The Optimist-4

By this time, Ninong was almost done with tearing apart his “opaga” (big pants) trousers. Do you really want to know why he strips off his garment? Asked the optimist. And with great enthusiasm, Nahou shouted, ‘yesssssssssss’ to the hearing of everyone else. The “yesssssssss” yell took many standing next to Nahou by surprise. They started staring at him and briefly thought that he’d been attacked by the spirit of madness. Just then The Optimist did a rare favour for Nahou; transporting himself into the “mad man’s” being. The Optimist could only say what he felt in the present state of the mad man’s being in order to effectively translate Ninong's mental state. The optimist had to scream for Nahou to hear: 

“He is very happy; he is happy because he finally caught the plastic paper he’d set out to catch despite the traffic and the hurdles. His brain is empty and he is not thinking of  other things. He is living in the present. Wow!!! That’s what I have attempted to explain all along. In order for one to be considered mentally upright in my place of origin, you must be able to live in the present, to forget everything else and focus on your current target.”

“I suppose that everyone else is mad in this world,” replied Nahou.

“Not everyone as there are some people who are quite good at focusing despite the myriad of things going on. They understand the manner in which your world operates. They are disciplined more like schooled, focus and target-oriented. They never fail.”

“But how does one stay focused? How does one never fail?” Nahou enquired.

“I’ll rush through the mind of a sane person who lifts himself away from the stress of the world to make sense of how he functions. One who is capable of rooting off from the very fabric of noise to that of silence-meditation-one who is pleased with being who he is and where he is regardless of the shortcomings. He is successful in all that he does but then sane people in your world think that he advances because he is involved with mysticism and the use of super natural powers to project himself to a whole new level. They sometimes use this construct/belief to alienate those who are extremely successful; to exclude those who have mastered their art as if to become refined, polished and professional is a mystical process. The people have a tendency to be afraid of those whom they think have made it; rather than cling to them to find out how and why they’ve become successful. They tend to validate their unknowns with beliefs that they create among themselves about the ‘successful.’ The implication is that the successful ones have now become the ‘subaltern groups’ (the group that cannot be easily reached/contacted). The focus mind thrives because he is focused; he is meditative, and he is determined to succeed. He controls the essence of all that happens around him with his mind. His thoughts and imagination are in tone with the messengers of the universe. They carry his requests to the omnipotent faster-quicker and everything just falls in place with him. He quarrels with none, avoids hot-temperaments and is exceptionally target-oriented. Once he utters; he delivers. There are no impossibilities with his spirit.”

“Yes! Cried Nahou. Yes!!! Success is what I have been looking for, to catapult myself out of this broken village of slow progress, of very little, of hate, jealousy and disgust. I want to be rocketed out of here. I know there are places out there that are better than being here.” Said Nahou.

“I will do that favour for you Nahou”, responded The Optimist. But you must understand that it is not the place that brings you peace, success and progress. It is the mind-it is your mind-your mind controls the way you view things. Your tenacity to make the content of your mind become positive and real is crucial. If you dwell on the negative, so too will the output of your life be negative. And also I emphasise the need to utter what you become. In order for you to align things with the universe, you should endeavour to make attempts to utter them because there is an inexplicable power in utterance; in voicing out what you want to become. The problem within this space of yours, Nahou is that people do not even know what they want to become and as such cannot even express/utter what they want. Those who go to church call it the ‘power of the tongue.' The tongue that professes, and works towards their professed words, easily see things work out for them. This is because they've communicated with the universe. With the force that is greater than all other forces. If you don’t say what you want to become, the force that controls all else won’t hear it, and all your efforts will be in vein. There is also a possibility for those who do not like to profess, to mediate and that meditation is the energy that you use to use to make the things you want become whole with the energy of the universe."

“Now, I see! That’s why the ‘marabou’ the soothsayer is always uttering things; more like murmuring. But how does one utter? By telling friends? I have known people who try to tell others about what they'd like to become and others got envious. In any case, I have heard you, that the amount of thoughts, imaginations and dreams that one puts into anything they desire to achieve can only be attained through utterance, hard work, diligence, persistence, performance. I have learned that no matter how long you take to wonder and ponder over what you wish to become the constant thoughts never amounts to any good. One must work, work, and work to achieve!!!

Nahou grew up in a space where people who sought ways to improve themselves were often shunned and alienated. Once there was a little boy who had good dreams of becoming a medical doctor. He professed it to everyone who could listen and when he finally accomplished his dream, he suddenly left for the world beyond. They were talks of how he was killed by his step-mother via mystical powers and how the people didn't like him because he was who delivered upon his utterances. The people failed to understand that if that woman had the potential to terminate anyone whom she didn't like, many of them wouldn't be alive because she was always at loggerheads with the other wives.

More tomorrow