by Naofal Ali

As far as I can remember, I always refuted the thought that wisdom only depends on age. Okay, I know that very often, the older people get, the wiser they become. But does it really prove anything?

Mathematicians used to say “correlation doesn’t mean causality”. Of course, some old people are wise, but my eyes have also seen irresponsible parents and conscious children. I think it takes more than time to build wisdom. It calls conscience, deep introspection, humility to recognise our wrongs, and the honest desire to be each day a better person than we were the day before.

Am I wise? Hell no! I’m actually very far from it. I still have so much to learn from life, and I hope to have the time and the patience that it requires. Waiting, I’m turning 25 and I deeply want to believe that I can mind on more relevant things than what the features of the next iPhone will be. I want to believe I don’t need 25 more years to start being wise.

Some of the following will sound to you like evidence; some will have a touch of surprise… Some will sound true, some might sound false. But if you ask me what Life could teach to a 25 years old guy, here is my answer.

Being careful on what I wish

I’m pretty sure you all have experienced this. The void that fills us when we realise that something we have desired for long finally doesn’t fit us. It’s a very strange feeling, weird and troubling. It makes us face a sad reality: maybe, after all, we don’t know ourselves as much as we think we do. When this makes me pick the wrong sandwich, of course, it’s not a big deal. But I know I also have a career, and a life partner to choose, among other important things. And making wrong decisions on those things could be devastating…

Being grateful. Karma is — truly — a bitch.

To believe in this, you don’t need to have a religion, or accept God’s existence. You just need to know the basics of physics. How high you launch a ball in the sky, it always comes down and it probably does on your own head.

But, maybe physics is not your thing, maybe chemistry is. Lavoisier, one of the greatest french chemist said: “Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed.”

Still pessimistic? Okay. In case neither physics nor chemistry resonated to you, learn about History. The Subprimes crisis is the result of nothing but human vanity: the more we get, the more we want.

In case none of this still make sense to you. I hope you watch Game of Thrones. If you do, then you know what John Snow’s people say: “The North remembers”.

Stop expecting the perfect time, and making the present time perfect.

The past is gone. How reliable my plans are, tomorrow stays uncertain. The present is the only time I have a power on. I see every day as an opportunity that I have to take advantage of as much as I can.

Family, life stories, women, and failures are the best teachers I ever had.

The first taught me priceless values: respect, solidarity, brotherhood, sharing. The second inspires me. The third taught me the meaning of the both genders and their differences, the sense of engagement, loyalty, how amazing being in love is. The fourth enlightened me on life difficulties, envy, hate, friendship, business, and the power of perseverance.

If I don’t own money, money will own me. If I end up in both cases then I will be the perfect definition of misery.

This is self-explanatory.

Not all experiences are good to have. I accept my limits.

I guess you know this goes for the elderly, but I’ve made the rule mine. I do not consider my age as a pretext for experiencing all excesses. When people happen to tell me «Try this ! You should enjoy your youth», I politely decline the offer: «No thanks, I have another plan. It’s to enjoy is my life».

Difference is a wealth, but it has a price.

People hardly tolerate unconventional personalities. They make them pay for being different, for thinking differently. It’s in human nature to fear the uncommon. Imposing my differences is the only way to not bear them as a cross, but to claim them as a wealth.

All I know is a drop. Life is an ocean.

I keep swimming.

Knowing every principle above is good. Very good. Following them is better.

---

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