About Last Night

Want to know what I think?

I think what happened last night in Paris is shocking and tragic and heartbreaking and yet infuriating. I think it's a very sad and unpleasant surprise to victims, their loved ones, and the world at large. I think we SHOULD pray for Paris. And pray for our countries. And pray for this speedily crumbling world of ours.

In addition, I think folks who are getting upset over the fact that Nigerians and others are encouraging prayers and solidarity and humane reactions to this show of cowardly cruelty on other human beings, are some of the most pathetic individuals on the planet. I've seen comments and posts actually shaming people for being concerned and upset about what has happened; their justification for such baseless insensitivity being that these Nigerians who are so concerned about what's happening in France were not supposedly as expressive or emotional or bothered when various attacks on Nigeria occurred.The belief system of these individuals follows the line of thought that Nigerians should be more bothered about all their many problems before they start acting like busy bodies and joining the bandwagon to mourn with and pray for Paris.

Wow. Just wow. 

I don't know where my disgust at such thinking should start from. I mean, I know we humans tend to be brutally selfish but this is quite deep. So, the pain and suffering of others becomes less relevant or even unworthy of any attention or feeling whatsoever simply because we have personal pains to deal with eh? Or we should all consider ourselves shameless and unpatriotic because we show concern for other HUMAN BEINGS who happen to live on another continent?

Can you not hear the folly in what you're throwing a tantrum about? It's disgusting that anyone would try to mask their innate disregard for human life and the well being of others, under some trash-worthy  twisted bants of national concern and the guise of patriotic fervency. 

If you think there is a problem with having a heart and letting it bleed at the hurt of others then you are cold and callous and in need of prayers yourself!

Of course charity begins at home and we should encourage our people to learn to value and cherish their own more. But this is the wrongest time to be teaching that lesson fam. And it's silly to be getting upset that (in your estimation) the world didn't turn off lights at attacks from Boko Haram or when they took our precious children for ages. For goodness sake, who goes around comparing tragedies and going: "My tragedy is more tragic than yours"?! Something terrible has happened. Period. If everyone who's ever suffered some hurt or pain in life (and I'm pretty sure everyone can claim they have) decided they'd wallow in their own sorrow and leave everyone else to theirs,  trust me, our world would be a lot less habitable.

Don't shut down your feelings. Please. 

Besides, as I informed someone earlier today, many of us are still yet to learn to value our nation Nigeria and the lives in it. Its not about posting the Nigerian flag on your instagram page on Oct 1, learn to love your country!! If I treat my things like trash and show disdain for my possessions, no matter how valuable they are, chances are my friends and others around me will learn how to mistreat and abuse my own things from me.

Its the same for us.

We don't do enough and try hard enough and pray often enough for our own Nation. Stop being bitter that somebody else isn't excelling in what you failed at! If you want to encourage folks to constantly keep our country and our leaders and our people in their thoughts, hearts and prayers then do so.But don't sit there acting like you love Nigeria so much when there's the high possibility you've slandered and cursed your nation by your words and actions just as much as the next guy. And even if your love is sincere, loving one doesn't make it impossible to love others. Plus if you're one of those who claim to learn the love lifestyle from the God who IS love, then you'd remember that He never put a limit to His loving so why on earth should you?

Please, enough with the spiteful insensitivity and selfishness. Because it isn't love if you only give it when you're getting it back.

Lord heal us from these afflictions we create.

Help us learn love and unlearn hate.

God help Parisians, lead them from the dark.

Lord be their comforter and the healer of every broken heart.

Amen.

For Your Information.

Hello people. :)
It's nice to be able to communicate with you all once again because lately, we're i'm currently situated, getting access to the internet seems a luxury. But thank God that phase appears to be a thing of the past...hopefully.

I'm inspired to write today - now - because something just recently happened (about a few minutes ago) that bothers me. It probably shouldn't, but it does and you'll find out what it is soon enough. Promise.


Now, do you know how easy it is to point the finger? How it often is the most natural thing on earth for us to blame, accuse, judge and criticize others? How we can sometimes consider a person's character, nature, habits, opinions, personality and maybe even looks, deficient in some way?



Is that a nod I see? I'll bet.

Being Mr., Mrs. or Miss right tends to be very convenient (and i'm not talking about the romantic/spousal connotation for which that phrase is oft used). It's just absolutely lovely to be the expert on everything and everyone; what with our being entirely void of all error, prone to no mistake and having no existing evidence of wrong judgement, isn't it?

Well, it should be!

I mean, if I don't absolutely, positively consider myself - beyond all reasonable doubt - the epitome of 'rightness' in every circumstance imaginable, and if i don't revel in the boost it gives to my ego and psyche when i imagine myself superior to every other individual, i don't see why i would make a career of fault finding or flaw revealing. I don't see why at all.

But you see, that's what many of us have become. We set oursleves up as an institution of one, placing the fundamental responsibility of finding out what's wrong with every body else on our heads and refusing to condone any such impertinent insinuation linking a fault to our persons. Better yet, the thought that maybe the people we so joyously castigate - first mentally then verbally - have numerous praiseworthy traits in their possession than we are letting on, is too ludicrous for us to consider even momentarily. They are bad, they are wrong, they are flawed, and that's all there is to it.

Really?

It might interest you to know how close i was to becoming this particular breed of people. I think i had already become them to be sincere. For a long time, nothing sounded as good to me as the sound of my own voice. I could talk forever, whether it was helpful or not. If there was an error to be found, i became google. I had everything i already considered a minus in a person, tidily tucked away in my head and all that was required to prompt the search for where to categorize your shortcoming(s) was simply a tiny mistake and then >> Boo-ya! I came alive. Reeling off corrections, rebukes, castigations and the like, faster than i could draw in oxygen. It was exhilarating. Having the ability and eloquence to cut people down and prove to them just how wrong they were and how (obviously) right i was with little or no heed to moderation was what i prided myself in.

That me, was a terrible person.

I knew, God knew and so did my victims; but for some reason it was tough letting it go. You know, old habits dying hard and all that. Still though, i had to let Him help me. I was scarring too many people ceaselessly without being fully aware of the depth of wickedness i was displaying. I just didn't know! I mean, i know i just made it sound like i was just some kind of verbal-tyrant who derived pleasure from the pain of others but that couldn't be farther from the truth. I know this might surprise you, but I'D THOUGHT I WAS HELPING THEM!

I could swear i had.

I care and they're missing it so i have to intervene. That's all this is to me. I don't want them making that mistake again, i don't want them behaving like that or talking like this because i know it is bad. I know better so they should too. My opinion of acceptable, proper and appealing just has to be theirs' as well. Why? Because my opinion is right! It really is, and i have to convince them.

See the problem with my mentality? First of all, it was exceedingly selfish. Count all the 'I's and 'Me's and 'My's there were present in my thoughts for proof. Isn't it sickening? Nowhere was i taking into consideration how different people are, at no point in time was i considering the possibility that their slip might have been a deviation from their nature(s); that there may be some reason for doing what they did or acting as they did. There was hardly any empathy involved - there was none involved, period. I had set my principles as the standard. And all that liveth were to internalize them.

No wonder i was ineffective, no wonder i was despised. I couldn't understand for the life of me why they refused to see through my eyes. I was pained and convinced they just were too poor in coming to terms with their flaws. There i was, trying to help and save them from themselves and all i got was spite. They were all painting me in a bad light when i was the only 'good guy' - or so i'd thought.

I had missed the point. Terribly.

Nobody cared if my concerns were genuine nor if my motives were right. Nobody cared if my rebuke was necessary or if my counsel was sound (though, looking back, i'm pretty sure it wasn't mostly). My approach was messed up. As was my delivery, style and possibly even content.
But you know my biggest mistake? I was entirley focused on aligning everyone's thinking pattern to mine...not to God's.

You don't get wronger than that.


To be continued...
P.s: you all will not believe what prompted all of this.

xxx, Kwiksie.