The Peace We Seek
“Every city was once a village, every country was once a collection of scattered settlements and every road was once a narrow bush path” Oladele spoke intently to the large audience he had to convince beyond reasonable doubt of the need for peace and togetherness.
“When the fingers are together, they are better able to beat the chest…a single finger is incapable of lifting a load to a man’s head”.
His closing remark couldn’t have been more appropriate as the audience’s chorused applause reverberated throughout the hall. Happy he was able to make a convincing point, Oladele folded his lecture note and made for his seat.
Later that day…
The words of Pa Nelson Oyewole kept ringing in his ears.
“…how could I possibly forget all his words of wisdom?, All the knowledge I possess and the wisdom I exude as a result of just sitting at his feet as he sat on that old cane chair” Oladele’s words drifted into soliloquy as he joyfully and dreamingly narrated his day to his wife.
A lot had changed…Pa Nelson was now six feet below the ground but his words remained like shrubs with evergreen leaves. He had been well known for his impressive collections of proverbs and he never seemed to run out of them as he always had one to describe every situation which made him a man of cumulated experience.
“Indeed the words of our ancestors are words of wisdom” Grateful, one of those words gave his speech such an amazing closing.
Happy as his wife was to learn of his achievements, she could not but wonder why it was so hard for him and their only son to get along. The teenage boy always wanted to make his point and his Father always had a counterpoint. It saddened her to watch her only son growing up into a disagreeable youth.
“The peace of a nation will continue to be threatened if it becomes increasingly difficult for the old to understand the young and vice versa” she said thoughtfully just when her husband was still basking in the state of euphoria.
Confused by her sudden change in topic,“I don’t understand you sweetheart, how does that come in now?”
“You display a great wealth of wisdom when you talk to people; it was easy for you to say things that have the ability to reinstate peace in those lives today and consequently in the nation. But we fail to attend to our own leaking roof which could be destructive someday."
He’s more bothered, “how do you mean dear?”
“what about our son?” she responded soberly.
“That? What about him?...he is just a stubborn kid who is not yet ready to learn, don’t worry too much, he will grow up” he said reassuringly…“you got me scared”
“Should that be trivialized?” She is so concerned. “you are the one who has refused to see how much he has grown, but I fear on what influence diet it has been. He needs you to listen to him. I try but you are his father and we can only do this together”... "Don’t forget that the bad child is always ascribed to the mother, let’s practice the unity you preach to the world, at least charity they say begins at home."
Her words got to him and deprived him of the sleep he had earlier longed for. He had to face the reality in his own home. Enough of calming national storms when he carefully brewed one in his three bedroom flat apartment.He remembered how he was always at loggerheads with his father and to escape from him, he would go to Pa Nelson’s house. Something was different though, Pa Nelson always listened. He, Pa Nelson would then give his proverbial renditions and would still proceed to make him understand the essence of life and the importance of mutual understanding that ensures peace. On this night, he remembered one of such moments and smiled to himself, turned off the light and slept.
The next morning…
Oladele promised himself to dilligently listen to his son and make necessary changes henceforth. It was hard at first as their son; Junior (as he was fondly called) had developed resistance. Oladele therefore, resolved that he would have to be more patient if he was going to make significant progress befriending his son. One of the proverbs he learnt from his old friend suited perfectly for what he now had to put into practice.
“The eating of the bean pudding starts from the flat side”.
This implied that he had to take it slow and steady with his son.
Days turned to weeks but the change was becoming increasingly obvious, father and son seemed to be getting more along. The friendship was budding and issues were being resolved. Oladele was beginning to learn a lot from his son… Sometimes, Childishness might sometimes just be the simplicity of wisdom.He finally understood the meaning of Pa Nelson’s favourite proverbs…
“the hand of a child cannot reach to the rafter, while that of an elder cannot enter a gourd” and “Ile -ife, the believed Yoruba origin was established on the wisdom of both the old and young”
The peace we seek as a nation and in the world at large is possible only if we not only listen to the sounds of bombs and riots without but carefully listen to and calm the storm within.
#ShortStories
#BeHimSpired
#LetThePeaceStartFromWithin
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