Only the Lord knows how hard many fight for the groundedness others seem naturally bequeathed with — and how fiercely they struggle to protect it when, having finally arrived at it, it becomes threatened.
They will drop everything — job, friends, family — just to remain in that groundedness they laboured so hard to find.
(I fit write book o! Make I continue?)
In the search for this groundedness, people dabble in almost every distraction — alcohol, cults, drugs. Somehow, Christ is never exciting enough to attract them. And the reason is simple:
The real Christ has been replaced by another — one who promises everything except what they truly seek.
The most tragic thing a person can do is to follow the great horde engaged in false religion… or worse, go against what they know to be right — partaking in a culture of death (which is the proper name for bribery, corruption, nepotism, and whatever else it’s called).
Those who do, move from the death of one divine attribute to another.
Attribute of God?
The Fruits of the Spirit.
One of the things I’m most grateful for was discovering The Beatles at the age of fifteen — just before I entered university.
John Lennon, especially.
He was a rebel without a cause, manufacturing one as he went along — a bit like Jordan — driven by anger, by perceived slights, by injustice. He found a new injustice every other week to fuel his creativity.
Many don’t realize that Lennon returned his MBE because of the Biafran War. The British government supported Nigeria, and that was it — “Take your medal back!”
I remember reading how he bought a Rolls Royce in his twenties, and one day in London or Liverpool, a passer-by shouted, “It’s OK for you, golden balls!” — I think that’s the exact quote. Lennon sold that car soon after. That was the end of it.
Fame and wealth weren’t the groundedness he sought.
Another thing I’m grateful for was my closest friend when I entered the University of Ife — Misan Egbe.
He introduced me to Carlos Santana and taught me to play the bass guitar.
Santana was already a global icon in 1980 — forty-five years ago. The way he dressed — shrunk white undershirts — made us drool. He had found groundedness. The way he carried himself said it all.
And if it bothered you — that was your problem.
I’ve told my kids: torn, bleached jeans are actually retro. We did it back in 1980 at university. Brand-new jeans — pour bleach on them, let them dry, bring out the razor blade. There was a certain groundedness on that campus. Many carried it with them for life.
The man who finds groundedness and then finds Christ — in that order?
Wow.
He’s a warrior.
Do not waste your time trying to unravel him. You’ll only understand his modus operandi when you reach the mountaintop he scaled — only to discover that was where his real journey began.
And you? You probably haven’t scaled your mountain yet. When you do, you’ll find no need to pigeonhole him. You’ll be flying — with a bird’s-eye view — and you’ll finally see the things you once could not.
What am I commenting about?
About this?
“A recent photograph captured by a Russian blogger in the St. Petersburg metro showed Perelman with an unkempt appearance — disheveled hair, a scruffy beard, and worn-out shoes — an image that could lead to misidentification.”
Perhaps yes. Perhaps not.
One of the most brilliant quotes I came across decades ago said this:
“The map is not the territory — what we say is not what we mean.”
— Alfred Korzybski
A gentle reminder that words, no matter how precise, are only representations of what we mean — never what we actually mean.
I do not even know what I mean.
(But I have said what I mean to say!)
I rest my case.
Don Kenobi | #dk
Would you like me to add a featured-image caption suggestion (for the WordPress thumbnail — e.g. Perelman in the metro, symbol of grounded genius)?
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