LIVING A HAPPY LIFE AGAIN

LIVING A HAPPY LIFE AGAIN

    

17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

 [John 13:17 KJV]

Before we look into issue of happiness in life, there’s a question to consider. It is, why do you want to be happy in life? Or let’s say do you need happiness? The answer is always in affirmation. Not everyone really needs happiness as their actions suggest. People profess they need happiness, but they do things that are in contrary. Happiness is not something the world can offer you, you have to get it yourself. We erroneously think that happiness comes with acquisition of material things, getting more friend, taking a new job and the rest. Living a happy life is something some people find difficult to achieve. They try to manipulate it.

WHAT ABOUT FRIENDSHIP?

Does friendship bring true happiness? The answer is left to the individual. True friendship is fast fading away from our society. I was in a bus on a particular day – a public one anyway. I was the last passenger to enter. After sitting for a while, I decide to observe if there’s anyone to say hello to on my row. Almost everyone was busy looking into their gadget. Some were listening to music, others were chatting online, while some were playing games, and another set where doing something else with their phone. At the end of the day I found at that no one was ready for a conversation. I felt bad about it – my phone couldn’t do most of the things they were doing. I just took a book from my bag and started reading. After a while I dropped it due to distractions in my mind – “how could the society turn to be so inclined to electronics that people have lost physical relationship with one another. Everyone seems to be saying “I don’t have your time, oh please don’t bother me”. There were these two young men who lived in the same room together. They would not talk to each other [physically]. Their bed were on the opposite sides of the room. They’d lay facing the wall with their back facing each other chatting with themselves on a social network. The advent of technology is fast swallowing physical relation. There is both joy and pain that comes through friendship, but the former is greater. Friendship demands sacrifice on the part of both parties. Young people should be encouraged to make good and lasting friendship.

          There are just two friendship I’ve seen to work. The friendship between David and Jonathan as recorded in the bible and that between my brother and his friend – this are friendship in which I’ve seen to be true. If you need a friend you have to make yourself a friend.

ANGELS DON’T LIVE ON EARTH

I once went to visit a friend^___ one of the two whose story I had related earlier concerning our college days. We were sitting in front of the building having some good time. Later he went to get something inside the building. After about 10 minutes a young man came out of the building who I observe to be an older cousin to my friend. He came towards me, I greeted him, and he demanded to know who I was and what I was doing there. I told him everything. He said I should leave the compound that it was getting late. By my time it was past 6pm. I said well I’m about leaving just that I’m waiting for my friend to see me off that he was coming soon. He didn’t agree and ordered me out. It was raining, and I had to stay under the rain. I finally went home drenched by the rain.

Anybody would feel bad about that, but I had to encourage myself to forget the incident. It’s my friend who had invited me to his place to assist him with some stuff on the internet. Later the next day I met him, he came to apologise for the misconduct of his cousin. He said the whole house felt very bad after hearing about the way I was treated, even the big madam of the home. He’d assured the big madam that he knew me very well, such things wouldn’t upset me ^___but the truth is I was upset. I gathered later that the fellow who had mistreated me was a job seeker who had stayed in the house for many years after his graduation and as such he was always unhappy.

          Another event happened similar to the first. A family friend of ours had come to the house with unhappiness written all over him. He told me how life was terrible and how he wished for death. That night I decided to go to his place to hold a vigil and also to encourage him, I know what he was facing because I’d also been in similar circumstance. I took some food I had prepared in a flask peradventure he had nothing to eat or perhaps couldn’t prepare it. The morning he came, he’s full of despair and discouragement. I took him round the bible showing and rehearsing the promises of God to him – after which he felt strong a bit, so I decided to visit him in the night. This particular night I left for his place late in the night, it’s was some minutes to 10pm, because I had been busy preparing food and washing the dishes. Getting to his gate I knocked and knocked. I knocked and knocked again after about 35 minutes of staying outside someone came to the gate, it was a relief. He said “who are you?” Ah! I was surprised because he knew me very well, I jokingly yelled back, “who are you?” when he came close enough, he started asking me one interrogating question after another. It wasn’t funny. I learnt later that he^__ the man I had met at the gate and his brother who were our family friend were engaged in a serious quarrel. He asked me to go home. I tried as much as I could to calm him down but he would not listen. He locked me outside after standing for a while I left. This was a fellow I never imagined he could do such. He didn’t just send me away he sent a passionate and determine me away. I didn’t allow the whole thing to upset me, I choose to be happy. That night I slept soundly – after all angels don’t live on earth, humans do. If your happiness depends on people then you can’t find happiness. Even the best of humans can make you unhappy someday.