad that they’ve got something within, what exactly do you have within you? HARD STONES to pelt at people around you, and even yourself. Or FINE SAWDUST to sprinkle into the eyes of those who are watching you. Or maybe it is COOL WATER or better still a GRACEFUL PUNCH of VARIOUS EXOTIC FRUIT JUICES that people can’t just get enough of, even in the face of pressure! Yes, even when you are going through your own challenges, you are still capable of refreshing others.

This post was not written with anybody in mind. It is meant for everyone, including myself. I think it is high time we all examined ourselves to find out whether or not we can stand the FIRE OF TESTS AND TRIALS as it comes. And WHEN it comes, would we be happy with whatever we find within ourselves???

Crosswords Remix – Another Poem.

Marks, unremovable and permanently etched in gold,
On my heart they lay,
despite the years of experience
Serving as reminders of what was, what is
Or maybe what should have been –
the Dream you don’t remember.

Peering into the future, I see it,
yet not as you do.
Eyes turned inside out,
closely examining what my mind has missed

Far away, however,
something else might have clicked within
Only that it was totally expected,
never for once out of character

Life is full of choices,
and no one has to remain the doormat
Unless, of course,
it is the ultimate test for faithfulness

Whichever way, whatever is yours,
would always come back to you.
A word, they say,
is enough for the wise