Day and night, truth and falsehood propel the world we live in. Truth bears the glorious torch of light, while falsehood administers the darkness of the night. Our experiences with each matter differ. Each either mistreats people somewhat or is awry. Life is not a bed of roses.
Before kick-off time in every football game, the referee flips a coin to validate the captains’ choices of which side to play from. This choice is a thin line dividing the game’s rules and expected outcome. How it translates to a win or loss depends on many factors. We have seen teams tirelessly work hard to win but still lose eventually. Factors like the environment, human errors, and other external exigencies always come into play when determining the winner or loser.
In life, one is either happy or sad, dead or alive. The earth consists of the haves and the haves not. We are ultimately born male or female. In the end, death is a mandatory call to answer by every mortal. There is a division between heaven and hell. Everyone deserves a portion of life, and it is served accordingly. One’s gender and family one was born into is not a product of choice. It is a natural, coincidental award of either male or female, a rich or poor dad. Many have opined that one can make the best out of one’s dire situation. Many people heeded this advice and can confidently look back with great satisfaction for trying. Others were not so lucky, even though they gave it their all.
We were all born great, and nobody had dreamt of contending with failure over achieving greatness. Both eventually are stack realities of life. That was why, as children, when asked what we would like to be in future, we made lofty choices ranging from doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. Children continue to make such choices even today. However, most of these innocent choices do not materialise as thought or planned, especially in our part of the world. In secondary school then, I met those who vowed to read medicine or never but turned out to be microbiologists. Such is life! That does not mean some who desired to be medical doctors could also not fulfil their childhood dreams.
The reality of this world has carved a portion of intense struggles and endless possibilities. While some make it without lifting an ounce of effort, many hands are continually on the plough. However, in conformity with a popular Igbo saying, “the level of effort one puts in is not a guarantee for success in life.” If life were fair and just for all, the labourers would be counted among the world’s most prosperous due to their hard work. In recent times, working brightly seems to have taken over the essence of hard work. It is frustrating sometimes to see those who began the journey of life much later than one had done urging one to keep on trying.
Before birth, the world had already given us a name, place and position. Some were born with silver spoons, while others feed from the crumbs of the earth. Do not cringe at your situation – it was an option only bequeathed. Change the things you can change. People have succeeded in re-writing the history of their lives. You can turn your misfortune into a fortune. Otherwise, move on with your life. What could one make of a world entirely of only the wealthy or the poor? We would have been residents of a tedious and challenging world. The insanity of the rich or poor would have been the order of the day – a world constructed on a dysfunctional balance. The little mutual respect and love existing would have eluded us all.
People are said to have risen from grass to grace, but grace is a free gift of the racing time and season. When it is ripe, the grand forces of nature align with the hanging fruits of the appointed time. The season turns into that of harvest and a moment of joy. There is also a moment of grief on the horizon. Just as the days are divided into three, so are our graces and realities. Many are born rich in the morning, while afternoon and evening are the dawn of others. Take a cue from the size of your fingers and understand the marvels of creation.
Every finger has its distinct function. Even in poverty, many are contented and happy – some happier than those they are jealous of. Nobody has it all. The King who possesses everything has no stone to crack his palm kernels. You cherish continental dishes, but those who are used to them prefer local delicacies. Such is life and the world we live in. Except for those very close, many do not understand that, like every prostrated lizard, one also has an underlying stomach ache. All days are not the same – just as evident in their different names. Every day has its peculiarities. Sometimes, it feels good – other days, our endeavours may end in complete disappointment. Hope keeps the living alive. God is our all.
When people commit crimes, society becomes bitter and pours out blame without taking responsibility. The government rely on the law to take its course without recourses to its failures. People are only good at pontificating on the graves of the dead. The cultural and civil law is invoked, and morality and Christianity are invited to take centre stage. We have refused to care or ask why. The world we live in is not our design. It is not our permanent abode either. The master-craft made it unique according to His whims. The hidden functions of creation are a mystery. Who are we to question God? The two sides to life are designed to complement each other. Only when we see it as such can we appreciate the beauty of God’s creation. It is expected to find oneself in any part of the divide. It is not your fault!
Sunday Onyemaechi Eze is a lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication at Coal City University, Enugu. He can be reached via email HERE.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
