Structure

Build it strong, weather resistant.

There is a fable about a young man who came to Socrates, the great wise man, and said:

“I want to know everything you know.”

“If this is your desire,” said Socrates, “then follow me to the river.”

Full of curiosity, the young man followed Socrates to the nearby river. 

As they sat on the bank, Socrates said, “Take a close look at the river and tell me what you see.”

“I don’t see anything,” said young man. “Look closer,” replied Socrates.

As the man peered over the bank and leaned closer to the water,

Socrates grabbed the man’s head and shoved it under the water. 

The man’s arms flailed wildly as he attempted to escape, but Socrates strong grip kept him submerged. 

About the time the man was about to drown, Socrates pulled him from the river and laid him on the bank.

Coughing, the man gasped, “Are you crazy, old man? What are you trying to do, kill me?”

“When I was holding you under the river, what did you want more than anything else?” asked Socrates.

“I wanted to breathe. I wanted air!” he replied.

“Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking that wisdom comes easily, my young friend,” said Socrates.

“ When you want to learn as badly as you wanted air just now, then come to me again.”

The point is clear. Nothing in life comes easily. You have to pay the price! Everyone has to pay. Write that down. Memorize it. Underline it. There are no free lunches! What a naïve young man to think he could gain a lifetime of learning without paying the price.

But are we any less naïve when we think that we can have a good job and a promising future if we haven’t paid the price to develop a strong mind?

As a matter of fact, getting a good education may just be the most important price you can pay, because more than anything else you do, how you use that mass of gray matter between your ears will determine your future. Unless you want to be flipping burgers and living with your parents when you’re thirty, you’d better start paying the price now.

So start investing in your education. An education is not just going to school everyday and making sure you hand in all your homework. It’s more than that. It’s developing skills, gaining more knowledge, and knowing how to deal with anything that comes your way.

Learning a different language, an instrument, reading, listening to the news, having stimulating intelligent conversations with friends and adults, are a few things you can add to your blueprint in order to build a more stable and resistant structure.

Have you ever wondered how GOD intended things to be? We’re born, then we learn how to walk, how to talk, and etc. That’s childhood. After that, comes our teens. That’s when we’re supposed to advance in learning and acquiring skills so that we can live a decent adult life. Makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?  

It sure does! But many young people don’t realize that. They get easily distracted. They want to have relationships and fun, and just think of the here and now. They put the cart before the horse.

Be smart. Don’t get misled. Just think, what will happen to your building when a storm comes?

Pr Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator