I do refer to old age as a sacred time, a time for reflection on how we spent the years before.
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Reflecting properly on their past life is why many old people are tagged as wise ones, they teach and advise people based on their experience. They have seen a lot of things and that's why they approach things or contribute to things with wisdom.
Old age treats people differently, there are people with sound minds, and good health at that stage while it is the opposite for some and we can't blame them for whatever it turns out to be.
I think old age is also a blessing because not everyone has the opportunity to go their.
Treating our elders well is something I always emphasize because it is a very important thing to do. It hurts a lot when I see elderly people being treated badly, whatever they might have done during their life is between them and God, and making them suffer or inflicting pain on them just because of their past is a wrong thing to do.
I once had an encounter with an elderly woman who was abandoned by her children because one pastor said she is a witch.
My encounter with her moved me to tears and I pity the children because they don't know what kind of punishment they were bringing on themselves to abandon their aged mother.
We must always remember that we are coming to that age someday and that should remind us to treat our elders the way we want to be treated when we grow old as well.
The oldest person in my life right now is someone we refer to as Baba Sho, he was once my guardian. I lived with him for a few years and he never made me feel like a stranger in his family.
He treated me like his son and always use me as an example when scolding his sons. I remembered how we met, it was a wonderful day that I won't forget for the rest of my life.
14 years ago, Baba Sho paid for my graduation suit just because he was impressed with my academic performance. He always said that he will take the responsibility of sending me to a higher institution if he had the power to do so.
He is one of the kindest people I have met in the world, he did it when he was younger and even in old age.
At a younger age, he was working and always help both the young and old. It is okay to expect him to stop helping like he use to do when retirement came knocking on his door but not having enough didn't change him.
He doesn't hesitate to give as long as that particular thing is in his care, he will gladly do it. When other landlords in the neighborhood sold water, he gave it for free and what amazes me is that he never gets tired of fixing the pipes when people damage them.
Whenever his children complain, he always reminds them that we came into the world with nothing and so shall we return.
He loves to speak from experience and he doesn't hold back even the ugly parts of his life. He always made it clear that he is not perfect and he once made a lot of mistakes before he embrace a new life.
His life stories are things I was always looking forward to whenever I visit him, he is 70 and still has a retentive memory. He speaks of hope and always encourages people no matter what they are going through in life.
Baba Sho doesn't discriminate when it comes to religion, he embraces everyone regardless of their religion. He is a very religious person and many times, I do wish I can keep a good relationship as he does with God.
The Muslim fasting is on and I can tell that he won't skip one. I remembered when I was living with him, he does pray for at least an hour every night no matter how tired he is after returning from work.
He is still very strong and there are times he makes jest of marrying another wife. I discovered his secret to staying healthy while living with him, he treats himself to herbs and always avoids processed food.
He has a small stature so it is easy for him to move around easily, he still cooks his delicacies by himself because no one can prepare them better than he does.
He is one of my mentors and I admire him a lot. We speak mostly on phone now due to the distance and whenever we speak, I always remember the beautiful memories I had with him. I pray that he lives long to eat the fruit of his labor.