Eat, Drink…

Life is fleeting.

I think the older you grow, the more you realise the vanity of life. You suddenly realise that your life is on an hourglass. One minute you have energy, gusto to spend countless nights studying for exams, in church or partying, the next minute you are literally blacking out on the couch out of total enervation. One minute you are keen to meet everybody, hang out everywhere and the next minute you just want to go to work, come back home, eat (if you have the energy to even enjoy the food), sleep, wake up and repeat.

Is it just me or are people dying more of late than they used to? I mean, kitambo we’d stay a whole year without burying someone, of-late there’s a WhatsApp group formed every week and a funeral after every two. It feels like there’s just too much going on around us. And the sad bit is that we are so busy running life’s charades that we no longer even have time to actually live.

Last week I thought of a friend, someone I’d known for years, who passed on about two years ago. And even as I say two years ago, it sounds quite unbelievable because it feels like he didn’t even leave-only that he did. It hit me, when I thought of him, that he’s no longer here. He was industrious, focused, strong-willed in what he wanted-he was a builder, very intentional and very generous. He built himself up from the ground up, in career, to become one of the most respected personalities in his profession at the time of his demise. He invested, build a family, took care of his kids and wife, he was a Jesus guy. He loved to keep fit, he watched his weight, and watched what he ate. He loved the finer things of life-whether it was his cars, watches, suits, shoes, you name it, it had to be good.

And then, one day, without a warning, without a hint, life was snatched from him. So now he left whatever he did, a good inheritance for his people and memories, and that’s great. But the thing is, he left, he exited the scene, he’s no longer here. And, life, life has done what life normally does, life has kept on moving.

So while pondering about said friend I came across advise. When I read it first, it sounded kinda stupid. It didn’t even feel right. It felt a bit irresponsible and reckless to apply in the 21C. But after pondering on it a bit, I find that there’s a whole lot of truth in it. The preacher, traditionally taken to be King Solomon, the wisest, richest, most influential king in Israel’s history said “So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.”

And I’ll tell you the same (I hope I can take my own advise). I’ll tell you to be kinder to yourself. I’ll tell you to treat yourself better. I’ll tell you to live life and live it fully. I’ll tell you to stop overthinking life. I’ll tell you not to spend your most productive years in a rat race. I’ll tell you to slow down when you need to. Buy yourself that gift. Take that holiday. Eat that meal. Wear that suit. Drive that car if you can afford it. Be truer to yourself. After you have taken care of everyone else, take time to take care of yourself-you deserve that. One day you won’t be here and whether you leave something behind or not? That will only matter to those who will be left behind.

Try live, you are not here forever.