Its been like forever since i blogged, and i kept losing sleep over it..lol, i am not kidding. A lot has happened in the last one month, from moving house, to job training, losing and finding myself e.t.c. Well i am glad i can do this now.
I recently gave a speech at my Toastmasters club meeting (it was my second project speech) and i thought to share, because the message is one that is dear to my heart.. Enjoy the read and above all be inspired:
On the 20th of July 2012, as I turned on my
television to watch the day’s news, I saw a breaking news that made me stop to think deeply . It
was a day ardent fans and critics of Christopher Nolan’s super hero movie
(Batman), gathered in Cinemas all over America for the premier of the third and
last installment of the Batman series; titled “The Dark Knight Rises” .
In Aurora, Colorado, fans thronged the Century 16
cinema to watch Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway do justice to the final part
of a movie they have all followed so passionately, but little did they know
what lay ahead of them. Halfway into the movie, a young man, with a mask, came out of nowhere and opened fire on the innocent
movie goers. In the end 12 were killed and 50 seriously injured.
My heart sunk and my stomach tightened, as I tried to
make sense of this horrifying massacre that stared me in the face, man’s
inhumanity to man, wars and chaos, the wickedness and hatred that rules our
world and the rapid devaluation of the human life. With tears in my eyes, I
asked myself “how did we get here”? As the question echoed in my ears, three
answers came to mind that made it crystal clear that we are all to blame.
We have forgotten/ignore the Basics: We are so carried away by the rat race that we fail to
remember the three most important things: Love, Faith and hope. With Love being
greatest and most powerful force on earth that even strong men are subdued by
it.
When was the last time you reached out to someone in
need?
When was the last time you baked a cake and sent to
the old man/woman down the street?
When last did we remind our children that bullying is
not act of strength or supremacy, rather an expression of weakness and
cowardice?
When was the last time you sent a ‘get well’ note to a
neighbor who was sick, flashed a genuine smile to a colleague who outdid you in
a task?
It is not in the big things my friends, it’s in the
seemingly little things we choose not to be bothered with. Mother Theresa puts
in succinctly “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things
with great Love”.
Turning a blind eye: You may say to yourself, “I am not evil, I don’t go
about carrying guns and killing innocent people”. “I am not a bully, neither am
I the government that declares war on innocent citizens”. Before we get too
sanctimonious let’s not forget that knowing something is wrong and pretending
not to see it or do anything about it, is as evil as evil itself.
That we are not affected today is no guarantee that we
won’t be affected tomorrow, you are either guilty by commission or by simply
turning a blind eye. As Dr Seuss will say “Unless someone like you cares a
whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better”.
Shifting Blames: It is interesting to see how people love to take
credit for the good things but are quick to shift blames when things go wrong.
We blame everything and everyone else but ourselves for the sad state of the
world.We blame the powers that be; we blame our past; and we
blame the devil. Let me ask when would we start to tell ourselves the truth?
that no excuse is good enough to sabotage humanity and the world. Everyone is
fighting some demon, but is that enough reason to unleash those demons on
others? If only we dare to take responsibility, the world will be a better
place. “Do not wait for Leaders, do it alone person to person” – Mother Theresa
We got here either by what we did or have failed to do
and it will take us to make it right again, a world where our children and
generations unborn can be proud to say “mama or papa was here’. A world we
would gallantly leave because we know we gave our best.
As I penned these words, I reflected on one of the
most poignant messages ever embedded in a song, which was sung by the late Michael Jackson and I knew there was no better way to end this speech
and call us to action than with that message:
“I am starting with the Man in the Mirror
I
am asking him to change his ways, no message could have been any clearer,If you want to make the world a better place, Take
a look at yourself and make that change”.
Change can only begin with the man in the mirror!!!!
Lots of Love
Kemi Gbadamosi
Change can only begin with the man in the mirror!!!!
Lots of Love
Kemi Gbadamosi
