My brother, my sister
do not let your heartbeat be louder than the drum of the village.
Do not let your longing for affection blur the map that was carved for the journey ahead.
A wise elder once said:
“When the traveler loses sight of the path to follow a shadow, he may not find the path again.”
Leadership is not a fire lit in the belly for comfort.
It is the fire at the center of the compound—
lit to give light to all,
warmth to the many,
and direction to the confused.
But I have seen it with my own eyes:
some who are called to lead,
instead, begin to dance for one drum alone.
They sacrifice the vision of the whole village
on the altar of a fleeting feeling,
a personal bond,
a lover’s gaze.
And when the smoke clears,
the harvest is gone,
the people are hungry,
and the dance becomes a funeral.
A leader who is swayed by sentiment
is like the tortoise who borrowed feathers from every bird to fly,
only to forget he must one day return to the ground.
Let this be your wisdom:
Hold your heart in your chest, not in your hand.
Let love guide you,
but do not let it govern you.
Because the weight of a people
is not carried by emotion,
but by vision,
by principle,
and by the unwavering courage to walk forward—
even when it means walking alone.