Speak! The World Listens
There is a salient dichotomy between speaking and talking. Speaking for , is uttering or consistently confessing a matter from a place of understanding or consciousness. It transcends the psycho-cognitive process of talking which is natural and sacrosanct to all mortals. To speak, is to create a kind of kinetic energy that reverberates deep into the tympanic receptors of the ‘ears’ of the world. They say, ‘the world has ears’, I say ‘the world listens when we speak and not talk’
As I write this, one event in my life encapsulate the imperative of speaking. I have always nurtured the idea of travelling to the ends of the world but the means to accomplish this was far beyond me. I silently ‘envied’ those who traveled and was always awe struck when my professors would tell endless tales of their odysseys around the world during lectures. Soon I found myself fascinated by the map of the world and would drift deep in thoughts when I saw movies that showcased architecture, monuments, history and breathtaking landscapes of countries bordering the Atlantic and the Pacific. I was transmogrified by these thoughts and sooner, these words formed in my mouth “I will board flights like okada’. I kept speaking these words to myself till I graduated from university. However, it was not until my NYSC, did I get my passport. I remember when I held it in my hands, I spoke exact same words to all the 32 pages in it. Shortly after, I boarded my very first local flight. That was an eye opener for me. I however knew that the goal was ‘international’ and not ‘local’.
So I kept speaking yet the ‘international’ seemed elusive. I applied for opportunities that opened up in Costa Rica, I scaled the interview but missed out in the final selection. I tried Germany, no show. I moved my prospects to Japan and South Korea, same story. Needless to recall the disappointment I got from USA, UK and much of Europe. Months culminated into years and it gradually appeared that my class of degree may perhaps not be the ‘key to the international’. Then, I took to applying to big multinationals, but somehow I did not make their final selection even after successfully scaling the aptitude tests. My hopes were dashed, but I kept speaking. I would take long walks just to speak. I knew deep in my heart that when the ‘cloud be full of rain it would empty itself’.
After about five years of conscious speaking amidst contrary circumstances, the cloud did empty. When it did, it poured endlessly. Then the doors of every country I knocked on opened effortlessly and what seemed impossible was now at arm’s reach. It has been less than five years now and have visited or lived in more than 47 countries outside Nigeria. About three weeks ago, I remember ‘boarding flights like okada’. I took 17 international flights to 10 different countries in a single month. Then it dawned on me how powerful the words we speak go beyond us to set things in place even when they appear intangible, inconceivable and impossible.
Till date, whenever I feel overwhelmed, troubled, stifled or burdened, I speak. For I have a consciousness that the world listens and answers in its time.
So, I say to you, stop talking, start speaking.