INSPIRATIONAL SHOT- Neo: Amazing Facts About Those Soothing Words That Healed My Childhood.

How Neo had remained unmarried still baffled me. But that wasn't what I went there to do. I believed we would talk about it another day. He started this way. “I do reflect on my quiet times about my early days. When I look at the journey that got me here, I thank God that I was able to walk through the rubbles of life to be here. I will always remember that turning point; the soothing words that healed the injured childhood that I had. Let me tell you my story”

He got on the phone and had a short discussion and then continued. “Our treasury bill matured today. That was the manager of our account on the phone. Anyway, back to my story. I lost my parents when I was four. Being an only child, I was lost in the world all alone. Those around me might have thought that I was too young to feel the loss but being the only child erased that immunity. I became sick immediately after the burial of my mother who died later than my dad; both deaths were spaced within six months. Being crowned an orphan that early was not even the hard part because I was too young to process what had happened. The part that almost got me drowned was finding someone who was ready to look after a poor four-year-old. Not that I was told this part, but it seemed as if a lot was cast before that responsibility could be forced on someone. I felt so because my foster parents treated me like a piece of article. They took away every dignity I had in me as a child. I was battered and intimidated in a manner that left me hopeless and empty. I got to the class drained and this affected my academic performance. That I wasn't doing well in school would be a gross understatement. I managed to graduate but I found myself in college where I appeared like a crestfallen lion standing before a hungry lion. In fact, I was intimidated by everything around me.”

Neo was on the phone again. This was like the tenth time in thirty minutes- yes, he was that busy. After putting down the phone, he said, “I didn't know why but somehow I knew my life was heading for the cliff. I needed a hanger to stay alive but there was none in sight. The glimmer of hope that I had was so insignificant that I became a teen with no iota of dreams. The only thing I had then was a heartbeat. It was this heartbeat that left me with the slightest belief that I could grow wings and fly one day; at least, to meet my parents. In my fourth year in school, something happened that changed my life and got me back in the race of life. Our English teacher invited me to the staffroom one Wednesday afternoon. She asked me to sit at the opposite end of the table and said to me, within earshot, “I feel the hurt in your eyes. I don't know what memories or experience that resulted in those but I have the feeling that you have a bright future ahead of you. Your poor performance in the class does not depict the man that I see. Throw away your sorrow and put in some effort. You might be shocked by the difference you would see.”

“It was like a blindfold was let off my eyes. It was a remarkable turning point in my life. I was lifted by those morale-boosting words. They were so soothing but muscular and mind-blowing. Gradually, all the self-belief that took the window out of my life began to burst the doors of my life. They all walked in with very bold statements. The first thing that I did was to move my sitting position from the back to the front of the class. I made consistent attempts at answering questions in the class and my confidence grew with every attempt. At the end of the term, I took the fifth position. It was outside the top four but that fact that I took the journey from 25th position to the fifth gave me the moral fist pumps that I needed. By the time the senior school certificate examination results were released about two years after, I made the best result in my class and was close to challenging the boy who posted the best result in the entire school. That was how mere words became the key that unlocked my dreams. I never looked back since that day.”

He looked at the wall clock adjacent to his sitting position and concluded this way. “I had my eyes set on the university but that dream met with a setback; there was no one interested in funding that dream. I didn't let that deter me from reaching the goal I had set for myself. Without wasting much time, I settled for an apprenticeship which I was scheduled to do for the next five years. It was a fantastic idea for someone in my situation. Even though it looked light-years away to some of my friends, I knew I would be done by the time those that made it to the university begin to graduate. Actually, some did not finish at the same time with me because they wasted a couple of years at home writing the entrance examination. While some were still in the university and some out of it, I graduated from my apprenticeship. They had their paper certificates but I stepped into the real world with more street knowledge, business contacts and money. It was huge leverage for me because I left the block with a quick start and never looked back. I have extended my business from selling motor spare parts to co-owning a microfinance bank. Sitting before you is the small four-year-old orphan that almost lost his dreams in the midst of nowhere”

REFLECTION
Words are very powerful. They are so powerful that God used it as a tool in creation. We have to learn how to use words wisely because they can either inspire or destroy. And when we talk about words, they can take two forms: what we say to others or what we say to ourselves. Whichever way, we should not forget the magical effect that words come with.

Words are very powerful. They are so powerful that God used it as a tool in creation. We have to learn how to use words wisely because they can either inspire or destroy. And when we talk about words, they can take two forms: what we say to others or what we say to ourselves. Whichever way, we should not forget the magical effect that words come with.
It took a couple of positive words to create that turning point in Neo’s life. He was very close to the precipice and might have taken a dive if those miraculous words from the teacher did not happen. In like manner, we should be careful with things we say to other people(our spouse, kids, friends, subordinate, etc) and what we say to ourselves. Spoken words could kickstart a life or push it further down the valley. Therefore, before you say that word, make sure it passes that test of relevance.
We may not have money to offer to people but with words alone, we can change their world by turning their miseries to blessing.

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