Bare Barrels bear Laurels by Emmanuel Oritseweyinmi

by ahjotnaija

Emmanuel Oritseweyinmi is a writer and an inspirational speaker. He is the author of “I Dare to be a Nigerian: A collection of inspiring stories, plays and anecdotes” available on Amazon
We at AhjotNaija are honoured to have him guestblog for us. This is first of many inpsirational series soon to be published.

What do you put in a barrel to make it lighter?

In a world as complex as ours, where processes overlap processes and countless procedures drown the common man, it is quite safe to say posterity will surely plead some simplicity. Simplicity at home, at work, in schools, at the mall, in religious places and of course in people and their outlook of life.

In my village, there once was a man who thought it right to only speak in parables, so he seldom said a sentence without dropping a wise saying. At first he was a wonder to everyone, but soon they wandered far from his abode. For they feared he was insane.

I, much like my people, am always wary of people who try to make every little thing as complex as they possibly can. They tell you there are ten things you must do to go through an open door, when even lame dogs slink through.

Life is a mystery solved in simplicity.

I can imagine life is a free flowing stream and we are all barrels and our common goal is to make it through to the other side of this strange stream where good things lay plenty. And no, contrary to popular belief I’d like to think the stream doesn’t flow against us, but for us. So we gear up and ready ourselves to float to the other side.

But due to the surges of the stream, some actually believe adding excess baggage keeps them afloat and so they go on, in an attempt to fully equip themselves, they wind up clogging themselves with complex complexities. The helter-skelter their lives turn into leaves them worked up and always on standby to throw a fit. To such a paranoid one a Sage once quipped:

Life is easy, stop trying to make it hard

Life is hard, that’s why you need to take it easy

You see, heavy barrels don’t float. They either do the exact opposite or they crash against a rock. There are a lot of things we put in our barrels daily (anger, hate and worries), please realize that no one is worth your eternal resentment, so forgive and move right on. Bitterness only imprisons its keepers. I fancy the epicurean ideology a tad, but only in the sense that life should be attacked serenely.

Empty your barrel. Take out the trash and take in only the right stuffs.

I knew a man who went through life like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. He seldom smiled and was constantly suspicious of everything. His superstitions were literally out of this world.

You see, this man believed the walls had ears. He appeased animal spirits, drank and sprinkled holy water on himself. You would often find him wearing a rosary on his neck and a talisman around his waist. Needless to say, his ending was rather miserable, as his wife and kids couldn’t keep up with his routine and his fears caught up with him soon after.

That’s not to say one shouldn’t practice religion and caution, but please don’t overkill. Quit making ominous mountains out of little molehills. Life is too short to live with a chip on your shoulders. I have always believed staying depressed is a choice. We all have our ups and downs, but it’s never been a smart move to stay down. Get back up on your feet, find the spring in your steps once again, stick your chest out and keep your head high.

Approach life not only with stealth but also leisure, for as the good book puts it:

There is a time for everything…even …a time to laugh

And when faced with problems, ask simple questions. Simple questions often bear answers to hard problems. And one last thought, if you are actually offended by this article, then you are most definitely the one it was written for  So smile. You see friend, worry never solved a problem. Quit clogging your barrel with worries of life’s bare necessities. Stay positive along your journey. Stay Inspired.

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