By Kodwo Brumpon
“No one cuts down a tree and expects fruit to remain on it.” – Akan proverb
There is no one like you, and there would never be another like you. When you finally die, you will not be replaced by anyone no matter how hard that individual tries.
When that time comes however, would the world be emptier because you are no more, or life would continue without a cringe?
This should be the thought behind every word and work you undertake. It is the reason why you always must live to show that you were once alive. You must make an impact that can be classified as timeless.
Outside our longing to live forever, we all aspire to be relevant all the time. We want our efforts and suggestions to make meaning in our time and for the generations to come. We may not necessarily write this aspiration in beautiful verses, but we know we simply desire to be evergreen, and timeless.
We want to live, and actually live forever, not physically, but in some way like the way Kwame Nkrumah continues to live in our lives even though he has been gone long ago. Sadly, we do not talk about this aspiration in our daily exchanges; and it is not because it is a difficult subject. Rather, it is because we know it demands a majestic standard of living that extends beyond ourselves to others. We even appreciate that it might come with long suffering; and this is the reason the surprising majority amongst us are not ready for.
Neil Gaiman asserted that “if you are protected from dark things then you have no protection of, knowledge of, or understanding of dark things when they show up.” Many of us hold the view that suffering is unacceptable. Which means we must avoid it in whatever way we can. We forget that the presence of suffering is what allows us to bring the best of ourselves and make great discoveries.
Take a moment and imagine a world without suffering and pain. What will make you strive for anything? What will energise you to aspire for greatness? In all honesty, nothing. You will be as dumb as a numb.
Whenever you think that God was so wrong in allowing suffering, think again. It is the reason why you make all those little sacrifices so that you can be the best of yourself. It is the why of our strivings.
The powerful emotions we experience when we come into contact with suffering is what inspires us to act right to do something about it. When you embrace the fact that, there will always be suffering and pain and evil in the physical world, you work at minimising them, if not a thorough elimination. The process hastens your maturity and helps you become more compassionate and more human.
It is this striving for more humanness that challenges us to be evergreen and timeless. We need to live in ways that would make lives meaningful in our time and after we are gone. This is what makes “evergreenness” a beautiful attitude. It is the idea that our words and actions always have a long lasting effect, both affecting the moment and travelling into the future.
It reminds us as to why we need to consciously ensure our efforts are sound, meaningful and serves as the foundation of goodness all the time. It is about making sure that wherever we find ourselves, and whatever we do should consistently represent the best that we can offer life. It is about the marrying of importance with magnificence so that both look amazing, and also feels classy every time. Maybe this involves a bit of work, but why not?
Every new morning is an opportunity to work at our best. We must transcend our darkness by consciously turning towards the light and actually choosing to live in it. Unlike the darkness of the night, the light of the day allows us to appreciate beauty, shower goodness and taste truth for ourselves.
The light offers us the opportunity to love; the act of giving back much more than we have received. This act is necessary because we all receive something from life in one way or the other, it is only in ‘giving back’ that get life interested in you. Giving back is the greatest comfort of life. Not only is it a sign of gratitude, but it affords anyone, the opportunity to be evergreen.
Life evolves as quickly as it pops up. What we are today will be gone tomorrow, except the bits and pieces of us that others find useful. Let us therefore strive to put our best foot forward all the time. Let us strive to make the best of ourselves useful, so that posterity want utilise all that we did as a guide to help bring out the best in tomorrow. Let us combine our words and works in ways that would enlighten senses, energise aspirations and create atmospheres that look and feel like wow.
To achieve that, you need to pour out your life like libation for the rest of our humanity. That is the essence of your uniqueness. That is what you can be most successful at. It is the best ingredient to bring the best of yourself out.
It is the sincerity that will enliven your charisma and inflict your personality with timelessness. Not only will it give you an understanding of other people, but it will energise you to want to help as much as possible any person, or situation which is not experiencing the best of life.
Kodwo Brumpon is an executive coach at Polygon Oval, a forward-thinking Pan African management consultancy and social impact firm driven by data analytics, with a focus on understanding the extraordinary potential and needs of organisations and businesses to help them cultivate synergies, that catapults into their strategic growth, and certifies their sustainability.
Comments, suggestions, and requests for talks and training should be sent to him at [email protected]
