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Have always find myself wondering about life from time to time, it is a concept I have never fully grasped. No matter how much I think about it sometimes I can't just make a meaning out of it. life is so fragile and difficult, you could be having the best time of your life in one moment and then in another minute all the joy and happiness is just gone like it never happened. one of the most tragic thing about life is, it is natural for humans regardless of how comfortable or wealthy you are, we humans tends to experience more sorrowful moments than happy once. it is one of nature's greatest wonders.
I have always tried so hard to smile at any chance I get, it is so funny that something as easy as a smile could be so hard to come by. mostly when people smile or laugh loud is because they find something funny or probably they are happy at the moment but that is so untrue. it is a matter of fact that we have a lot of people who smile because they don't want others to know they are sad or unhappy, it is just a mask or game of pretence. I find myself in this situation a couple of times, it was not really because I was trying to pretend but at that moment I just felt smiling is better that having a grumbled face. Now that I'm thinking of it and if you should also, I think we need to ask ourselves When was the last time you smiled and laughed because you were genuinely happy? it might have been recently for you I count you lucky. I have smiled a lot of times recently because I'm happy but "genuinely" I really can't say.
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Which means despite the fact that we humans naturally experience more tragic and unhappy moments more than happy moments, we still have times when we are happy but it is still not genuine. Which makes happier moments even shorter. they say a happy life is just an imaginative concept because happiness are moments, what makes you happy today could be a source of unhappiness another day which makes happy moments so priceless.
I attended a funeral on Saturday, it was someone I knew in the neighbourhood for almost 15 years now, he was an old man, a grandfather to one of my neighbourhood friends. I would say I was close to the man because he does a lot of amazing things you never thought was possible for an old man or probably not possible among most old men. the things I know he loved the most are 3 things, he loved to listen to radio on one creepy old device, I'm sure from the looks of that device it is older than I'm. secondly he loves to ride bicycle, most times I have his son that he is living with trying to stop him from riding that bicycle due to his heart condition but eventually when they realise they could not stop him, they just let him be. the third is the most amazing part this old man at his age still plays an acoustic guitar, he plays so well, though it is old school but the sounds of the strings never gets old.
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In the evening, you would see him on one bench laying is back on the wall, with his guitar in his arms, while he strolls through the strings. if I knew this day was going to come early I would have taken a picture of him while he was playing guitar if he allows me off course, just to show you how much he smiles while playing. that moment is always one of the most happiest I have ever seen him. he does not really sing, he might have when he was young. there are a lot of things about this man he tells stories to kids whenever he is outside, he is a patriotic citizen because majority of his stories are about time in Nigeria when things were cheaper but he hated politics, he calls it a scamπ.
One thing I want to point out about this man that relates to the topic of discussion is that, whenever he rides his bicycle or plays guitar sometimes he complains of back pain, which means he need to stop engaging in those activities but whenever anyone try to talk him out of it, he would say something like Would you stop eating foods if you you bite your tongue while eating? Normally we would say no because we wouldn't, then he will respond I can only be careful but I can't stop what makes me happy because its hurts we never really understand what all that means but until after he was gone.
At some point, as an old man he realised all he has left are those happy moments and he doesn't know how much time he has left to enjoy those moments, lastly he knows how valuable those happy moments are, that is why he tried to enjoy it any opportunity he gets.
Dear readers,
Being an old man/woman or not, no one truly knows how much time we got left and the sad reality is not everyone will get really old before the end comes. So ask yourself how much time or what are you willing to sacrifice for your genuine happiness? Those happy moments you are opportune to experience, are you really cherishing it? At the end, what it means to be alive or to know you have lived are those few genuine happy moments. so cherish and value it while you still can.
This write-up was inspired by weekly prompt in hive Naija community.
