Dear Nse: Life is fragile and other ramblings

by Tayo Adelekan

“I was shown how fragile life was. I saw the terror on faces. I saw the victims of a senseless crime. I saw lives change.  I was reminded that we don’t know when or where our time on Earth will end. When or where we will breathe our last breath. I say all the time that every moment we have to live our life is a blessing.”

Dear Nse,

Good tidings Nse Ikpe Etim. It’s been some time and my reason is life has not been playing fair but I realised, thankfully, that I needed to quit the pity party, send all the guests (regret, self-loath, worthlessness)”  who came to jive back to where they belong – the trash can- never to return. Hopefully.

What’s been going on with you ma’m? A few moments before I started writing this letter, while surfing the internet, I came across this quote, “The average cell phone contains more bacteria than a toilet seat.”

Eeeek!!! Almost immediately, I dabbed balls of cotton wool into alcohol then wiped my phone’s surface with vigour. I hope to perform this ritual every now and then. We all should. I guess.

Did you hear of the shooting that happened in a theater at Aurora, Colorado? Apparently, happy people had gone to see the much anticipated film -The Dark Knight Rises- hoping for some fun time and in stead of that, met woe. That is dis-heartening but even more so, one of the victims, Jessica Redfield, who had survived another shoot out a month ago in Toronto. You see, after her experience at the shoot out, she posted a note on her blog that I will share with you but it hurts to know she died from another shooting spree.

However, these words of hers hit home hard:   “I was shown how fragile life was. I saw the terror on faces. I saw the victims of a senseless crime. I saw lives change.  I was reminded that we don’t know when or where our time on Earth will end. When or where we will breathe our last breath. I say all the time that every moment we have to live our life is a blessing. So often I have found myself taking it for granted. Every hug from a family member. Every laugh we share with friends. Even the times of solitude are all blessings. Every second of every day is a gift. After Saturday evening, I know I truly understand how blessed I am for each second I am given.”

May God grant the repose of their souls.

Come to think of it, I believe leaving award nominees at the mercy of the Nigerian audience only makes it a popularity contest   as opposed to who is deserving. It can be argued that the audience may choose right  but the operative word remains ‘May’ and as a friend suggested, there should be an unbiased panel deciding the recipients. Even at that, it is not always representative. The Future Awards released their nominees list and an On Air Personality (Name withheld) with a Lagos based radio station took swipes at the organizers because they were not nominated. This, I thought petty.

On a random note, cake designers are so much more creative. No wonder people charge millions for baking cakes these days. Afterall, God has said the skill one possesses will pave a way. Pay the bills.

God bless you Nse. Keep doing what you do and always remember, we got your back *wink*

Love always,

Tayo.

@TEEONAIR

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

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