Ile-Ife! Ile-Ife!
The bus conductor shouted as he manoueverd passengers to his side of the park. The noise was healthy and sweet to the ear. I had my ear phone plugged in the left, so I listened ''halfly'' to everything around me with the right. The antics of the driver who was seated on an almost wrecked bench beside the bus was welcoming. I looked back and watched a couple chatting like love birds. The sight of Baba FRSC, a man who roamed the park to check vehicle oil, fuel tank, and the properties of each vehicle to certify it motorable and fit for the journey was not unnoticed. He was however not employed to do this- he usually got stipends from travellers who loved his ''concerned questions'' as regards the journey. It was a bright Sunday morning when I had to resume school.
Where I was seated in the bus, I noticed a number of things and likened it to life. I learnt lessons- some, severe and thought provoking, others casual. Whichever way, I was touched and I'll like to share in the next few lines, my lessons.
Where I was seated in the bus, I noticed a number of things and likened it to life. I learnt lessons- some, severe and thought provoking, others casual. Whichever way, I was touched and I'll like to share in the next few lines, my lessons.
Lesson 1.
If you do not know where you are going, everywhere looks like it. Imagine being in the park and you try to board a car going "everywhere" and "nowhere" in particular. It is with all certainty that you will either be perceived as insane or something close to it.
We have been brought up in a stereotype. A life where it is expected for you to do the regular things. This is nice and very much accepted. However, in order to achieve fulfilment in life, it involves going beyond being able to meet your basic needs of food, shelter and clothing. It involves doing something meaningful with our lifes and adding value to lifes of people around us, our family, social circle, work place and any where we find ourselves.
Lesson 2.
We must have a direction in life- dreams that can fire our passion, desire to pursue and persist till our dreams come true. It is very vital to form habits that can help propel us towards becoming the kind of people we aspire to be. The bus has a specific route to take to get through Abuja from Lagos and that's where direction comes in.
Lesson 3
The driver is necessary (two phased): I learnt also that everyone in life needs a mentor, a role model; (phase one) someone to look up for encouragement, advice and direction. It is only by forming positive habits that we can mould our characters to actualise a glorious destiny. Also, I believe God's the ultimate driver (2nd phase) and He should be allowed to pilot one's life. Assume yourself to be on a visit to Bariga in Lagos (a place you have never been to) and you take a cab, your sole trust is in the driver (Creator and mentor) to take you safely.
Lesson 4
There is a destination and a journey. Since a dream fulfilled, is sweet to the soul, it should be known that the journey has a destination and so fo every thing we take life for, there is usually a journey- the journey through school, marriage, career... would surely reach it's peak.
Lesson 5
Character is necessary: The garage tout, the driver, the passenger, the conductor... Character is essential. In life, character may be absent in the going but must be present for sustenance upon arrival. The words of a sage have it that "beauty and good cooking may be signs of a good wife, character keeps her in her husband's home". Therefore, Sow a thought, reap an act. Sow an act, reap a habit Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, determine your destiny.
Lesson 6
Beam your searchlight. The headlamp of the vehicle is a directional light in the dark. There are dark moments when we need friends to hold our hands through life. The headlamp is the friend of the vehicle alongside every functionality of the vehicle- the windscreen, the wiper... Etc. A sage says in yoruba "Eniyan laso" to mean "family and friends are my attire"
Lesson 7
The driver's seat is always reserved. I noticed that no matter how many rush to get seats in the bus, the driver's seat goes without a rival. I have sought Why... I'm still in it too?
Lesson 8
We must all alight: At a point, every passenger alights the vehicle 'cos we would arrive our destination. So is life, in death, we alight...
Lesson 9
We pay our fares: In life, we bear the consequences of our actions. Every thing- good or bad is paid for. The best of it is in change, we receive a reward for the good and the bad as a symbolic representation of the change we receive from the bus conductor...
The vehicle pulled up at a distance before Lagere market in Ile- Ife while I journeyed down to school, assured of lessons to move in life...
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