There is an interesting story in the history of
ancient Samaria. It was of a time they were besieged round-about by a great Syrian
army and there was no way of going into the city or out of it. Typically, supply
ran short, inflation hit the economy and life became so hard that
people couldn’t buy the cheapest foods. In one gross instance, two women
negotiated to kill and eat their sons to survive and actually succeeded in killing
one.
When things seemed to only
spiral downwards, four lepers negotiated the unthinkable amongst themselves. They
reasoned that they couldn’t go into their own city because death was imminent
for the merciful able-bodied talk less of the physically handicapped. Their other
option was to head for the camp of the Syrian army – their enemies. They would
most likely be killed but they had a slim chance of engendering enough pity to get
food. They summarized their discussion this way: “Why sit her until we die?”
and moved towards the Syrians. This seemingly insignificant half-hearted movement
of four lepers saved a nation.
I like that question and I think it is important we
intermittently ask ourselves this question. Why sit in our conditions and die? Why
sit in poverty and die? Why sit in confusion and die? Why sit in ignorance and die? Nothing moves until you move. Nature responds to movement
and never to inaction. If you remain the way you are things will remain the way they
are.
I remember that I have
always desired to be a published author. I especially wanted to write a book
that will draw the attention of international publishers. This was an ‘incredible”
dream considering the fact that I had no foundation for such. I set out working
on my first book, Do it Like Kids, and sent out applications to numerous companies. I got
rejected by several but didn’t feel hurt because I wasn’t popular enough to be
hurt. It took four years and one evening I received an offer for an
all-expense-paid contract with a lovely company.
If I hadn’t moved by
writing and pursuing the dream, it wouldn’t matter how long I spent dreaming over and over of being published, it will never happen. If I didn’t move by
writing and pursuing, but rather sat back to wish, the dream would be dead
today. It would have been said of me, “He sat until his dream died.”
