Skip to main content

The Fruit (Patience) 


"Good things, come to those who wait." The famous aphorism of patience, states. Every individual wants the best things in life, but the most unfortunate part is that "patience" is a trait that not every individual posses. If success was an overnight achievement, every entity would be living the dream.

Why is it that good things or, rather, the best things in life take time and require one to wait a certain period before they can enjoy the benefits of the pain they've endured? Patience is a trait that a preponderance of individuals lack in these present times, owing to how we've gotten used to the instant life. Instant porridge, instant noodles etc. This life has become so fast paced to a point whereby the general population has grown unfamiliar to patience. Relationships don't last, most of today's music is bubblegum, almost everything that exists in this era is ephemeral. It's rare to find something that lasts longer these days, considering how we've gotten used to the idea of replacing everything that's broken. Humans and the journey to success are both consanguineous to the metamorphosis of a tree or plants.

The problem about modern Africans is that we've become too attached to materials that we no longer have time to spend with nature, let alone growing plants or trees. Hence, we've become oblivious to the significance of being patient in whatever we hope to achieve or attain. Patience, is truly a virtue. Look at what it got Sir Colonel Sanders after going through sharp vicissitudes of fortune for so many years, but he never stopped. Irregardless of how many experiments failed, but John Pemberton never stopped working in the lab. Tembisile Hani spent almost his whole life in exile, while fighting for the emancipation of his people. Adolf Hitler even went to prison, but he never stopped pursuing what his heart desired. Shaka Zulu commenced with an army of 400 warriors which later expanded to thousands. Patience is an art. Even planet earth has to endure four seasons, fifty two weeks, twelve months and three hundred and sixty five days in order to complete a year. Same as trees.

It doesn't matter how big a tree may be, but the fact of the matter is that it all begins with seeds. If something as miniature as seeds can end up metamorphosing into something as Colossal as a Baobab tree. That should teach you about the power of patience. But patience alone does not have any impact, persistence and consistency complement the whole formula. Even for trees to grow, light and water are needed. The same goes with pursuing dreams, it requires effort, optimism, faith, constant motivation, goals and a whole lot more. Even the colonizers took their time to study the behavior of Africans before they took over. Nothing happens overnight, except failure and downfall. Patience is an art. Pablo Picasso did not just move his pencil twice then came out with the best art. He visualized it first. Made gobs of mistakes, erased and did better than the first attempt until he became a successful and globally recognized artist. Patience and mistakes are best friends, if you take a good look at it. Giving up is simply quitting when one makes mistakes. However, applying a little bit of patience and effort in rectifying, learning from them and moving forward more wiser and cautious is a process that cannot commence nor proceed with success without patience. For whatever we consider valuable or precious to us, or what we deem our dreams or goals require patience, persistence and consistency. In order for seeds to germinate and end up producing fruits, they require consistent watering and light. You don't plant seeds and get trees overnight.

In order to succeed at writing, you have to write an article, or a passage, or a dialogue, daily until you're able to write about anything that pops up in your head. Same goes with soccer, music, studying or anything one intends to achieve. In life, everything that's worth having requires patience. A fixed fact. We often erect our index and middle as a symbol for peace. Unfortunately, that's not how peace can be achieved. Peace requires understanding, and understanding requires love. You cannot understand what you don't love, and you cannot love what you don't understand. Understanding requires attention, attention requires listening. Now that's where it all starts. That's what will end all these unnecessary quarrels that occur in African communities, daily. All we need is to be patient with each other, considering how disparate we are.

We need to understand one another, and that also requires a great deal of empathy. If we give each other a chance, then we'll be able to live together in peace and harmony, within our communities. Patience is all we need, if we want to end up enjoying the fruits.

Comments

Eye See

The objects of fear

The great Bantu Biko , once said that fear is an important determinant in South African politics. In fact, that’s what all governments use to contain the civilians. Fear, is not the power that one attains, but the power that he is given by the ones who fear him.  Allow me, to quote the legendary Biko: “It is a fear so basic in the considered actions of black people as to make it impossible for them to behave like people---let alone free people.” “One must not underestimate the deeply imbedded fear of the black man so prevalent in white society. Whites know only too well what exactly they have been doing to blacks and logically find reason for the black man to be angry. Their state of insecurity however does not outweigh their greed for power and wealth, hence they brace themselves to react against this rage rather than to dispel it with open-mindedness and fair play.” “It sometimes looks obvious here that the great plan is to keep the black people thoroughly intimidated and

Resurrection

Christians would think of Jesus, first, when this word is being mentioned. According to Merriam Webster dictionary, it is the rising again of all the human dead before the final judgment; or the state of one risen from the dead. It is, simply, about revival nor the process of renewal. In Christianity, Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected on the third day. In the African culture, resurrection comprises a nexus with ancestors nor the ones who are considered deceased or late, on earth, like Christ. We may find resurrection being elucidated in a variety of ways from disparate perspectives and, mostly from religious perspectives. In the ancient Greek religion, there are many instances where the concept of resurrection gains enormous relevance. Memnon, who was killed by Achilles, was resurrected.  Achilles, after being killed, was resurrected by his mother, Thetis. Asclepius, was resurrected and altered into a more colossal deity, subsequent to being killed by Zeus.  Alcest

Dark.

“Dark” the total absorption of light nor utter absence of light; the most feared state. There are nyctophiles, also. It is quite kenspeckle that the hoi polloi had been programmed to associate dark or the darkness with only nefarious, uncongenial, evil things; the hilarious part is that this idea or thought was popularized by those who are subjectively attracted to the light or the white color. For centuries, we’ve seen and still see how the dark people and all other people were convinced that black or dark is the antonym of pulchritude. Credulous Africans, who lack self-knowledge, believed it. Hence, for decades, we’ve seen (and still do) dark people altering their pigment to be lighter, in lieu of dark. Most, claim it’s a decision they took, not out of self-contempt. But, change, inextricably makes the past existence of a substance nor image to often be treated with contempt, if not utter.  If you take a good look at this “black" or “white" matter, you’d ascerta