WISDOM AND THE THEORY OF THE SIDELINES

Have you ever tried looking at a lady from a distance? If you are a man, the chances that you have is a hundred percent – the same goes for women also. The lady in question might be beautiful or maybe not, but you will surely have something to say about what you have observed. At the same time, you cannot be absolutely certain of what you have seen from a distance. Her blouse might be cream but the reflections of the street lights around her make it look like gold. Her hair might be purple but what you see is black. And if you make the mistake of drooling over what you think you are seeing, you are in for a shocker when you finally step up to her, if at all you do. And if you don’t, you walk away dreaming of the black hair goddess dressed in gold. That is a picture of being on the sideline. You do not get to have the facts. You only think you have it and your actions are then based on your false thinking.

Now, if indeed you walk up to the lady, you could easily see that she is beautiful, of course, this is subjective but to a large extent you can tell that she is easy on the eyes. You can also see her cream blouse. You might not see her purple hair if you are color blind, but you can mention that her black hair is lovely and she might giggle at you and say ‘silly, its purple.’ However the story goes, you have come closer, you have made a better assessment, asked questions but most importantly you have your facts right. Now, that is a wisdom that cannot be compared to the wisdom of the sideline.

It is very easy to stand on the sideline to comment. Ask the guy sitting glued to the television cursing a football player for making the wrong move. You can never enjoy such wisdom on the pitch if you are asked to play the game. Ask the President of Nigeria what it feels like to be in the pitch. Ask the person who gets the statement ‘if I were you, I would…’ every time he makes a decision that has an effect on others. Ask yourself also for you have been on the sideline and on the pitch at some time in your life.

My dictionary defines the sideline as a place for uninvolved people and the example it gave was that you can always get opinions on any subject from the sidelines. If you are not involved in anything then you can never be an authority on anything. Quit being a sideliner! Get on the pitch! We can definitely use more guys (referring to both sexes) on the pitch, playing the game, helping to make our dear country better.

Next time you decide to open your mouth to make a comment, critical or not, it is imperative that you have your facts right. This is even more important these days where most people are connected globally by the web and a mass reaction, calm or volatile, can be initiated within seconds of pinging or touching your mouse pad. You could destroy or you could create just by a click. When next you hear that a girl turned into a snake at the hotel in Warri, do not do as sideliners do – believe hearsay so much that they wanted to burn down the hotel. Instead, use wisdom in deciphering if it is possible to have a snake girl and if your senses tell you to probe further, by all means probe and probe till to you know for a fact that the information you have is right. At that point, you can say whatever you want and anyhow you want to.

Photo credit: http://www.film.com/tv/the-ten-best-tv-characters-according-to-hair#fbid=tgdKVJGgLTR