I Miss You...

As I looked at the sky tonight, I saw the stars shining so bright. I thought to myself, "That's Maami (what we call my maternal grandmother) saying hi". I pointed to another one and said, "That's Mingo (my uncle) winking at me". I kept pointing at the stars and personifying them with family members and friends I had lost along the way. It made me remember the importance of life and most importantly, the importance of living a fulfilled life. As I looked at the stars, I asked myself questions like, "Are they happy? Are they alright? Hope they doing good? Hope they are watching over me? Hope they are having fun?" I figured they were having a blast.

It is funny how we take out time to remember the dead, while we treat those alive as if they were dead to us. We remember dead relatives, friends, partners and so on more than we remember or even talk to the living ones. In some cases, we make the living ones jealous of the dead ones and wish they were dead, at least that way they would be remembered. We need to start appreciating our relatives, friends, brothers, sisters, wives, husbands, (and so on) while they are still alive; and stop waiting till when they die before they are appreciated, celebrated or remembered. 

A simple "Hello" or "Hi" or "I love you" from a loved one or friend can make a dark day seem bright. You can never fully understand or know what your friend or relative is going through at different times of their lives. That doesn't stop you from checking up on them once in a while. Your simple greeting could be the highlight of their day. You might never know if your greeting or the care you showed stop them from committing suicide or making a terrible decision. You never know what your simple "Hello" means to a loved one or friend. Remember, it doesn't cost you anything. All it needs is a little of your time and maybe recharge card to send the text or call or email, or Skype or Whatsapp message, or instagram and so on.

Even within a family, when was the last time you called your parents, just to say hi? (not the I need money kind of Hi, where you call your parents as a preamble to ask for money). Our parents are human beings also and need to be appreciated, remembered (while they are still alive) shown care and most times, we need to learn to spoil them with our love, attention, material things and any other thing they need (be it physical, mental, social and so on). Our parents go through a lot and fight battles they cannot tell us about. We need to be sensitive about our parents' feelings, emotions, health, state of mind, among other things. Showing them love and care is sometimes a great help in fighting some of their personal battles. Also, just because they are called YOUR siblings doesn't mean you shouldn't check up on them from time to time. It is a good feeling knowing someone thinks about you enough to call, send a message or even visit you. 

Let us learn to appreciate one another while we still alive and kicking. Instead of wasting money on funeral and calling it "Celebration of Life". Let's learn to celebrate life more while we are still alive. Love you all. Wishing you a blessed weekend ahead.