I AM BECAUSE WE ARE
“Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour”
John Heywood
Today, I remember the truck pusher I saw sometime in September.
What is so special right?
Yeah, I know seeing a truck pusher is not something new. I have been seeing many of them around since I have known myself too. Many times, I pass by a lot of them without giving even a second glance.
But there was something about this one that made me stop right in my thoughts.
There in between the dirty and rusty rims of his empty truck stood gallantly, a bouquet of dusty, yet colourful flowers.
Maybe it was picked from trash, was a gift from a beloved one, maybe…
Here is what actually made me pause: Why make the effort? The truck itself was filthy! Much more, the young man was proudly riding his truck in his dirt-ridden clothes, whistling all the way without any care in the world.
That for me was something! I actually stopped and smiled. There, I was blessed and encouraged by the mere sight of a stranger.
I should have taken a picture right?
Yeah, but there is more.
A friend asked me recently, “What would you do better if you were made the president of a country?”
I replied, “I would prefer you ask what I am doing better from where I am now.”
Why?
Somehow, I am beginning to realise that life is a product of a chain of processes. Any adult today was once a child, lived in a home, belonged to a peer group, passed through an institution… whatever happens in all of these chains ends up forming the overall product in the end.
You do not believe? Try making ‘eba’ with just ‘garri’ and cold water. Two wrongs can never make a right.
Truth is, we can not all become presidents or even make it to be the richest in the world, but we will live through life. The question is, “Doing what?”
The chaos, beauty, restlessness, disorderliness, creativity…What we choose to do with these narratives around us is actually what defines us and what we become. Some have created inventions, some have provided answers to complex problems, some have challenged status quo, some have set standards, some have run away and for some, it is ”I cannot come and die and kill myself.”
Many will say, these are hard times. But then I ask: Do we then stop living?
I am still learning too.
You think no one is being influenced by you? Check again.
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and …“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
(Matthew 25: 34–40 NIV)
