I have this notebook which is quite wellworn because i have had it for a longtime now. Over the years i have written in it my poems, little stuffs that have caught my fancy and quotes, i am passionate about quotes, some are made by famous names and others; well, the not quite famous. These little notes have inspired me in my walk through life, flashing into my mind at odd moments, helping me remember that whatever i am passing through, someone has been there before and truimphed, i tell you folks, that is an encouraging feeling.
The other day, i was thumbing through my notebook and i came across this poem by R. L Sharpe which i will like share with you,
Isn't it strangethat princes and kingsand clowns that caperin sawdust ringsand common peoplelike you and meare builders for eternity?
Each is given a bag of tools
a shapeless mass
a book of rules
and each must make
ere life is flown
a stumbling block
or a stepping stone.
This poem got me thinking, privilege or want is no excuse for inaction, we do not have to let it constrain us, i grant that it is difficult coming from a background of nothing, i know that from experience but even those we consider privileged do not always have it easy. The present as well as history is coloured with men and women who conquered in their various fields against all odds. So, when you wake up in the morning and feel you cannot possibly survive whatever crisis you are experiencing, just remember this.
I know i want people to see me and be encouraged to be what they think they can be, and i know i do not have to be famous to be an example to my siblings, cousins and neighbours. Lets strive to be "stepping stones" and not "stumblingblocks"
I leave off with this final quote from Voltaire;
"Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her; but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game."
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