On Becoming a Man: Just Before Dusk!

“The bad news is: time flies. The good news is: you’re the pilot.” – Michael Altshuler

Just before dusk, you arrived. You came, and you saw. You saw hell on this brown dust. The world is a battlefield, whether you agree or not. And, that is more than just a cliché: fighter jets, submarines, missiles; culture, religion, politics.

Every day you wake to the rooster’s crow, the chirping of the early birds, noise from the poultry, the gathering murmur and hoots from cranky automobiles in the far distance. Nature’s light is such a pleasant beauty to behold.

They say: that every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It does not matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle: when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.

At risk is he who yawns, bites a morsel, downs a gourd of palm wine, but yields to slumber again just as the day breaks; even if he commands a bunch of slaves. Hunger, penury and shame soon come knocking hard to recover the looted time and resources. Time is precious.

The ticking clock waits for no man, not the one who fails to plan his way, not the one who refuses to toil while it is yet daytime.
At dusk, you dust your feet and number your fleet. Yet, there is a man who toils all day, but gathers no commensurate increase. Time and chance happens, and the race does not always belong to the swift.

Young man, on a day when you wake up at dusk, let regret and biting of the lips go. Pick up your tools and redeem the moments left. May you, in your remorse, find wisdom soon enough.

Night comes, but maybe, just maybe, in this new reality you do not need the glamour of the sun to have all the fun and be truly happy. Accept a thought that limits your growth, and it becomes your reality. In this place, all is set for you, lights and all that glitters. It is never too late to live your dreams and take over the world.

They tell you the bad piece of news: that time flies.

The good news, I tell you, is: that you can still take charge of whatever that is left. Renew your hope and become the navigator of your own time, your own life. Tell it to him who slumbers; you can still wake up, though it is just before dusk!

Photo credit: www.wunderground.com | Avarine
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The On Becoming a Man Series is a bi-monthly column – a collection of musings that seek to unravel the mind of the young man, and are not necessarily autobiographical. Gbenga Awomodu is an Editorial Assistant at Bainstone Ltd./BellaNaija.com. When he is not reading or writing, Gbenga is listening to good music or playing the piano. Follow him on Twitter: @gbengaawomodu | Gbenga’s Notebook: www.gbengaawomodu.com | Facebook Page: Gbenga Awomodu