I had a chat with a senior citizen on issues of climate change and the effect of human actions on our environment. While I listened to him, he reminded me of the same words I have being hearing since the first week of this year passed without the rains. He said, its being quite very long since I had seen a year starting without rains. I personally remembered too that we had continually gotten accustomed to New Year rains as evidence of a great year in the making. Now that the year had started without rain, I thought, could this mean the year won’t be great?
Many who look out for omens from the weather as the prerogative for how the year will turn out may certainly find this writ uninteresting. However for those who don’t, congrats, you can afford to battle the harmattan. Success isn’t dependent on beliefs of how dry or wet the year begins. Anyone who wants to achieve anything must expect changing condition not necessarily because it affects his chance of succeeding but as part of the challenges he must face.
The harmattan season is often very dry, humid and cold. People struggle to get through with the weather; sometimes one could be lazy, weak and even sickly. There is a chance you may wake up from bed late and maybe have a head with your boss at work over being late. It’s a divergence form the wet season that sees green vegetations blossom, calm air and a vibrant atmosphere. However the condition you may find yourself, it’s the endpoint that really matters. That’s where the focus is.
The harsh reality of the harmattan hasn’t stopped people going to work. People still have to wake up quite early and fend for themselves. Challenges in life must not stop you from marching on towards the desired picture. You have to be strong to challenge them.
The clothing during the harmattan is quite different from the normal dry weather. To avoid the cold, one has to put on heavy clothing. This is called adapting process. When there is a tough challenge, you have to adapt to suit the requirements of the challenge. You have to equip yourself with the right knowledge in books, audios and audiovisuals so as to enable you position yourself stronger than the challenge.
Sometimes one needs to bathe warm water or get around fire to keep the body warm. During those harsh moments when you feel like giving up, you need some fire, some inspiration and motivation to steer you back to that position where you always feel comfortable at. This inspiration and motivation may come from a friend, or a writ like this one. Fire isn’t always that friendly but at the right distance it works its magic. So too some challenging from friends or acquaintances may not seem nice to you at first but they do their work anyway that’s why they are around you.
Each wave of dust during the harmattan is a constant reminder that life consists of those little seemingly unseen factors which influence how we get about running things. It may seem small and unseen at first but their destructive effects are seen after some time. The fact that this dust wave exist as hindrance to movement and driving hasn’t stopped people from moving around. Cars still drive along our roads even in the thick fogs because they carry far penetrating lights which passes through the thick dust formations. You too have a light which you must allow shine through every dust fog in your life. Those little fogs cannot hinder you from getting to your desired endpoint. However thick they become, you can get through them.
The harmattan soon will leave, and so will your challenges. Whatever it is you are going through, it has an endpoint. So when you feel dry and lost of ideas, you’ve got the right idea now. You can hammer that harmattan.
Samuel Ufot Ekekere writes from Uyo, Nigeria. He is a teacher, motivator, and writer who writes inspiring writs on personal development for all categories of persons. He believes everyone needs motivation. Connect on twitter @ekekere and www.facebook.com/ekekere, +2347062809301
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