Breaking Barriers

Very often those who break new barriers and enter new open new doors, shut them tight behind them so that no one else like them may enter. Their desire to be the first sees them transformed from groundbreakers into gatekeepers. The worst enemy of the marginalised is often those who were supposed to be opening the way.

It can be extremely frustrating when faced with such a scenario for many people yet even here it is possible to achieve your intended goal. Those who were yesterdays' trendsetters very often are transformed into todays' dream killers. A certain individual I am casually acquainted with has finally broken into the mainstream in their chosen vocation. When they got their big break, the community they came from and with whose support they made it, were hopeful that this would be the chance many of them were waiting for. Instead what they experienced left them both angry and disappointed. When requested to bring more people like themselves in to the company, they remarked that there were none. As a former mentor of the said person, I knew for a fact that in their chosen field there were about 10 other individuals of greater talent and depth, 2 of them complete naturals. But this was not the news the person in question conveyed, preferring to let the organisation believe that they were the only gifted person from that area.

Sadly I see this scenario often repeating itself even today. Yet I want to say to those who have been left outside through the efforts of one they championed and supported wholeheartedly, there is another way. Their dreams can still be achieved even in the face of this betrayal. Even this new barrier can be broken. Our God is a God of justice and fairness and will not tolerate indefinetly those who seek to hold you back. If the door you had planned to walk through is bolted in your face by one you trusted, deal with the disappointment first. Realise that nothing and no-one can destroy what God has placed in you. Then focus on finding another opening or avenue to the same destination. Very few places have only one major highway that leads to them. A friend was remarking how interesting and insightful his drive through South Africa was, which took him through the dust & dirt roads of this beautiful country. He returned completely invigorated and inspired by the ordinary people he met on his way through the interior and can't stop talking about settling in one of those quaint villages one day. From this I deduced that a detour to your intended destination can at times provide much needed knowledge and information. Although we both arrived in Johannesburg the same week, his journey was one I wished I had been on.

So embrace your detour and make the most of the lessons life has waiting for you. Nothing and no-one can stop your march to your destiny if you view it as such. As for those who have chosen to stop others from making their mark, you efforts are fruitless and are birthed in envy. The will not succeed.