There is a genius in everybody, and a time appointed to all men for impact. Don’t force it! Because anything forced is probably not worth it. Trust in the process, no short cut, no cutting corners, just simply follow through.
Understanding Seasons And Shifts
There’s a time for everything. Among the many moments tied to time and history, two stood out. At least for me, I can’t say the same for everyone else. There’s a time to be young, and a time to grow up. A time when we are still incapable of understanding in full our position in the society we live in, what side of reality we are on, and even so, the drama that revolves around us as each day stumbles unto the next. A time when you are allowed to have no worries. A time when you don’t have to do much because there are people more than willing to get it done for you. Those childhood years, our most delicate, our most precious moments. Beautiful times, times when you get to be whoever you want to be, dream and live out the fantasies. How so the young never want to grow old, and the old agonize in silence, fruitlessly craving the bliss from their childhood years.
Though it’s a gradual process, a time to grow up, time to relinquish childish thoughts and behaviours. “Heavy lies the head that wears the crown”, they say. And the higher we go up the ladder of adulthood, the more the responsibility that is delegated to us. The truth is; no one wants to grow up, and that’s the truth, even though countless will rather indulge in self-denial rather than admit it. While adulthood also has its perks; like getting to try out things privy to a certain category of people and age class, it still can’t be compared to the peace, joy, innocence littered about in our childhood history. The length of time doesn’t make a man, but a particular point in time; some experienced their transition sometime early, some right on point (at the appointed time), while others are late. I guess, the more we advance in years, the bigger the fury with which reality kicks in. And sooner than later, time catch up with us whether we like it or not. The same goes for the responsibilities, whether we are ready for them or not. It's at this point where most people struggle a lot, trying to figure what they consider the first few unraveling of the rest of their lives.
No Kid Should Ever Have To Miss-Out On Childhood
The irony lies in the fact that some kids are forced to grow up into adulthood before their time. Even full-grown adult still struggles, so they learn to do a lot of adult stuff while fervently struggling, most times in futility, to break away from their limitations. Some end up being successful in the end, but at the expense of abundance. While so many get eaten alive, spat out after they couldn't measure up to their hope and earnest desire for a better life. This is one of the most demanding periods in life, and often leaves a good number of both kids and adults; drowning in the pools of their anxieties, falling in and out of depression, watching as their doubts make out on a steep slope with seemingly no end in view.
There's indeed a time to be young, dumb, and stupid. There's also a time to grow up and face responsibilities. However, I find no justification in kids being robbed of their childhood either by circumstances or manipulation from parents or peers. I think I need to make this point clear, whatever situation kids might find themselves in, the parents are most likely worthy of the blame. I grew up in Nigeria, and I see this happen almost daily, rights of children trampled on, times and times over by the parents, and it doesn't seem like there's any stop in view. And occurrences like this one are as steady as the moving hands of a clock. If conscience were karma, perhaps it would deal perpetrators of such an act with a fatal blow. I don’t claim to know a lot, but as a man still struggling unsuccessfully with the responsibility to oneself, how can you decide to take up more by getting married and having children? We all know where that road leads, it's usually the children that get affected the most in a cross-fire. Please and please, let children be children. Don't make them pay for your mistake, they still have their own lives ahead of them. They don't have to go down the same path you did. And what's with you being manipulative? You feed them lies about the need to be man enough already, needing to toughen up, needing to start acting in capacities higher than their peers. Please, allow them to have their fun, make those mistakes, know what true peace looks like, experience all the beauties that come with the innocence from childhood. Let children enjoy what it means to be children, help them build those memories that will sustain them in the latter days.
Everybody is Unique
While it's good to have some remarkable standards set for the little ones, don't ever push them overboard, allow them enough space to breathe. Beware of your expectations for them lest they get squashed in the process. And even some of the little ones seem misinformed or manipulated about needing to do what adults do. There's absolutely nothing bad in showing some level of eagerness towards a position of responsibility unless it's at the expense of their childhood or youthfulness. Even as a youth, don't try to live (flex) too early. That stage in life comes with a huge ask; finding oneself, getting priorities right, inventing and re-inventing oneself in body and mind, in soul and spirit, in capabilities and competence. The appointed flex-time will come, with no shortcut or cutting corners. And one thing is for sure if you have your priorities misplaced about seasons and shifts; what time to live (time to be responsible) and what time to live (time to flex), you won't live a fully-fledged life due to otherwise beautiful moments somehow usurped by regrets.
Fulfilled Life And Abundance
A very good friend of mine once said “if you live too early, then you will not live a full-fledged life”, one of the many life-quote that forever stuck with me.
A life devoid of regrets is a life worth living. Nothing good nor beautiful ever comes from regrets. So, spend quality time building yourself up if you wish to live well. There's a time appointed to live, and a time appointed to evolve. If you live too early, you won't grow and instead, you will end up depriving yourself of some elements needed to evolve. If you live too early, the scale and scope of your life will know limits often than not. However, as a youth chasing after fulfillment, aspire to give it your 100% in all endeavors. Learn and never stop learning, equip yourself with so much, one step at a time. And when life strikes, it will be well received and much pleasant, even though time won’t tell at the end of the day, how much of it we have left.