May we not lose ourselves
Looking at the world we find ourselves in, it is very easy to get lost. With all these concepts, ideologies, myths, lies, misconceptions, and deceptions, only few will survive and live to be who they truly were meant to be.
The question one would ask in this instance is, how will I know that I am lost or living a life I was meant to live and being the person, I was meant to be? Sorry that no one may be able to give a precise answer because we have all come with in-built gifts and talents which no one may be able to see. These gifts, talents and abilities may only get known when the ones they were given to have taken the time to go within and do self-introspection and examination and then be able to express them thereof.
The question, however, is how many would even ponder on such a thought? What events would even perhaps bring one to such a point that they begin to have existential doubts? Maybe it can happen when one is at the verge of losing all the hope they had. Maybe it will happen when one has lost everything they had and which they held so dear to them. Maybe it may also happen when one finds themselves in the darkest night of the soul or depression.
Do we have to wait until such time though or can we perhaps already be proactive and work on ourselves for the better? Do we have to wait to fall so we can rise, hurt so we can find joy or experience hate first so we can know love? Perhaps that is the nature and way of life. That we may not appreciate, respect, and accept or acknowledge something until we have had our firsthand experience of what it is not. Like they say, maybe one really must first kiss a few frogs before they meet their prince or princess.
There could also be another alternative – who knows? But what could that alternative be? I guess that no one may know but if we are to invest efforts and time in learning from our experience, we may find some pointers. These pointers may not necessarily be the truth but at least they may lead us there. They may not necessarily be the answer but may point us into the right direction to find answers for ourselves.
Pointers may lead us to self-reliance, not only when it comes to basic human needs but also when it comes to the existence of our psyche. They may help us to realize the magnificence of reliance on our holistic being – the magnificence of the trinity, which is the harmony of the body, mind, and soul.
Suggestions, opinions, and thoughts are everywhere on how this may be achieved. Literature is everywhere and most of it collecting dust on the shelves. Most of it, however, is electronically available at our fingertips but we would rather skip it and hence the Gan-gam style video gets more views.
With all that said, it is never too late or early because even time itself is an illusion and a human construct – it does not exist - except in our imagination. That means to not get lost or to find ourselves, for those who are already lost, we can start right where we are. We can do so by being the light in the darkness, the truth in the world of lies and deception and the restorers of everything that makes us human but have been long lost.
It starts with us being, as someone once said, the change we want to see. To be loved we must love.
To receive we must give. To be respected we must respect others and be everything we want others to be.
By Karlos The Great
E-mail: karlsimbumusic@gmail.com OSHIMWENYO is published every Friday in the New Era newspaper with contributions from Karlos Naimwhaka.