EFFORT & DESTINY

KAIZOKU OUNI, ORE WA NARU!! - Luffy

"Maybe it is your destiny", the man said, "You see, we Muslims believe so much in predestination, we just accept, it is written" i nodded to his smile into the distance that imitates experience, But I couldn't help thinking that my talking to him was proof that nothing is, that all that is takes actual effort, that destiny was whatever I willed it to be, whatever I say it is.

For we met by virtue of a job, that wasn't my discipline, gotten after many sleepless night of applying for others. I said well there are many books and they are all written. Effort determines which book you want to predict your life. If I kill a person today, I have changed my book whatever lot accrues, I can only assign predestination to, as an acceptance of my damnation.

Predestination can also be backed by saying that, my making effort was a part of my destiny, but I could as well have not. Effort determines whether destiny will be met or not, Effort determines what will end up being written, For it is all written, your death by drowning at 19, suicide at 23, or death at 92, as life remains that bumpy ride.

Concentration of one's infinity and your spectator of one, a strict regimen and quotidian eudamonia that revolves around love, strict humanism, conscience play and quiet sacrifice, I am transmuted by the knowledge I attained the purity of my love, have given me the power to snatch my book off of destiny hand, and write the new tales myself. 

Someone had to betray Jesus,  but must it be you Judas? When you look at it, given Peter's impetuous nature he might have done it, and denying him 3 times is a form of betrayal. If the prophecy is to be fulfilled, had things gone another way, it would been a nice dinner, a nice cry at Gethsemane, and Peter not Judas would have been the prophesied traitor. 

So I posit we make effort, that extra caution, that extra check, that extra till that will give panentheism and destiny a hard rack. If it is your destiny to be stagnated in a bog or an economic strata, it takes effort to determine if you would languish as a complaining lout mendicant, or do a simple security's job at 25 thousand naira a month which affords you a quiet to read a few books, and probably a half bag of rice in the Yuletide.  They are both in the bog, but out of nothing one is liable to be married and learned and the other pretty much the same.

Even when destiny seems unyielding, we can best it with by being the first and most valued of it's strata. We best destiny by making effort, and by so doing we strong arm and change it. It doesn't necessarily have to be the common, and narrow thought passage. Like the millions people trodding away to do a masters degree, That is the herd thinking, it is effort but not always the right effort. 

Look, at what others are ignoring, You have to think differently, and strive to be the best in it, that way, no one will best you, since you started and are champion of it. You could be the master at building sculptures or the master of afforestation in your community. 

Sometimes, it feels as destiny just wants to retard you, but in doing so, Destiny inevitably offers you a lot of time, A lot of time, for you to plan your hostile maneuver. When it feels it can keep you in a boring town with nothing to do, look around for that thing no one is doing abd become the Professor of stone. 

I make reference to this Professor who I saw in a Japanese documentary on NHK. In which there was an inquiry by the Local Municipal Officers into why Samurai built buildings survived more earthquakes than the modern ones, and the expertise of a person who knew this buildings was needed, it called a Professor who studied stones. I was amazed, I mean he studied stones for 35 years, and quietly. It took him 35 years to gain their audience, now that he was the only one who could help them, -that the foundation of these building were pebbles, pliable but hard matter that shake and reattain their foundation after each earthquakes, but his audience took 35 years. some people might have laughed at him, he kept studying these stones because they were also of interest to him and now he is incomparable to one at it.

What are you like a Prospective Professor of stone for? What is that thing that only you know and will risk mockery for? 

Rather than sit down all day doing nothing, or on the Internet, Looking for a latest trend that you can be a part of, pick a something that you enjoy and never get tired of and master it completely. Promising yourself that no one will be able to challenge you at it. 

It like Sanji's All blue  My goal is to be the Nigerian that have listened to the most music, and seen the most movie, on track and i don't think I have achieved that yet, but I saw something I liked and focused on it. Today Oddverbs Blog is read all over the world, but it started as a whim in Akwa Ibom during my service year I took advantage of the boredom that NYSC provided and gave myself a purpose. I saw music websites that I liked and relied on, die on me from Songslover, albumjams, to Freeallmusic. I saw a problem and sought to provide solution one which coincided with my interests and today I have built a house bigger than me, but it all started with the first stone.

I remember The first Article on Anime pairings and rushing to call my friends to read it so that I can check the page views one more time. 

So, what are you doing in destiny? I mean boredom?. What effort are you making?

What's the worst that could happen, than eventually we dying, so why not make an effort. 

Focus on the ignored, from insect photography, market interviews, fez cap reviewing, Local towns water sampling, Public schools literacy, Public well installation, Documentary on civil war survivors, Tales from old soldiers, A local Lost and found, Music sharing, A local meditation center, anything (Frankly I want to do all these things).

Destiny shot itself in the foot thinking it can retard you, let it know that it can be changed.  Pick those books, expand that mind and find your own thing and tell Destiny that you are the one writing shit now. 

You could learn a language, you could be among the few Nigerians that understands Sanskrit, it is not useful now, one day you might be the one called to help translate an ancient text. 

Paul Pena learnt throatsinging from a radio even though he was blind he was the star of the Genghis Blues documentary I don't care if you are lame, blind, deaf, make an effort,  be the one person who is good at that one thing, after all you are still going to die, so what? 

Say what you want to say, create a blog and publish them, the world is your dumping ground, we have birds singing rubbish tunes all year round, knowing that no one will ever sign them, but they sing anyway, where is your own tune. Don't let destiny muzzle or hinder you, shout, make noise, make effort. Make effort, you literally have nothing to lose. 

We must make effort for destiny to change if we don't make effort destiny will remain the same way 

As a Nigerian, I have been conditioned to be limited in my thought, it is the o God! at the sight of a book, that ingrained and conditined fear of reading have hindered my thinking capacity. But I made effort, I slept on many book before my body familiarised itself with them and allow its content changed me. 

As Nigerian, restlessness is our modus,  but it took time for me to unlearn how to stop it and learn to sit down quietly, and read my book.

It is can frustrating and tiresome but you must make effort. I decided not to follow the herd, while many of my friends went into programming, I started listening to music albums in 2014 And I can now say, after 10 years as far as Nigeria is concerned there are very few people who have listened to more albums, seen more movies, documentaries read more books, and improve more lives than I have

Even when Nigeria thought it could retard me, and tell me to accept it as Destiny, I flipped it off and gave it a run for it's money. Now I can proudly tell you that I am the one, He, I am Ejikeme Udeh, King Oddverbs, Toruk Makto!!  's Vajra that Professor of stone!!

I have turned the dharma wheel, beaten the Dharma drum,  blown the dharma conch as far as Nigeria is concerned,  with nothing but Nam Myoho Rhenge Kyo in mouth. And I have written my name on the sands of time, forever and ever and that!, That is my destiny.

But I'll tell you, it took effort.

And now I'm calling on you, to also make effort and be the highest manifestation of yourself.

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