Name: Luke Destiny Manja
PenName: Luke Destiny Manja
Genre: ShortStory/SBCC drama/Articles/Poems/Proses
Profession: Social and Behaviour Change Communication
Worker
Location: Lilongwe, Malawi
Period of writing: 9 Years
IT’S ALRIGHT TO CRY
It's alright to cry, to be sad, to be broken and lose it all. It's all fine and believe me we need those so called negatives and lows in our lives.
As humans obviously we want to live a life of bliss, full of happiness, a life void of negative emotions like sadness, loss and pain, but how is that possible in this imperfect world full of imperfect people and imperfections? It is a common agreement that nobody is perfect and no one ever will be so why do we put ourselves under so much pressure and effort to live a blissful life? I know we do that because we are humans and it is in our nature to expect the best for ourselves.
But even in such scenarios I say, it's alright to cry or experience the negatives in life, in fact we need to embrace the negatives as we embrace the positives because we need to experience the negatives just as we need the positives. Some are wondering why in the world we need the negatives, here is my response, in Chichewa there is a saying that says “Mtsinje umalimba ndi miyala” which literally means a river is strong due to the rocks in its course. Our lives are like rivers without the rocks in its course the river is never strong, it is the river that makes what it is. It is the stones that hold the banks of the river not the smooth sailing. So it's alright to experience some negatives in our lives.
Ever came home from a tiring journey and just sat to sip a cold version of your favourite drink as you sit on your favourite couch? How good does that feel? Can you compare it to taking the same drink and sitting on the same couch but not after the tiring journey? I bet the pleasure in the two scenarios wouldn’t be same huh? You see, the negatives that we experience in our lives even make the positives we experience worthwhile. As one Jamaican musician Chris Martin sang, “cause you only need the light when it's burning low, Only miss the sun when it starts to snow you only miss the sun when it starts to snow” negatives in our lives makes us enjoy life’s best moments at another level.
So yes, it's alright to cry, it's alright to be broken, it's alright to struggle financially. What is not alright is to never draw lessons from these negatives to improve our lives. Whatever negatives or lows you are experiencing now, just know it is alright. Whether it is death of a loved one or those close to us, loss of faith, financial struggles even heartbreaks, we need them in our lives. All these teach us to cherish and enjoy the good moments in life and even give us lessons to improve our lives. All I can say is just hold on since the sun will shine tomorrow, for now if you want to cry please cry the loudest, if you are sad be sad, if you are heartbroken be broken no need to suppress these emotions. Psychology even says that just by doing that, we loosen the emotions grip over our well-being. The advantages of doing so are even too many and include that it helps see problems in a new light, makes decision making and problem solving easier, gets rid of the power of the feeling, reduces anxiety and eases depression.
As we start this week reflect on the biblical story of Joseph who was sold by his on relations and eventually became one of the most powerful people in Egypt. As you reflect I hope you will agree with me that sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us.
Let us live life and love life.
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