I was heading home until I noticed it
Nothing worth a pause but then I stopped
Nothing worth my time but I lingered
Then distracted, I strayed and wandered
Unable to find my way back, I kept going
Until it dawned: I thought I was moving
Forward, I was only going round a circle.
I should get out and find the way home
But why bother, why worry, I got time
I will explore all I can until I am tired
Then I’ll clean up and find my way home.

We are who we are irrespective of our circumstances. We can claim what we like or want but who we are shows up whenever we are challenged. Yes, our circumstances may influence our actions. Pressures may sway us. We could be distracted, deceived, lured away and led down the wrong path. Yet, at the end of the end, we are who we are and we are responsible for our choices and decisions. We may derail from the path that is us but nobody feels at home on a strange path. You can only travel there for so long before homesickness hits and it dawns: this is truly not where I belong. What am I doing here? How did I get here? Who hasn’t been in that position before?

After the fruit that lured us away is consumed or sometimes while we are still on it, our hearts begin to beat homewards. The itch to return is birthed and before you know it, that same person that once proclaimed they hated home is heading back to the only hiding place they knew peace. Home in this instance is not limited to a physical abode. It could be a lifestyle, faith, custom, whatever. The true us will always outlive the forms and acts we put up no matter how long we have been able to carry on with those.

Why is this so? Nature calls to its own. Refine iron ore all you want, preserve the glowing product however you can, the day it is exposed to natural conditions, it will need no reminders to commence its journey back to the ore from whence it came. The nature within may be stifled for a while, or for as long as we can afford to but it cannot be silenced forever. A friend once shared a story about a man who was an atheist all his life. The end came and on his dying bed he requested for a bible, which he placed underneath his pillow. His wife queried, “Why a bible?” His weak but firm response was, “Just in case my dear. Just in case.” Act all we want, deny all we can, in the end, what is inside surpasses all the shows we have managed to flaunt even for a lifetime.

We don’t have to wait until the last minute to turn back home because then, it is doubly difficult to find our way even if you still have the strength to undertake that journey. People who know the way may not be there at that time to guide you back. The weather may not be conducive, the hazards may have multiplied. There are countless factors that discourage waiting for the last minute to do what you should. There is no better time than now to do what you know you ought. What is that decision you have been deferring? Where is that issue you have been avoiding? Tell yourself right now, “No more procrastination.” Do something. Say something. If you don’t take a stand to do what you ought right now, you may never get round to it again. Today is your greatest chance, now is the best time.

Glory!