Reflections

Today I realised something I find painful. I realised that over the years I have taken many things for granted. Maybe I’m too simple. I don’t even understand. I have taken opportunities for granted.

I’ve taken relationships for granted. By relationships, I mean people. The people I have known or still know over the years. Maybe, it’s because I hardly think about getting benefits from people. I don’t think of what I have to gain from my friendship with somebody. Infact, a lot of times, I think more about what I can give, or at the very least I just enjoy the friendship and while it lasts. Hmmn.

Then, the worst of all, I have taken myself for granted. I stopped seeing the power in myself; the treasures of my own mind. I feel so bad right now. Maybe I’ve been plagued with thoughts of impossibilities all the time. #sigh.

I just feel down.

But I got up still to get something done. To get me ahead somehow. To be able to take advantage of a relationship that offered an opportunity. Now I can take myself more seriously.

Nostalgia, Reflection, or what?

I’ve missed penning down my thoughts and experiences. It’s been a long while. I think I miss myself. Lost in the hustle and bustle of everyday life in ‘beloved’ Lagos.

Thoughts of ten years ago and before then has filled my mind for some days now. It started with a dream about someone I last dreamt of ten years ago. It felt real and strange. I don’t really know what to make of it.

But it prompted me to pen down my thoughts. Well, at least to clear my head. It’s that simple. To me.

My Lagos Watch: The city I love

Yes o. You heard me right. I loooove this city! What is there not to love about it? Think of the energy and passion with which people live through each day in it. Think of all the people that can barely feed daily who still catch fun in every little way with every little opportunity. The city that has the perfect mix of cultures and languages. Talk of the meeting point of every Nigerian tribe. You are in a bus and two people behind you are chatting in a language that sounds so funny. You alighted the bus and someone is making a call on the walkway in the sweetest language you’ve ever heard. Even foreigners. Yes, you hear people speaking Chinese in the mall, french in the market and Spanish too. Maybe I noticed them because I love languages. Maybe. But it makes me like this Lagos all the more. Many people complain about the city. The stress, the insecurity, the thuggery… but they still live in it. Why?! Hahahaha. Some people say that if you can live and ‘survive’ in Lagos, you can live and ‘survive’ in any major city of the world. And, isn’t that so true?

“Eko akete ilu ogbon, Aromi sa legbe legbe” 

How can I forget to mention that Lagos residents are very industrious? A city with every kind of industry you can imagine; the mighty companies, the mushroom companies, the hawkers, the craftsmen. Lagosians, as they may be called, always make a living somehow in Lagos. Maybe we can liken it to ancient cities like Greece or Rome.

Many thought-provoking experiences cross my path everyday as I join countless number of people in my daily activities in Lagos. I cannot even find expression or explanation for many of these thoughts. But they may be worth penning down. So, join me in my occasional stories of life in Lagos.

 

Crossroads

The Crossroads of Life

May I take a peep?
What could be on the other side?
Is left to go?
How do I know the right?
This valley
This valley of decisions.
Both seem good
Maybe bad.
What way’s to turn?

Shall I seek a seer?
Perhaps a counsel
A counsel may suffice.
Will they empathise?
Offer sympathy?
Perhaps I know
The counsel to be given I know
Have I offered it too?
It’s bleak memory at now.

What’s to be done?
Time waits no more.
Heart burden that won’t lift.

Oh,
Shall I my heart follow?
Or my head heed?
Will the counsel suffice?
Or will experience?

This bustling questions
This burning desire
All a spear
The spear of my heart.

Let a light shine
Let a sign come
Let a way be shown
A way to go.