How To Draw Strength From Pains

Some weeks ago, my laptop crashed with a lot of materials and work it. Of most concern to me were the manuscripts that I was putting finishing touches to which took me a lot of time, energy and sacrifices to put together. Ever since, I have been trying to fix the hard drive and see if I would be able to recover the files in it- if not all, at least some. I must confess, it’s been really challenging getting my hands on the keyboard to do what I love doing- as much as I have tried to motivate myself, it’s been difficult to think straight and flow.

From time to time, I have flashes of those manuscripts and hundreds of write ups on the system. I can’t lie, e pain me… Especially knowing that the effort of many years could be lost forever. As I ponder over this unpleasant experience, I see life from another perfective. I’d share some nuggets from my experience shortly;

Nothing is really ours: It is only what we hold per time looks like ours. Once what we hold slips out of our hands, true ‘ownership’ is revealed. My advice, see yourself as a steward of whatever is committed into your hands- skills, money, talent, children etc. Nothing is really ours. The reason we claim the ownership of something is because we are still alive and haven’t lost our ‘selfish sanity’. We are custodians!

What happened to back up? Though I have some files backed up in different places, but the space I have online does not have everything stored there. As a matter of fact, when it comes to backing up online, I have my personal bias and reservations. The other consolation for me is that I have hundreds of articles on my various social media platforms- that’s the beauty of sharing. At least, I would get some from there.

Flexibility: *As strong as the iroko tree is, it dances to the rhythm and flow in the direction the wind dictates*. Being principled is not an excuse not to be flexible. A few days before the system crashed, I had a prompting to send the manuscripts I was working on to a friend, but for no particularly tangible reason, I didn’t oblige. See where I have found myself. Dear friend, let’s be flexible.

I am not done yet: even though I wasn’t doing much writing physically, my imagination was never on break. Even though the weekly post was on pause, I haven’t stopped. Writing is more than a hobby for me, it is an assignment. Every set back is a set up for a massive comeback.

No matter the challenges that life throws at you, you have what it takes to overcome and do better than you’ve always done. Refuse to be limited by unpleasant experiences. It’s alright to take a break sometimes but, don’t quit!

Have a productive week!

Your Friend in learning

*Adeniran Bamisaye*

T/G: @NiranBamisaye