Every day is a lesson of sorts, there is always something new to learn or something old to relearn. I guess as I grow older, I become more aware of my life and just life in general. As a young kid, I always fantasised about how my future would be like. Sometimes I let my imagination run wild, sometimes I tried to keep it as realistic as possible, but as the years ticked by I am starting to realise that there isn’t much of a difference between what I perceived as wild imagination and what I perceived as realistic. It has proven to be a slippery slope. I was wrong at how I thought life would turn out. As a matter of fact, I was wrong about what I thought life was about, because I am painfully finding out as I spend more years walking the earth, nobody has it all figured out and those that do look like they have all their stuff together, are also just living it out day by day, looking for the very same answers that you are searching for. They can never give you a blueprint of what life is about because they keep changing it every now and then.

I recently spent the weekend with a veteran of life, a great man who has seen many sunrises and sunsets and I asked him what he thought life was about and how one can win at life and live the best life possible.

I have never had a question laughed at so hard since my primary school years and oddly enough, I have never heard this man laugh so happily and proudly at a question I thought would be simple for him.

His answer stunned me even more. He simply said he is glad he is never going back to be my age again - he doesn’t miss that part of his life not even one bit.

I was confused and a little hurt at his answer. It is not what I expected and I simply didn’t understand what he meant, but after he finished drying his eyes and rubbing his belly, he finally answered my question.

When he was about my age, he spent a great deal of time trying to find the answers to the very same questions I was asking him. The more he tried to figure out life the more confusing life seemed and the sadder he became, because no one could give him a straight answer. It is an endless pit that doesn’t lead to anything and can waste a good chunk of years if you keep it up.

Go live your life as you please, just be a good person and respect everyone who you share this world with, that is life for you.

When you are a baby live your life as a baby, when youth comes, live your life as a youth and when old age comes, live your life as an old person. That’s all you can be at that time.

* Olavi Popyeinawa

Twitter: @olavipopyeinawa

Email: olavipopyeinawa@gmail.com