Understanding and Peace

Once upon a time, there lived a man whose only son was very stubborn. This man was always forcing his son to do things but the boy refused. He used varieties of punishments on him and even threatened to disown him but guess what? The boy didn’t care! The father came to a conclusion that the boy hated him probably because he had been possessed but what the man later realized was that he had been pushing too hard and prevented his son from making choices for himself. What do we learn from this? People have to feel we understand their point of view before they internalize ours.

There is another story of two friends named Tayo and Ebere. They did many things together and were more like sisters not until Tayo went for a school competition which she won. The following day after the competition, Ebere went to congratulate Tayo for her success but guess what? Tayo snubbed her which made Ebere angry thinking Tayo winning the competition has made her proud. What Ebere didn’t know was Tayo overheard some people last night making plans to kill Ebere but was caught and was told never to talk to Ebere if she wants her friend to live. What do we learn from this? Always try to understand what someone has gone through or is going through which might have triggered their bad behavior towards you.

Humans are free but still depend on others. One person cannot produce everything but he produces one thing and thousands of people produce other things for him. A doctor treats his patients but who trains him to become a medical doctor? Who trains his kids? Who cooks his food? Who produces food for him to eat? Who gives him security? Who makes the tools he needs to work? A rope cannot be torn apart easily except it is loosed. A broom bound together cannot break except when separated. All this shows everybody needs somebody. Every singular need each other because no one can do things on their own. This shows the reason we need each other for survival.

Everyone has two sides- a good and a bad side but most of the times we only get to recognize the bad side. Try to see the good in people, treat people who treat you with contempt with love. An eye for an eye only makes the world go blind. We all have our personal problems, we all have our differences. That girl you call a s--t must have been heartbroken and raped by guys so many times. That boy you call arrogant must have been raised by parents from a broken home who didn’t have time for him. That girl who has no friends must have been betrayed by all the people she trusted in the past. We all have a past, so instead of trying to castigate others, bring that person close and try to understand such a person. We all have been ambassadors of good at some point in time and we all have our bad sides. So I beseech us all to imbibe the spirit of understanding. If at all the world will ever be a better place to live, it starts from YOU.
“When there is no enemy within, the enemy from without cannot hurt us” - Winston S. Churchill.

Let us forget our differences and the quarrels because they exhaust us and risk the chance of deviating far away from who we truly are. Let us have faith in one another and renew our beliefs, the beliefs we all had about each other and in our future as individuals that will offer the society the love and trusts needed to make the world a better place.
“ One love, one heart, let’s get together and be alright ” – Bob Marley.

We are stronger when we respect each other, listen to each other and act with a common sense of purpose.