I am often mortified when I watch the way young
people like me enjoy growing old (as though they don’t know) without growing
up. Personal development, self improvement and value addition are seen as archaic.
Everybody is in a haste to get to the top but forget they’ll need a ladder to
climb. Don’t be fooled young person, one day you’ll become a grandpa or
grandma; your youthfulness will not last forever but the foundation you lay
today for a life of relevance and impact will outlive you. While an eighty
something Chinua Achebe was being buried like a national hero, some others like
him have been abandoned in old people’s homes; a Wole Soyinka at seventy
something is still as relevant today as he was in his days at the University
while a Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu are regarded as national gods. These were
people who took advantage of their youth to make themselves immortals. Most of
their contemporaries are nonentities, rotting away in the oblivion of time; not
regarded by family, friends or neighbours. I am not writing this to make you
apprehensive; I intend to help you answer one important question which is,
''what
am I doing with my youthfulness?''
''Remember
now thy creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the
years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them''- Eccl 12:1. Young
people spend so much time decorating their bodies (which is not bad if
sparingly done) than they do decorating their minds, thinking the body will
last forever. Let me submit to you that the beauty on your body will fade if
your body is confronted and challenged to take action but can’t by a rag-tag mind.
Sophia Loren says ''there is a fountain
of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and
the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly
have defeated age'' because the body, no matter how active it is, does not appreciate;
but the active mind does; though it won’t without a conscious effort from you.
Look around you and you'll find that those who really grow up are those who
keep developing and decorating their minds. As I mark my birthday today, I want
to inform you that ''growing old is
mandatory; growing up is optional''- Chili Davies. Few people choose the latter;
I am one of them, are you?
Be inspired!
Remain motivated!
Picture credit: www.gettyimages.com
