In 1995, my father, who was a very responsible person, sold the only plot of land he had bought through his untiring earnings, so that I could go to Australia to pursue my studies and become victorious, which is the ultimate dream of every parent. When I landed in Melbourne during the cold winter, little did I know that I was already blindfolded by the pleasures of this world? I had already become short sighted of my life’s vision, as I had permitted life destroying momentary pleasures to reside within me. I was growing within my short sighted vision and I was losing my original aims, dreams and aspirations.
My desire is that every youngster who is already abroad and those who are trying to go abroad will take this writing into consideration as a life warning and make a strong decision to be focused and glued to their goals, ignoring all other temptative baits of illicit pleasures which lead towards nothing but disaster. I would also like every parent who sees this piece of life transforming writing to share it not only with their own children but also with every child they know, as there is no other pleasure than saving a life from destruction and deception.
In Melbourne, I was easily captivated by the destructive pleasures of the world as I had already opened the way to my five senses whilst I was in Sri Lanka. Instant gratification or momentary pleasures blind us from envisioning our future. The moment you open a door and consent to any type of pleasure, then it becomes natural for your flesh to keep demanding for an improved version of it. For instance if you seek pleasure by exposing your eyes to pornography, your flesh will crave for it until it gets gratified through prostitution. Constantly indulging yourself in them will reach a level that your mind decides that those pleasures are essential to you.
When your needs are not met, you feel utterly miserable as they are not a pleasure anymore, but a slavery act that pushes you to live for the day. My eyes, which I had not tamed since I was a child kept rolling through and forth in Melbourne, just like a hungry lion aiming for its prey. Instant pleasures became my usual habit of sight. The moment I attempted to get rid of it and look at my childhood dreams through my naked eyes, I was completely blinded, as I had already been baited and purchased to become a slave of the destructive pleasures of this world.
When you are baited by the illicit pleasures of this world, the definition you give on happiness will be merely based on the pleasures you have already experienced and not on the pleasures you have not enjoyed which are healthy, contributive, sustainable and long lasting. I failed attending to the university as my body was already a slave of drugs and women. Instant gratification is similar to a frog that is boiling in a hot water pot. It does not realise that it will be killed in due course, yet it thinks the initial warmth is an amazing pleasure. The moment it experiences that the water is boiling and it is going to kill it, by then it is so arduous and challenging to get out of the pot.
That is the reason we as adults must direct, correct and develop our children from their very young age. If a cricket coach does not train a youngster to grip the bat rightly, then it will become a difficult task to substitute his grip at a latter stage, as he has already been used to handling the bat according to an incorrect grip which his hand and mind have been accustomed to over many years. If your child is used to eating very spicy food from a very young age of five (05), then it is a tough move to ask him to change his food habits down the line as their tongue and mind have already accepted it as a pleasure.
The moment you strive to feed them non spicy food, even though it tastes really good, their brain will throw a fit stating that it does not tatste good. This is exactly what happens with the disastrous pleasures of the world such as drugs, illicit relationships, immoral sexual activities, gambling, junk food, sugary contents and other such detrimental things. This is why character development becomes so crucial to a child in their early childhood. What many parents do is, they try to cure it once everything has gone wrong, whereas it could have been prevented with timely correction, direction and development.
I am in the process of setting up a Leadership & Training Academy to fulfill my duty to this world by producing champions of the next generation, if not they will become losers in life by being baited by life destroying pleasures of this world. If any of you would like to join hands with me in this well worthy cause, do drop me a WhatsApp message showing your interest. Life can become tough for parents if they have to use an axe to take out the destructive growth of their children, which could have been easily removed by using their nail.
Similarly, it would be miserable for the youth to fathom that they reached Matara while their intention was to go to Jaffna, which are two extreme ends in Sri Lanka. It is similar to a girl who desires to have a 60kg slim body finding out that she is actually 120kg due to her unhealthy eating habits and lifestyle. She will certainly end up depressed to a level that she would not want to work towards becoming 60kg, as the two ends are too far from her original desire. Therefore, I request all the youngsters not to get baited or lose your focus by swallowing temporary baits, as life is going to be miserable once you get hooked on to those pleasure killers.
When I was young, I thought I was smart and powerful enough to handle these pleasures and that it was only the uneducated who could not handle them, but there came a day that I could not even brush my teeth in the morning without smacking a packet of heroin. My childhood vision of becoming a successful and victorious man was hijacked by dancing in the night clubs, associating women of different countries, using drugs and other killer pleasures. Instant gratification certainly hijacks your dreams as well as your parents’ dreams. If you allow destructive pleasures to permanently reside within you, then you are sure to become a slave to them even if you have obtained ten doctorates.
If feelings were prioritised as a giant then knowledge will become a powerless dwarf and knowledge will become of no use, it will become worthless as feelings have taken control over your mind, which is your central processing unit. That is exactly what happened to me, I was one of the brilliant students at St. Joseph’s College, Colombo – 10, I used to do my geometry sums much more creatively and faster than my tuition master. My ego deceived me and manipulated my way of thinking by making me believe that I am smart and that I could handle any situation. Little did I know that once you give an egg to a snake he will attack you the moment you try to strike him. Life destroying pleasures are similar to venomous snakes.
Therefore, do not let them attract you, rather live in your purpose and vision in life. One sad day, while I was begging in front of the former William grinding mills bus halt, I found out that all my dreams were shattered. The intelligent student who was respected by many was now seen as a curse to the world as a result of letting the baits of this world enter my life and live within me.
I am extremely happy that God has given my father a long life to witness my success. If he had died during the days I was suffering miserably, I would have had to live my entire life in condemnation for what I have done to his dreams. I am sure he must be happy to see his son regarded as a famous CEO, world-class trainer, life-transforming author and a top tier business consultant. If he died while I was begging in the streets, it would have become a painful journey for me until I leave this world. Therefore, you youngsters make a very strong decision today, to reach upto your vision and make your parents extremely proud and happy. Become an inspiration to the next generation as a role model. Make sure your children look up at you as a winner and not a loser. For comments: philipnehri@chandanalepa.lk / voice – 0774 88 56 56