Most people around me will go for celebrities like Davido, and WizKid. Some will say Elon Musk. I know a lot that will go for Cristiano Ronaldo because of his achievements, how famous he is, and his lifestyle. I know someone might even go for MJ even though he is dead. I myself thought about all these, to be honest. Then I didn't stop thinking.
And as someone who loves my peace, the person I will definitely swap lives with is David Attenborough. He is just 99 years old, and he's spent his entire life sitting beside oceans, walking quietly through the forest, watching all the creatures created by God, including those that we humans don't even know exist. That is not performing or doing it for recognition or relevance. That man just dedicated his life to pay attention to our world that most people ignore and are causing damage to.
I will say that in the environment I grew up in, success has this specific shape. Big school degrees, having big houses, travelling around the globe, having luxurious cars, and dressing in expensive outfits. Everyone knowing your name once you arrived somehow, in the street and all. No one has given a definition of life as one where we spend decades being actually curious about little or small things. This has not been the template.
But as I became more mature, the more I got to know that what I really want is not to be famous, have a lot of money, and have those luxury things. As long as I am still living, I just want to find this world we live in genuinely interesting. When I am even 90 plus, I still want to be paying attention.
David Attenborough obviously has that. Not because life has been rosy for him. But because this man has decided to choose wonder over drama or performance, over and over for decades. And this is the kind of life that lasts long because it does not make noise.
Thank you for reading.
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