The Human Mind
Hi, my name is Abiodun Fijabi and I welcome you to today’s edition of Leading Right. In the next couple of weeks, we shall travel on another long journey that will help us unravel the power of the human mind, understand how thoughts shape our lives and acquire skills on how to use the power of the mind to create a better future for ourselves and for our communities.
I know you will agree we are in a world of inequalities. There is a huge gap between the rich and the poor; between the powerful and the weak, between the haves and have-nots. In the last few decades, great efforts have been made to remove the inequalities and put men on the same level playing field. The efforts crystallized in a political adventure called communism. “To every man according to his needs” became the dictum. The goal was to create a classless society. Because classes divide and constitute a source of conflicts. A classless society would ensure all men are equal and remain equal. The powerful would no longer dominate the weak; the rich would no longer oppress the poor. It was an attractive philosophy. In a short time, more than half of the world’s population was caught up in the effort to remove the staggering inequalities through a political solution.
But Communism did not endure. It could not have endured because it failed some fundamental tests. It sought to gag man’s mind through draconian laws forced on the multitudes by a few. The adventurous spirit of a man would not allow him stay under a draconian law for a long time. He wants to explore. He wants to be free to pursue a passionate interest. He wants to reach for the stars.
His mind is a gift from God. It is a sacrilege to think for him. Man may and should, at some times, be guided to think rightly. But thinking for others is an abuse of their God-given right. Man can only feel committed to a law that agrees with his divine nature. He can only feel obliged to a law that he participates in making – directly or indirectly. That is the reason democracy – about the closest we have gotten in accommodating the power of the human mind – is sweeping across the world.
But communism is right in this – all men are created equal. Not because they were born into similar circumstances or had the same opportunities for advancement. More often than not, men are different. Wherein lies their equality? Each possesses a mind. Locked up on each mind is all the opportunities and dreams a man might have. It is here that the heights he might reach reside. No mind is greater than another. Each has the same Source – God. The difference as to where one man ends is determined not by the quality of his mind at birth but in the way he deploys his mind over the years.
Dear listener, where you are at present is not conditioned by your environment but by the way you have deployed your mind in the years gone by. Where you will be tomorrow is already determined by the way you are using your mind today. This is a profound truth that will change the course of your life and that of your community. So, welcome to our discussions on the mind.
I know you will agree we are in a world of inequalities. There is a huge gap between the rich and the poor; between the powerful and the weak, between the haves and have-nots. In the last few decades, great efforts have been made to remove the inequalities and put men on the same level playing field. The efforts crystallized in a political adventure called communism. “To every man according to his needs” became the dictum. The goal was to create a classless society. Because classes divide and constitute a source of conflicts. A classless society would ensure all men are equal and remain equal. The powerful would no longer dominate the weak; the rich would no longer oppress the poor. It was an attractive philosophy. In a short time, more than half of the world’s population was caught up in the effort to remove the staggering inequalities through a political solution.
But Communism did not endure. It could not have endured because it failed some fundamental tests. It sought to gag man’s mind through draconian laws forced on the multitudes by a few. The adventurous spirit of a man would not allow him stay under a draconian law for a long time. He wants to explore. He wants to be free to pursue a passionate interest. He wants to reach for the stars.
His mind is a gift from God. It is a sacrilege to think for him. Man may and should, at some times, be guided to think rightly. But thinking for others is an abuse of their God-given right. Man can only feel committed to a law that agrees with his divine nature. He can only feel obliged to a law that he participates in making – directly or indirectly. That is the reason democracy – about the closest we have gotten in accommodating the power of the human mind – is sweeping across the world.
But communism is right in this – all men are created equal. Not because they were born into similar circumstances or had the same opportunities for advancement. More often than not, men are different. Wherein lies their equality? Each possesses a mind. Locked up on each mind is all the opportunities and dreams a man might have. It is here that the heights he might reach reside. No mind is greater than another. Each has the same Source – God. The difference as to where one man ends is determined not by the quality of his mind at birth but in the way he deploys his mind over the years.
Dear listener, where you are at present is not conditioned by your environment but by the way you have deployed your mind in the years gone by. Where you will be tomorrow is already determined by the way you are using your mind today. This is a profound truth that will change the course of your life and that of your community. So, welcome to our discussions on the mind.
posted by Abiodun Fijabi at 2:42 PM
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