Ambition in the Face of Adversity

The best way out is always through

The other day I was watching a documentary that was filmed years ago about a group of young men from the State of Palestine on Al-Jazeera, trying to forge their paths in life through this sport known as “Free Running” or as they call themselves–Gaza Parkour. Parkour is the act of moving from point “a” to point “b” using the obstacles in your path to increase your efficiency and has its origins in a training program for French Special Forces known as “Parcours du combattant”, or “The Path of the Warrior.”

These young men have ambition, they are hardworking, they show up every day to practice, horn their crafts and prepare for opportunities in an active war-torn environment. They upload contents to YouTube in the hopes that they can reach out to the world, just to send a message that they are here. Their lives have been restricted in so many ways and they have no access to a lot of things that could make life easier for them and yet they forge ahead.

In an interview conducted with one of these young men, it became known that they had to write repeatedly to JUMP magazine, a publication whose focus is on the free running sport, to have their state recognized and name included as a participant in the sport's world series.

By now you may be asking, "what has that got to do with me?"

Maybe not directly, but this goes to show the things that some people still fight for, things that are easily accessible in other parts of the world. These young men are isolated from the rest of the world simply because of where they have come from while they face major disadvantages as a result of the consequences of war and political disturbances in their home state.

This got me thinking, if only we are exposed to half the ambition around the world, in places where opportunities are limited, then we could see just how astounding the mind of the rest of the world is and understand the inequality in our world today. And even though we may never be able to change this reality, we owe it to ourselves to be grateful and to show more appreciation for every bit of opportunity we have–opportunities to pursue and live our dreams, study, work, and even cross borders.

In a world where we're equally human, our freedom still remains widely unequal.

There is no lack of ambition everywhere you go in the world. People are trying to succeed, discover themselves or be discovered. The only difference is that we all do so under different circumstances. And in doing so, hopefully–not just for our own good, I believe we can inspire, encourage and lift others up. Fast forward a few years later, these young men finally caught the attention of one of the biggest sponsors in extreme sports, Redbull, and their story eventually received the recognition it deserves–Meet the Wall Runners of Gaza.

As Robert Frost puts it, "the best way out is always through", and I believe we can all push through to living a fulfilling and meaningful life.

Tosin Adewumi
The All-Round You | Passion Reveals Purpose