The Greatest Secrets of Life

My grandfather was a village idol. People from all walks of life visited his homestead with only one mission; to seek for his wisdom and thoughts on matters related to life. Honestly, he was a very wise man. His wisdom out did the combined wisdom of the famous six blind men from India. It bothered me so much, that even after I had acquired my degree certificate, I still could not muscle him when it came to real life issues. Indeed, he was my encyclopedia, when it came to issues dealing with life. Being the only son in the homestead, I did spend most of my free time with the old man. 

One Saturday evening, my curiosity and inquisitiveness paid off. After serving him porridge; deliciously prepared with milk as part of the ingredients, my old man opened his mouth and in a blurry voice, he echoed out what turned out to be the greatest of all secrets in life. He ordered me to get a pen and a paper and to note down what he had to say. Hesitantly and with lots of curiosity, I brought in my diary and a pen. Then he said to me that, ‘I have always kept these gifts away from you until you are mature enough to understand their real meanings. I may not have gone further with my basic education, but these simple facts will serve you more than what you have learnt in school.’ 

• Always think outside the box. If you don’t, someone will and you will end up working for their thinking (idea).
• Don’t ever forget where you come from.
• Failure is not final. Learn from your failure and help others to avoid what made you fail.
•  Know why you still have life within you. Define your ‘why’ of living and your ‘how’ will follow sui
• There is no future in your past. Your future lies in what you do today. Don’t waste today.
•  Have a close confidant, someone you can trust and confine your issues to.
•  Ensure you join a support group. The greatest strength lies in the unity of diversity.
• Open your world and the world would open itself to you. Know what goes on around you, each and every time.
• Stay away from people who drink too much and are immoral. The LORD hates such people.
•  Be the best that you can be; to yourself and to the society.
• Always be grateful for everything in your life, good or bad. There is a reason God allowed such things in your life.
•  Don’t ever praise yourself. Let people do it if your actions are worthy.
•  Be of courage and defend what you believe in. Fear brings down great nations. 
•  Live your life. You might not live forever. Don’t worry, be happy.

I sat there still waiting for more words, but sadly the old man had lost his voice and collapsed dead on the ground. I was the last person the old man had talked to, and these words were a recording of his advice to me and to my generation. I felt I should have shared this long ago, but better late than never.