A slum was not born in us.

When campaigning to become the first black American president, Rev. Jessie Jackson articulated words that have since reverberated through the hearts of all those in circumstances that tug at their actual core and shake the very ground on which they stand, sit and walk.

In the middle of one of those ghettos that are the under belly of the world's only super power, Rev. Jessie Jackson looked deep into the eyes of his black, desperate, downtrodden and forsaken brothers. Like a sponge imbibing water, he absorbed all that negative vibe and pronounced; you were born in a slum, but a slum was not born in you!!!

Those words anchor all those whose ships are in agitated seas. All those, who are rudderless ships, wandering on the jagged seas, without direction and purpose, all those who seem to be lost and all alone.

That we are human beings, one and all, means that in the course of our lifetime we will be a witness to, a participant of, an originator of, or victim of circumstances that will test us beyond our tolerance level. Being as finite as the next person, we will be tempted to surrender.

As these words flash across your mind, it may be that you are not as financially able as you would prefer to be. Your surroundings do not even accord you the luxury of dreaming of a more exciting world.

It could be that you are, right now, a prisoner of your body. You cannot bring yourself to command and cause your body to exhibit its physical finesse. It could be that you are a captive of 'fine' food and as a result you have triggered body growth that causes you to be a liability to yourself.

It could be that you are out of a job, in spite of your obviously sparkling academic grades. It could be that you are blaming the government, the president, the economy or, dare I say, the mayor of some far-flung town in some far-flung country. It could be that you have elected to dress in the gab of victim hood to elicit pity from a world that would care less if you desire to take that inevitable journey to the west.

It could be a number of countless occurrences; it is imperative that we all wake up to the primary truth; we are the common denominator in all the circumstances that the stars have seen fit to place us in. Whatever happens, we are in control of the die. Regardless of the cards that may be stacked against us, we get to pick the hand to play.

Of course, it is much easier to dance to the intoxicating beat of the sufferer. It is much easier to say that our lives thus far are a prediction of the ages long gone. It is safer to say that what we are is a reflection of the lives that our parents lived; that we are the sighs of the curse on our generation.

It is safer, but not wise. To live such a life is to live in the confines of a straw safety net in the middle of shark infested waters.

When we are in the eye of the storm and our circumstances seem to be getting the upper hand, we must seek solace in the words of Rev. Jessie Jackson.

 Our circumstances draw power from the power that we give them. The occurrences in and around us are only as huge as we permit them to be. We are the molehills that look like mountains.

Regardless of what we are facing, we have, in our DNA, an inbuilt ability to turn each and any circumstance to our advantage. We may grovel in the mud today, but we can shine like that corrugated iron sheet under the African sun. We can ride the strongest wave that life has to offer, safe in the knowledge that it will come to pass.

Our circumstances are not a reflection of the life that we are meant to live. Our conditions cannot spell our future. Our situations are only a reflection of our thoughts thus far. We may be curtailed now, but we cannot be imprisoned forever. We may have been born in a slum, but a slum was not born in us.