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Once upon a time, there was a man who felt he had reached the end of his rope. To him, life was meaningless. All spirit had vanished from his life. Even his family, friends, and his work failed to hold his interest. Finally, nearing the point of desperation and at the end of his rope, he visited his physician. After listening to his story and seeing the depth of his depression, his doctor asked, “When you were a child, what one thing did you like to do best?”

The man took a deep breath, paused for a few moments, then replied, “I enjoyed visiting the seashore.”

“Okay,” his physician said calmly, “I’ve got just the remedy. But I must warn you. You must follow my instructions to the letter. Under no circumstances are you to deviate from my treatment.” His doctor then pulled a notepad from his rolltop desk and continued.

“Tomorrow, I want you to spend the day at the shore. find a secluded area on the beach and spend the entire day - from 9am until 6pm. Take nothing to read or anything to divert your attention. I’m going to give you four prescriptions that are guaranteed to cure your ailment. Take the first at 9am, the second at noon, the third at 3pm and the last at 6pm. Do not look at the instructions now. Instead, wait until you arrive at the shore tomorrow morning”. With that, the man promised to heed his doctor’s orders and left his office.

The following morning, shortly before 9am, he parked his car on a lonely stretch of beach. There was a strong wind blowing in from the sea, and the surf ws high and pounding. Depressed and forlorn, he walked to a sand dune near the inviting surf and sat down. As instructed, he took out the first prescription, opened it, and read it. It simply said, “Listen.” That’s all that was written on the paper - Listen. And for three hours that’s all he did. He listened to the sound of the buffeting wind. He listened to the lonely cries of the seagulls. He listened to the sound of the rushing surf. He sat motionless and listened.

You’ll be amazed at how much you’ll hear when you take time out to listen. Listen to your environment, listen to the birds, listen to the insects, listen to your children, just listen……listen to the wind, listen to your wife, and above all, listen to your innermost being.People never really take time to listen.Whenever you do, if you do, you’ll be amazed at what you’ll hear. As a country, we should learn to listen. We should listen carefully to and observe our history. We should listen to what we yearn for in our hearts and we should listen to what our potentials and destiny as a Nation say daily to us. As a people, we should listen to each other. We should listen to our leaders; we should listen to God and listen to posterity.

At noon, he reached into his pocket and took out the second prescription. Just like the first, these instructions were plain and simple. It said “Reach back.” And for the next three hours he did just that: He let his mind wander back as far as it could. He recalled all the incidents of his life that he could remember - the happy times, the bleak times, the triumphs and the struggles.

Always reach back; pause and ponder. Reminisce sometimes about the past in quietness and sober reflections. Remember the happy times, remember the sad……..remember and reflect on the best times you’ve had as well as the worst; when you cried and when you laughed; who you had fun with and where; the adrenaline rushes and the terrible mood swings. Just reflect on things past and replay them over and over in your mind. What you promised not to do again that you are still doing; what you promised to leave or start and you did. how you did things in the past and what you should have done better; what you risked and what you let go; your mistakes and brain children………..you’ll be amazed at how far you have come and how many lessons you have learnt or could have learnt and applied to your present. Note what you need to continue, change, stop or start.

Hope you endeavour to apply these first two doses of the best medicine until I make available the other doses of these great medicine. Till then have blessed moments and hours.