“THE WILL to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.” – Confucius
Driving around the beautiful islands within the Caribbean is fascinating. The picturesque landscape, the undulating plains, the diverse design and the bright unique colours of houses of all sizes and shapes are just spectacular, especially in the cool of the afternoon.
There is something intriguing about fences that may capture your attention. In some islands many of the leafy colourful fences are often well manicured, while the artificial ones may carry a touch of class that may tempt you to gaze a little longer than you should. Last week, I started to look at individuals jumping over their family “fences” by moving away from their home culture in an effort to develop their innate capabilities.
This type of action by a family member sometimes comes as a result of challenges that are working against that individual’s best interests. I highlighted three areas that may contribute to such a move; namely the home atmosphere, the sociocultural factors and the religious environment.
Today I am presenting an example of a very prominent figure that jumped over his family “fence” and left a legacy of solid principles worthy of emulation. Interesting insights were given into this man’s life and his leap into a world where he made a great name for himself despite the hostility he received from his own blood relatives and those within his social and religious community.
He grew up in a small town that was classified as backward; one that seemed not to have been well known. Generally, the people who lived there were not considered very progressive in their way of thinking. When the name of the village was mentioned to someone who lived in a more upscale place, the reaction was very dismissive. The individual remarked that nothing of any value could ever emerge from that location.
This young man of whom I am making reference, knew that all of his God–given capabilities could not have been developed within the community in which he grew up. As a result, he began to prepare his mind to leave the confines of his home, social and cultural environment that impacted his family, so that he could broaden his horizons.
A scientist who was also a historian, inferred that intellectually, the young man was very bright because from an early age, he expanded his knowledge base in spite of the shortcomings within his sociocultural surroundings. He was a prolific reader who acquired an appetite for legal and historical data and became well versed in them before entering his teens. Not grasping all the concepts of law, he came across some experienced attorneys while on a trip to the main city and decided to seek clarification on some difficult legal issues.
The lawyers were impressed with the level of his grasp of law. His parents, on the contrary, were not so fascinated. They became very angry and spoke to him harshly. His respectful response to his parents implied that he did not think that his home and village were the only places where his full potential could have been developed. In short, he had to jump over the family fence to the disappointment of siblings and others in his small community, even the religious people.
From early, this ambitious youngster had a plan to be a world changer and went about it with drive and determination by closing his eyes to the narrow-minded views of those who were content living at a mediocre level. He devised a very unique four-prong strategy to realise his goal, namely: developing his intellect, keeping physically healthy, pursuing a sound relationship with God and fostering good solid social connections.
Intellectually, he was self-motivated and very ambitious. Although early education was compulsory in his district, there is no record of his attending any of the prestigious universities of which many boasted. He never lagged behind in current affairs and his creative ideas and concepts arrested the attention of the known intellectual gurus. He never felt threatened by any of them.
Physically, he knew that keeping non-communicable and other diseases at bay was important if he was going to be healthy enough to realise his short and long-term goals. He loved eating fish while daily walking and mountain climbing were two of his distinctive hobbies.
Spiritually, he believed that it was a mistake to lean on his own knowledge, wisdom, and understanding if he were going to be effective in life. He therefore cultivated an intimate relationship with God.
Socially, he loved people and bonded well with them wherever he went. He also became a great advocate for the underprivileged and a strong voice for the despised and rejected. Though often ridiculed, he believed that the poor and abused were to be treated as human beings and not to be taken advantage of by the high and mighty.
His remarkable achievements could not have been made possible if he did not make the necessary choice to “jump over the family fence”. Upon his return to his hometown, the negative mindset of his community had not changed. The reception he got was one of scorn, implying that he should not have left to improve himself, but should have been just like his siblings and remain stagnant. He couldn’t stay around too long in that undesirable environment. He left them. For him the words from an unknown writer were relevant: “Don’t let someone who doesn’t know your value tell you how much you’re worth.”
The young man I featured today was Jesus, the founder of Christianity. The narrative is found in the Gospels according to St. Luke Chapter 2: 39-52; Acts Chapter 1: 1-3; and St. Mark Chapter 6:1-6. He continues to be my hero.
• Haynesley Griffith is a marriage and family life consultant.
Email: griffitharticles@gmail.com.