NOW THAT YOU’RE A MAN
Dear Mr Man,
This is my final letter to you for the present.
Have you heard of the man they call Apostle Paul? He once wrote a letter to the church in Corinth where he said something I have always found inspiring. “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I reasoned like a child, I understood like a child; now that I have become a man, I am done with childish ways and have put them aside.”
At some point during your growth into manhood, Mr Man, you must be able to say to yourself, “When I was a boy, these things fascinated me. These are the things that took most of my time. I was a slave to these things. But as I have grown older into manhood, I have shed these things and assumed a toga of responsibility.”
What may some of these things be? Perhaps I should share.
1. Boys THINK like boys. They exhibit a curious blend of extremes. On the one hand, they are gullible and believe the first thing they are told on any subject. On the other hand, as soon as they accept that fixed thought into their heads, it becomes a herculean task to dislodge it and give them superior information. Boys do not reason for themselves. Boys are the most closed-minded people you can find. You see them everywhere, arguing for arguing sake, like children, without a point.
Mr Man, I know you are not like this. You are a man.
2. Boys SPEAK like boys. The distance between their brains and their mouths is virtually infinitesimal. Whatever occurs to them, they don’t filter. They just open their mouths and spill it out. Boys don’t understand that there is a time to speak and a time to be silent. Every time is a time to talk. They feel it is a duty to fill up every silence- whether what they have to say is relevant or not.
Mr Man, I know you are not like this. You are a man.
3. Boys ACT like boys. When boys take actions, they have a disjointed sense of time, actions and consequences. Their actions, per time, are determined by their feelings- not guided by an understanding of time, the demands of their future, or long term consequences. Indeed, boys have an extremely brief time-sense. Short-term benefits becloud long-term considerations.
Mr Man, I know you are not like this. You are a man.
* * *
Mr Man, if the boy you were, meets the man you are becoming, would he be proud? Would he tell you, “I might have had some boyish dreams, but I love this reality you are making happen”?
Mr Man, it really doesn’t matter much what you used to be. What matters most is who you are becoming. What matters is that you deliberately choose to consistent and never-ending improvement. I hope, every day, you are putting one foot in front of the other in a conscious decision to move forward despite whatever happens to you. I hope you are keeping your goals in perspective and your dreams alive. I hope you understand that as you live, you learn, you may fall but you must rise, you may make mistakes but you must make amendments, you may start small, but you mustn’t remain small. What happened to growing big?
Mr Man, I wish you strength for life’s challenges and wisdom to handle the storms. I wish you discernment to pick your friends wisely, to choose your battles, to pick your allies. I wish you steady advancement in the pursuit of your dreams. I wish you fulfillment in life.
Mr Man, however harsh I may sound sometimes, I hope you know it’s for the best.
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