Reflections on the Journey of Life

The truth is that life, at every stage of one’s personal growth, is not a bed of roses. Each phase of one’s social and economic evolution comes with its own challenges that often interrupt one’s desire for lasting happiness.

Looking back at my life, growing up in the ’80s as a teenager, and reflecting on the choice my father made to ensure that I went to school in those days when parents who had no schooling themselves hardly made such a choice consciously, all I can do is thank Allah, the Almighty, Who, in His infinite wisdom, guided my father.

Looking back today, and considering the plight of some of my less fortunate childhood friends, I cannot but appreciate my parents, my teachers in primary and secondary schools, and my lecturers who greatly inspired me in my academic pursuit. I regard the privilege of having schooled to the point of attaining a PhD, and of rising in my civil service career to the position of permanent secretary, as no small blessing. These two have afforded me many opportunities, earned me respect, and placed me in the hearts of many. I can only imagine how life would have been without the privilege of education, as I have seen in the case of many with whom I grew up in the dusty terrain of Birnin Ruwa during our innocent and formative years.

But life is certainly not a bed of roses at any point. Despite my modest achievements, which many can only dream of, I sometimes find myself entangled in a wave of worry and sadness. I sometimes feel lonely in my thoughts, in my ideas, and in my quiet imagining of an ideal world. I sometimes spend hours in an endless wave of nostalgia for those golden years of my formation. I feel sad that my mother did not live to see what I have become. I feel sad that today my father is the only person still alive in our neighbourhood; all his friends, neighbours, and even most of his acquaintances are gone. This reminds me not only of my father’s mortality but of mine as well. My generation, Generation X, is now middle-aged. Many of us are already becoming grandparents. Many have started suffering ailments we once associated with old age, such as high blood sugar, hypertension, prostate issues, and more. We are now approaching retirement from the public service.

It is evident, therefore, that even for those to whom life appears to have been kind, it is still not a bed of roses. It is clear that we can only find happiness in the immaterial values that we cherish, such as working for the happiness of others, and living a life of compassion and selflessness. Wealth may bring satisfaction, but certainly not happiness.