ERIK THE BAMBIALLAH

 

I was thinking this morning.... I spent my childhood and teenage years in Warri in the seventies and eighties. It was full of unforgettable experiences. One of such memories was of blind beggars led by children moving around begging for money. Everyone called them bambiallah. A word I still don't understand the origin or meaning.

The bambiallahs left us with the belief that the blind are unable to provide for themselves nor achieve anything meaningful in life. Residues of this belief still resided in my deepest recess until last Monday when I listened to Erik Weihenmayer, a blind American adventurer and author. He gave the keynote speech, titled "No Barriers," at the National Safety Council (NSC) Congress and Expo in Orlando, Florida.

I have listened to great speeches by great men but have never been challenged by a blind man like I was that day. Erik wasn't seeing the audience or screen but did not miss a line, mix up the story deck, or left out the key messages. It was a riveting speech that blew my mind.

As a blind adventurer, Erik told us how, years after he became fully blind, he climbed Mt. Everest and the seven summits and kayaked the Grand Canyon. He recalled how he and his team once climbed a vertical ice mountain in the Himalayas. When they got to the peak and the snow blew, it got very dark with no light. Within hours, his team started complaining to him that they couldn't see. How ironic. If they are complaining within a few hours of not seeing, what should Erik, that hasn't seen for most of my life, do?

There are many Eriks that ended up being a bambiallah instead of a world conqueror. No doubt, barriers and obstacles are real and can stop us in our tracks. If obstacles stop you, you end up being a bambiallah, but if, like Erik, you figure out a way to harness those obstacles and propel yourself to new places, then you achieve greatness.

Let nothing stop you today. Dig deep and push yourself ahead. Don't be a bambiallah. Philippians 4:13.

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey