13: What if you get to decide when to wake up?
“Oge onye ji bilie bụ ụtụtụ ya.”
Hey kids,
Here’s the gist for today:
“Oge onye ji bilie bụ ụtụtụ ya.”
Or as another Igbo dialect might put it:
“Oge onye tetere bụ ụtụtụ ya”
What this proverb simply means is that “Whatever time a person wakes up; that, becomes their morning.”
Okay, I’ll be honest, it doesn’t “simply” mean that, because there’s nothing simple about it. ‘Cause I mean, how can a person choose when their morning is? How can they decide to sleep whenever and wake up whenever? Can they, really?
But the truth is that we do this everyday.
Every. single. day.
We choose what to do, what to procrastinate, how much of ‘purpose’ we’d like to pursue, when to apply ourselves, and where to really put in our best (if at all). Doing this, is choosing when we wake up—simply put.
I once heard a wise man say that 3 years ago was the best time to plant a tree
But the second best time is now.
It is easy for one to wallow in regret, wondering all they could have achieved
Instead of making sure things get done, somehow.
People often spend more time stuck in the past, counting their mistakes
Because the truth is, it seems much easier to do, than focus on what it takes
Even if you have not been up and doing, and your tree was not planted 3 years ago
How about you focus on where you are, and decide that today, you will give it a go?
You might not have woken up as early as others
But the question remains: have you now woken up, or are you still in mourning?
“Oge onye tetere bụ ụtụtụ ya.”
Whenever a person wakes up, that, becomes their morning!
WAKE UP!
Hold on, let me be clear, this is not me telling you when to wake up, or even whether to wake up at all. I just got carried away in the poem, and it felt like “Wake Up!” was a good way to close it out.
What I actually meant to say was:
WAKE UP… if and only if you want to.
WAKE UP… if and only when you’re ready to.
WAKE UP… if and only if you’re trying to achieve something with your life.
Check this:
“But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber. (Proverbs 6:9-11 NLT)
Before you let that sink in, check out the three previous verses that invite us to do something interesting:
Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones [not you, kid🤭].
Learn from their ways and become wise!
Though they have no prince
or governor or ruler to make them work,
They labor hard all summer,
gathering food for the winter.
I don’t know how I let myself digress this much, cause the point of this letter—initially—was to:
Give you permission to wake up when you're ready (if you choose to).
Remind you that although others might have gone ahead, you are not behind (per se).
Encourage you with the fact that if you started TODAY you will be better off tomorrow than you were yesterday (all things being equal).
The point of all of this was to simply echo what you already know, that:
If what has been holding you back has been the fear of lost time or opportunities, then the solution is not more wasted time (shocker), but actually for you to start—your morning, your day, your life, your career, relationship, business, fitness journey, book, or whatever it is you may want to start—today.
You see, Jisie ike (Jisike) is not just a phrase. It is a posture. A spirit.
It says: even if I rise at noon, I’ll still rise strong. Even if I start late, I’ll still go far.
Don’t sleep on your morning because it doesn’t look like “theirs”. Don’t waste today trying to rewrite yesterday.
You’re awake now. And that, truly, is enough.
So, yes, hear me loud, and hear me now…
WAKE UP!
Keep breathing.
Jisike!💪🏾
”Oge onye tetere bụ ụtụtụ ya”
Oge – Time
Onye – Person / Someone
Tetere – Woke up
Bụ – Is
Ụtụtụ – Morning
Ya – Their