Be Full Of Gratitude: A True Life Experience

WAIT! I just remembered something this evening and thought of sharing it, I know it's not really a diary, but it's something I have witnessed and thought of sharing it with you, you never know, someone might need this.

^Smiling

In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, I had visited Lagos State in Nigeria, I have been hearing of people sleeping under the third mainland bridge which is the longest in West Africa. Now, I did not go there to look at the sea but to see for myself those that live under that bridge if it was just a fairy tale. When I got there, I saw so many people living there, risking their lives to stay under that mighty bridge with the water body hitting up it waves, I was scared even going there but since I was accompanied by someone, I had to just force myself out. To the best of my knowledge is that some of these people have spent over 15-20 years living under the bridge, they barely eat, some of their children beg for ends meet and when they get it, they give their parents the money to buy food for them and also send them to school, I think that was also one of the most heartbreaking thing I could do so I could understand this life clearly.

I looked at myself, then I was still struggling to get a trophy but these are real humans whose blood is still flowing in their veins, they are still breathing but they aren't breaking like I was. I had to go ahead and then I visited makoko slum still in Lagos, people are really living in slum and here am I, sometimes I will be in a five star hotel today and the next day, I might move to another expensive hotel during tournaments, one thing had a striking consistency- these guy were still living their lives and here I was not going through quarter what these guys are going through and yet I still can't be grateful for the little blessings, I learnt GRATEFULNESS. I learnt to be appreciative of the little things I have, I learnt how to smile, I learnt how to be in check of my emotions when times are hard.

Sometimes, you need to visit the morgue, hospital, slums and bridges to see things by yourself, you need to go to these places to see how much you need to be grateful of, I remember back then in Nigeria, if you get to dump site to thrash your refuse, you will get to see kids staying and living there just to pack plastic rubbers so they can sell and make ends meet, they can stay a week without bathing or proper meal yet you will still see how happy they are, so why can't I be happy and grateful for this little wins?

^{Right in the kitchen}

Start being grateful, start being the happy one, start telling God thank you for life, people are going through more than what you are going through yet they won't kill their smile, that is something to think of my friends, reflect on how far you have gone and you will know you are the most blessed.

Ps: the images used here was taken when I was washing fish to grill for my teammates.