Fola Daniel Adelesi: Wading Through the Tunnel of Life

 

We all go through some tunnels in life, and some of them feel like they are seemingly endless. Sometimes, it feels like nothing is happening with you or for you. You feel like  a blind man with no idea of what’s happening around and not knowing when things are going to turn around for him. You look to the right and there is no help. You look to the left and there is no one reaching out to help you. You feel stranded and, sometimes, useless to yourself, to the people around you and to the entire nation.

You have dreams in your heart but they are just there and there is nothing you can do with them. Every passing day you talk about the dreams and they really sound nice to the ears, but that’s all there is to them. You want to go to school to get additional degrees but nothing is happening to make that dream a reality. You have thought about how you will get a great job that will pay your bills and even help you save some money. You want to build a house and be free from the shackles of your shylock landlord. Rather than getting the great job, you even lost the one you had.

Have you been in that situation where it looks like things are almost coming through for you? Things are almost happening. You’ve been given the good news. In fact, you have started celebrating and all you are waiting for is a confirmation of that good news. You have thought in your heart that nothing can stop this news from becoming a reality. The things that will happen as soon as this news is confirmed have already been ringing in your head. Just when you go out there to confirm the news, things go bad and they tell you it’s not happening again. Now this goes beyond the kind of bad news you can just wave off. It’s biting hard and now you are sorrowful because of it.

It can be very sad to be in the tunnel of life. Just like in the real tunnel, things will look very dark around you. Nobody will see anything happening for good and you will also not see any difference. You keep expecting things to change but you can see them changing just yet. At that time, you may look like someone who doesn’t know how to do anything. Others look like the champions and they are really rubbing it in.

Please remember a few things about the tunnel. The first is that before you went into the tunnel you knew that the tunnel will lead you to where you are going. So even if the tunnel is dark, it will still get you to where you are going. The second is that as soon as you get into the tunnel, you will need the personal light – wisdom, knowledge and understanding – you have always had even when there was no tunnel. This is what will see you through the tunnel. Going through the tunnel can be harder for those who do not have their personal light. When you have yours, you might be able to go through it confidently. The third thing to note about the tunnel is that while you are in the tunnel you are still making progress. The progress  might not appear obvious because everywhere is dark, but it does not mean you are not making any progress.

The tunnel of life is always a short part of the distance that you have to cover, but it might be unavoidable to get to your destination. You can’t have a tunnel from start to finish. It does not happen that way because it’s not an underground trip. At the end of the day the troubles and the trials will be worth it; not because it was sweet but because your commitment to your pursuit needs to tested.

Are you in the tunnel of life today? Does it look so dark around that you can’t see anything happening for you? Have you ever thought that you are not making any progress? Well, they always say there is light at the end of the tunnel. I am not so concerned about the light at the end of the tunnel for now. I am concerned about how you get through the tunnel. You don’t have to crash because you are in the tunnel. Of what use is the light at the end of the tunnel to someone who crashed in the tunnel?

Please take your personal light with you. Remember that it’s a passing phase. You are making progress and soon, the tunnel that seemed to overwhelm you will be behind you.

Photo Credit: healthyblackmen.org

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Fola Daniel Adelesi is a professional public speaker who also trains other speakers, an author, business consultant and highly skilled master of ceremony with excellent poise and diction. He was on the Debaters TV reality show season 1, presented ‘You Can’ on Radio Continental in 2011, did motivational segments on Galaxy TV from Dec 2008 to August 2009 and has authored 3 books including Writing Business Proposal.