By SAMUEL UFOT EKEKERE
In every man is the innate attribute for desiring better things from
life. If you live in a one-bedroom apartment you desire a two bedroom,
if you walk on foot you desire a car etc. We want the better life, and
would do much within our capacity to get this life.
If you are like me who grew up in a downtown part of Lagos and had to
get through with the rigors that characterized the harsh life of
downtown Lagos, this story may be familiar. We walked bare foot
anywhere we went with patched shorts. It was commonplace for boys
then. Often, it was not a great sight and we felt shame we could not
stand with our peers from well-to-do homes in the satellite town just
a stone throw away. Dads would make promises and our spirits were
often high up there anticipating that soonest our story would change.
When we discussed on the football field, we talked about promises our
parents had made. We often began with the phrase “when my papa buy….”
or “when my mama buy” in our local pidgin. We would bounce and mimic
walk patterns believing that a new shoe and cloths were symbols of
better status. But it often never came as soon as we would have wanted
it. We had to wait so long.
If one of us was luckier and got his earlier than the rest, he was
talk of the town amongst the children. In his new shoes and wears, he
was higher animal and he would give the pose we had always practiced
together. The rest of us would be infuriated and muse amongst
ourselves the phrase “don’t mind him, now he is doing shakara.” Our
believe increased that if one of us could get a new shoe and clothes
from his parents, then we too would get ours soon. But we still had to
wait.
Waiting for better could be a gruesome experience. You may query
yourself over why the future event you are anticipating is not
happening now. You have the posh car, the posh duplex, your beautiful
kids, and your office beside the sea in your mental picture. Sometimes
you might have undergone spiritual exercises like fasting and going
for prayers to speed you up to the better life. Yet, in spite of all
your struggles, the better life still stands on the waiting list.
It’s like a beautiful woman who expects her suitors to fit her
requirements. Such women have to wait so long for the perfect man even
when other suitors are trying to woo her. As she ages and discovers
time isn’t beside her, she becomes frustrated and bitter and would
accept any man that comes.
While we anticipate better things, we must learn to make do with what
we have. Contentment is great gain. Nothing is wrong desiring better
for its only when we desire that we get. However, having a desire does
not mean we have to lose our heads over it. Though we have to push
until something happens, we have to do it in the light of right.
Some persons could go any length to ensure they get a better quality
life. Local movies could be horrifying watching scenes of betrayal and
killings where a man could sacrifice his family for trivial short-term
wealth because he desires the better life.
For the patiently striving and waiting, hope never fails. You may seem
to wait so long but the measure of the length of your waiting compared
to the benefits accrued after time has passed and the better life
arrives is distances apart.
The school of thought that supports “the end justifying the means” has
brainwashed our mentality into thinking we have to get all we want by
all means. Well, you can afford to change your mentality by sticking
to right means. What is gotten right always reproduces right. When you
get the better life the right way, you can inspire others to follow
your steps and you leave right thinking people footprints to follow.
The better life is no novelty. It’s what everyone should desire and
have. You deserve a shift from mediocrity valley to champions
mountain. You deserve something better than what you have but you have
to prove you deserve it anyway.
Back to the childhood story. We often managed to get our new wears a
few days to Christmas. Christmas was when we often got new wears and
that would last us the year. It was always great sight when on 25th
December, we would throng the streets all of us clad in our new
sparkling and often unwashed wears proud that we could have a new look
that increased our esteem. Though soon the cloths would wear because
of continuous use and we would anticipate another new wear come
December the next year, we still carried our head high that at least
we could look something close to our peers the other part of town.
Attaining the better life provides us so much joy and happiness. It’s
a life we don’t want to cut short. We want to live it for the rest of
our life. It’s worth waiting for.
Don’t feel derisive about your future better life. It’s coming.
Samuel Ufot Ekekere is a writer from Uyo, Nigeria. As a teacher,
motivator, and writer, he writes inspiring writs on personal
development for all categories of persons. He believes everyone needsmotivation. Connect on twitter @inyang21 and
www.facebook.com/ekekere, +2347062809301