Go find it in your own backyard

Always a sucker for buried treasure stories, I came across Russell Conwell’s tale famously known as the “Acres of Diamonds” when I was much older. PHOTO | FILE

What you need to know:

  • I think about Al Hafed, particularly when I’m tempted to go to other lands in search of better prospects. What if the diamonds are right here, back home?
  • And with Africa rising on so many fronts, what if we are living in the land of opportunity itself?
  • Like Al Hafed, few of us take the time to examine what we have.

“A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.”  George A Moore

As a child, I loved the concept of buried treasure, and was always on the lookout for a rainbow. You see, we had been told that if you ever found the end of a rainbow, you were sure to find a pot of gold there. Since I knew that my family could have much use for a pot filled with gold, I kept looking.

I have never found the end of the rainbow. My brothers on the other hand, talked about the treasures of gold in sunken pirate ships. Since I wasn’t a good swimmer, and I wasn’t sure there were pirates off the East African coast, that seemed more remote than my rainbow story. What was not in dispute, however, was that we all wanted to find wealth out there, somewhere. My son is slightly different. He dreams of scoring big on the lotto.

Always a sucker for buried treasure stories, I came across Russell Conwell’s tale famously known as the “Acres of Diamonds” when I was much older. It tells the story of Al Hafed who although he owned a farm with orchards, grain fields and gardens, decided to go on a search for diamonds. He sold his farm, left his family under the charge of his neighbour and travelled the world hoping to find the diamonds that would make him wealthy.

Buddhist monk had told him that if he found a river which runs over white sands, between the mountains, in those sands, he would find the diamonds. He travelled through many countries but was unable to find them. Now poor, having spent all his money on an elusive search, he committed suicide.

Meanwhile, back home, the man who had bought his farm found diamonds in a stream in Al Hafed’s backyard. That farm eventually became one of the most productive diamond mines in the world.

EVERYTHING WE NEED

I think about Al Hafed, particularly when I’m tempted to go to other lands in search of better prospects. What if the diamonds are right here, back home? And with Africa rising on so many fronts, what if we are living in the land of opportunity itself? Like Al Hafed, few of us take the time to examine what we have.

If anything, we are quick to cast it off in our quest to get ahead or our disappointment with our lives as they are currently constituted. We quit the job, end the relationship, move town and give up what is good in search for what could be great. Never mind that the English writers cautioned that a “bird in hand is worth two in the bush”. We are caught staring longingly at a neighbour’s lawn that we forget to top dress ours.

In the story of Moses, as recorded in the Bible, Moses is minding his sheep when he has an encounter with God. God tells him to go back to Egypt to rescue the Israelites. Moses puts up strong objection, wondering how he can accomplish such a feat as he, among other disqualifications, stammers.

God then pointedly asks him what he has in his hand. It is a stick, one he picked up the mountain. God uses the staff to do many miracles through Moses, eventually delivering the Israelites. The moral of the story is that Moses did not have to go looking for a fancy sword. What he had in his hand, was enough for the task ahead. And that’s what we need to realise. We may not have everything we desire, but we have everything we need for our next step.

The education you have will lead you to a job or a business that will open the door for your next level. Your current job will provide you with the experience and expertise that will come handy in your promotion. Even the frustration you face or the mistake you have made can be useful for a future assignment if you learn the lesson.

We must remind ourselves of Al Hafed and Moses when disillusioned by our current situation. Go dig in your backyard. Find the staff in your hand. Make them work for you. Ralph W. Emerson wrote, “Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not.”