Some Thoughts on Habits.

I recall a sermon I heard once; the general import was that we are made of strong, resilient stuff and are able to bounce back from the rudest shocks. God didn't make us to whimper or cower when faced with obstacles or issues, hard as they might seem. When we get hurt by life, we can heal; like the phoenix, our spirits can rise out of the ashes of despair and calamity to achieve beautiful things.

For example, the untimely passing of a loved one may knock the wind out of your sails and leave you struggling for the will to live - but, with a little faith and a good amount of patience the wounds heal. While we might not totally forget, we can become accustomed to the unpleasantness to the point where it no longer adversely affects us. This depends, however, on how we choose to process the unpleasantness.

I believe that generally speaking, we give life to our circumstances - pleasant or otherwise - by the amount of attention we give to them. It's called the Law of attraction which implies that what you focus on, you attract. Yes, there are limits to our sphere of control nevertheless, but within it, we can be masters of time and space. We can to a good extent influence if not control, what happens to us in this gift called life we've been given. I find it helps to be as thankful as possible after all, the moment we are born, we are old enough to die so everything's a gift anyway.

I leave that train of thought and come back to the idea that - we get accustomed to and even benefit from unpleasant events. You may have heard these quips - "No pain, no gain" , "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger".

I attribute this to our ability to learn. We learn concepts and ideas, we develop new skills, our minds learn to think in a certain way, our bodies can learn to run a 100 meter race. The vastness of possibilities is one of the reasons I believe we keep deciding to replenish the earth with our offspring i.e. the idea that future generations can learn to do great things based on the foundations laid by people today

We don't just learn in our heads; our muscles, for example, learn to stretch beyond their limits when put to work. They can also retain the memory of a movement such as a dance such that the brain does not need to put them through all the paces of the movement (well, maybe not all of us). But ultimately, there seems to be not much we won't get better at if we keep doing it.

My point, however, is while there are habits that we consciously acquire, some are unconsciously or unintentionally acquired. Becoming lazy, choosing to take the path of least resistance, becoming complacent – these are some of the habits we can acquire without meaning to. Whatever path we decide to take in our minds, the seen and unseen rest of us follows. So, you better be learning the right things

Unfortunately, a lot of habits that are bad for us are enjoyable and pleasant to start with, but can quickly turn into a nightmare. They can put you into a place of regret and downward spiraling chain reactions that can be as explosive as the atomic bomb. A lot of them take quite long to manifest their evil domination. Sometimes, the effects are even felt by not just the person in question, but can reach other people close to them – even their children and descendants.

Not everything that feels good is good for you; think about someone addicted to just about anything – it's easy to see they've lost their freedom and are enslaved to whatever they once enjoyed. Every once in a while, it's useful to review our life's enjoyments and determine where things have become unhealthy, if only just for the knowing. Which is why some of my countrymen say "Na so and so thing go kill me".

Break free, Break out, Break forth. Go!