Been raised in a Nigeria town, I can confidently say that I have been able to see life in different perspectives beyond what I can at first imagine of. In fact, I can say that the Lagos street where I am raised up makes sure that it constantly demands a lot from me whether within and when outward but most especially outward. In the city of Lagos and as a young guy I am, you are tasked with a lot of responsibilities to achieved a lot of goals, you are tasked to provide for your family and not even only that but also you must make sure that you constantly achieve the society demands upon you.
Trust me, sometimes it can be overwhelming most especially for me. When I feel there is a demand for more within me, I am about to share what I usually do that helps me out. Actually, growing up, i did not really value the practice of mindfulness and also meditation and that is because I always think it is just for western people. If you are in my shoe, you will understand what I mean. But as time goes on, I later begin to understand it is beyond that.
Take for example in Nigeria culture, most of the time, we always demand that strength is tested by the number of achievements we have. The achievement can ranges from either building a house, either the expectations for you to succeed in your academic or most especially financial Freedom. But most of the time whenever it looks like those achievements are not met, life sometimes can look upside down.
Take for example I personally, there were period in my life that I tried pursuing all these things but I eventually discovered that it looked overwhelmed and most of the time I feel there is still much more beyond all these demands. It was during this phase that I begin to practice mindfulness and also meditation. Even though during those period that I started, I first started small and quite challenging because I was not used to it.
But I can still remember that I started by making sure every time I start my day, I sacrifice Minimum 5 minutes to just think about life and the day ahead. Sometimes I also try to reflect on the list of responsibilities to still attend to ranging from financial demands and even much more. During those period of meditation, I mean the deep one, it always gives me this clarity of liberation.
Trust me, I can tell anyone that Meditation is actually a gateway for any issue you are facing. Since I have learnt to add meditation to my daily routine, it has always worked like magic, I mean thoroughly magic. Sometimes I will just sit inside my house, closing my eyes and then begins to reflect the world around me. One particular type of meditation that I always practice which i didn't not take for granted is the gratitude meditation. So instead of joining my friends to lament and complain about the state of the country, I will just find things or reason to be grateful of either in the country or even in my family. Trust me, there are always many list at the end of the day.
Beyond Mediation, there are some practices i always engaged in which I did not always take for granted which I want to share also. The first is journalling. So many of us always take journalling for granted. I always make sure that at the end of each day, I jot down how the day goes, what I learnt and what I strongly believe I can do much more better for the day. These have really gone a long way to help me overcome my fears and even help me to give me more victories beyond what I can ever imagine of.
Then another practice I always engaged in which I did not always take for granted is the aspect of listening to music. Trust me, it has always helped me. Listening to music that helps heal my soul and helps me release stress and unnecessary negative thoughts always helps me to overcome my worries and struggles I have both within and even outside my world.