Opportunities are not Handed to us on Silver Plates

Ghandi once said, ‘Whatever you do in life would be insignificant, but it’s important that you do it.’ There’s a reason life has placed us on this page of history, and if we don’t act, life might as well just close the book. People throughout history have defied many things, but no one ever succeeded in defying time or life. One needs to understand the importance of seizing opportunities, for the mute at mind and faint at heart never live at all.

An African proverb says that every morning in Africa, a Gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a Lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest Gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a Lion or a Gazelle, when the sun comes up; you’d better be running. All events in life are based on man’s ability to take the right decision at precisely the right time.

If we take a stroll down the streets of history, we’ll notice that life is nothing but a series of moments that happened at precisely the right time. What would’ve happened to the world of Philosophy if Socrates kept his wisdom to himself? What would the world be without the art of DaVinci and the sculptures of Michelangelo? What would poetry enthusiast do if Shakespeare never spun his sonnets of love and passion? What if Steve Jobs never dropped out of university and continued doing what he wasn’t meant to do?

All that was and all that will ever be is based on our abilities to take action and seize the opportunities handed to us. Better yet, we should gather up the courage to knock on life’s doors if opportunities aren’t handed to us on a silver plate.

On this constant road, we must always learn to keep on walking. We must leave no stone unturned and we must strive to make the best out of our opportunities. Life waits for no one and if you choose to linger, be ready and willing to live a life of routine and mediocrity. We are not mass produced beings; we are specially designed mortals sent on Earth with a purpose and an aim. If we don’t walk towards a life of potential, we might as well not walk at all.

The sun has never asked the night for permission to light up the sky, it simply rises. The sun never question’s the moon’s courage to rise when the sun itself sets, for the elements of life work in perfect coherence with one another. The world isn’t fueled on doubts or second-guesses; it’s fueled on action and determination. After all, when God sends you a blessing, you don’t ask why it was sent.