by Mina Ogbanga

 From character building in children to mindset reorientation in adults, I reckon issues can be addressed to building a more transparent, formidable, united, safe and just society.

Today, I hope to take us into looking at some softer issues that completely controls the stronger bits of our lives. It warmly reminds me of the all so common saying that “women are weaker sex”. Then you ask a man and he tells you how much of the actions and decisions he takes are actually drawn from the input of his spouse emphasizing the subtle but seeming controlling skill of many women.

We need to see how these soft skills can translate into preventing the freefall of what is left of the national fabrics of sanity. It is a truism that “what the mind can conceive the hands can achieve”. In our minds lie a strength untilised by many and the desire to pursue good or evil. Therefore, addressing the mind and its workings will go a long way in addressing fundamental issues which plague our lives in particular and society in general.‎ I don’t intend to convert this piece into a philosophy class, but to enable us step back and decide what part we can play in understanding the place of our minds in the scheme of things.

I once referred to the term ‘mindset re-orientation’ sometime ago during a reproductive health communication project while trying to mainstream youth participation into safe sex promotion, HIV awareness and teenage pregnancy issues. It was clear from the outset that most of the actors who diverted from the scale of ‘right path’ were primarily due to peer pressure.

I acknowledged the bed time stories that emphasized the mind as a powerful tool for changing things. The term ‘common sense’ clearly highlights how good use of the mind separates the men from the boys. From a struggling child becoming the president of the world’s most powerful country to the student without books who graduating First Class – they all share something in common – the perseverance and commitment through determined efforts.

At the end of the day, the mind war is a war between good and evil and when two elephants fight, the grass sees no peace until. Fortunately, like a foam thrown into the sea, good surpasses evil and truth surfaces to liberate the good. Whatever side one sees themselves on,it all started from the mind. In a recent case in the US, a young man simply took up his gun and after weeks of planning, went into a naval yard and simply shot dead tonnes of people. Terrorist in Nigeria attacked a school shooting sleeping students dead. While some come out remorseful,others still wonder at why they didn’t loot enough.

So as humans it is vital that we understand the original sequence of things because to have started this discuss on a faulty or inverted premise would mean that we would reach a faulty conclusion thus a digression from the essential truth.

One, the mind is a creative principle, in truth it is the only creative principle, it is the avenue through which all things came and continues to come into being. It is the content of the mind of a man that determines the totality his life. It is the dominant thoughts, emotions and deep seated life metaphors be it good or bad that determines the quality of our lives.

The principal way of effecting change in life is to work on changing the content of our minds. Most people pay very little attention to their dominant mental state, thus trivializing the power of their thought to control outcome. Our breath, heartbeat, circulation of blood and all the vital bodily functions are controlled by the unconscious mind. Every 11 months we all have brand new cells from top to bottom and in 7 years we have new bones thus biologically every year you have a new body and the capacity of your body continue functioning.

From character building in children to mindset reorientation in adults, I reckon issues can be addressed to building a more transparent, formidable, united, safe and just society.

Several innovative programs are already on but simply too minute to have credible widespread impact. How long will citizens watch as their country gets raped? How long will students stay at home and remain helpless at the scenario in their closed universities experiencing educational shut down?.

How long will the rich get richer, not necessarily because most ‘work hard’ but because they have access a general resource?

On this premise, citizens appear to be sitting on a keg of gun powder waiting to explode up until a ‘redeemer’ comes. Citizens have gotten used to the chaos and deprivation that I’m unsure a saner society (like the animals released from a dark cave who got upset seeing the sun) won’t pose an even greater challenge where adaptation turns out to be a challenge. Time always has a way of telling but one thing is for sure, every human deserves some level of sanity.

What role are we each playing towards contributing to the good or evil of the society and what are the values that guides us?

I know we can’t  lose being on the side of positivism. The worry though is how many are out there with this vision? How many can overcome the challenges they have to face to stand out for good. How ready are you to sow the seeds of greatness?

With the right mindset, perhaps that long awaited revolution will take place, no?

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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.