It is only natural that, when you present a gift to a child and he says “thank you sir, God bless you, sir,” , you smile and say in your heart “what a grateful child, mannered” and if the child goes on to inform his parents about the gift and in turn compels them to say ”thank you” to you once more, you immediately write down this child’s name in your good book and look forward to doing more for him.
This is the exact case when you are grateful to your maker or whoever your universe reveres. The gift of life is always taken for granted because we see it as our right rather than a privilege. You disregard the fact that millions struggle day and night fighting for a space on this earth. Some lose the fight at birth, some lose to terminal illnesses and some stay half-way waiting to cross over.
Most people who are survivors respect the gift of life for once you die, you will be regarded as a “body” no longer by your prestigious title, your pet name or your nick-name… ”the body arrives at 8 am at the compound of…” That’s funny right?? Death doesn’t respect your dreams, your plans, your vacation goals, your squad goals, and your most revered bucket-list. So, why don’t you stay grateful for every “Amala” moments?
Be grateful, for whatever stage you are in life because some other people wish to occupy a second in that position. It could be education, it could be business, it could be leadership, motherhood, it could be the gift of matrimony. Trust me, there’s a long list.
Look at this, you dislike your parents because you went to a secondary school lesser than your standards but you forget so quickly that there are millions on the roadside, highway, and market who wish they could see the four walls of a school or at least peep through a window to receive a lecture, but are countlessly denied the privilege. Do you think you are more of a human than them?… if yes, then you need a rethink.
You want a promotion in your office and you regard yourself a failure because you couldn’t attain it -do I remind you the millions tagged “unemployed”?… Certainly not.
You feel incomplete with your female children and you go into an endless search for a male, disregarding the millions who pray for the joy of motherhood. How about those who abandon their talents in search of other people’s talent with the excuse that theirs is inferior.
Many people lose their diamonds in search of other people’s gold forgetting the saying that “all that glitters isn’t gold”… (trust me you do not want to find out what happens to an ungrateful child)
One special thing I know about the universe is (it has space for all of us, all you need do, is to tick “present” in the box that has your name and occupy your space). Now the trick is, some will get there early, some on-time, others at the middle and the rest at the end…but excuse me, we all got to the party and we will take pictures on the red carpet *winks*
I bet you didn’t know an 8year old bagged the prestigious Oscar award in 1979 – Justin Henry but that doesn’t make Cate Blanchett a late bird for winning at 29 – after all, they ticked “present” on the Oscar board. You need to understand this basic recipe.
We all are stars and we will shine at intervals – that forms the glow!
Be Grateful!
It is true that when you travel abroad, you tend to pray less as a Nigerian. Well, the reason for this is not farfetched as the chief cause of our lengthy prayer points and aggressive rendition of holy Quran and Bible verses, reminding God of the “promise He made to the Arabs and the Isrealites” is infrastructural decay caused also by stark inefficiencies of our leaders. Nigeria as a country is obviously besetted by demons of irreversible backwardness, though the Nigerian demons are not spirits; they are corrupt men and women at the helms who keep mismanaging and looting our commonwealth to satisfy their inordinate desires for personal wealth.
