This afternoon, from my CD racks, I picked the CD of JOE NEZ. With the inscription “Joe Nez and his top six”.He was a music Icon,a legend, a no stranger to anybody that grew in the 80s. You remember the tracks: “I have a land lady, Nosike , my Bussines trip, Baby You and Me sweetie”
These tracks one wouldn’t resist the temptation of listening over and over again. They were life experiences told in lyrics with a voice that was a sonorous as the voice of a nightingale.
Joe Nez had a story like anybody else, the uniqueness of his was the way and manner he chose to present them. Unless one is a sadist, appreciating such master piece comes without any bias.
We all have stories to tell. From the day we were conceived, to the moment of ones birth to the years of ones growth, from one phase of life development to another, one is a bundle of stories.
None was born with a particular kind of story. Each day comes with its story and how one reacts to it,either makes it ugly or most beautiful.
I looked at him, from a distance admired his looks, his carriage. I wondered aloud in my mind if he had ever cried, felt pains, got disappointed, betrayed etc. I saw a man standing on the beautiful and most amazing side of life. I wouldn’t have minded switching place and destiny with him. He was for me a graphic definition of God’ assessment of his creation ” He looked at what he created and saw that they were all good.
In all these he had a story, nonetheless.
A story he wouldn’t be proud recounting and making a public spectacle of. For me he was all Roses but for him, the thorns in his roses are quite choking, unless he tells one, one wouldn’t know.
He wore a tattered cloth, his hair unkempt. His diction and command of English flawless. It looks like his life was filled with thorns and tars,no roses, no fragrance and no droplets of morning dews, everything looked dry and hard. Much more beyond what eyes could see, there was an amazing story, dimmed and eclipsed by life ordeals.
He dresses nicely, drives around in an exotic cars. His office furnished to taste. He breaks even , and lives somewhat an opulence lifestyle. Anybody that comes in contact admires him. They felt he had it all, born with a golden spoon in his month. Life may be good now, but what many failed to realize was, there was a story behind all that. Find out the story, may be your perception about him being lucky, privileged etc might change.
Every cloud has a silver lining, every rose has thorns and every home made palm wine has dregs.
These are part of life. Without the cloud, there would be no silver lining, without the thorns the rose could not be what it is and of course without the dregs, the palm wine may lose it power and strength.
Every life that is worth emulating, at some point had a romance with adversity. Gold is Gold because of its tenacity at the face of furnace and its endurance in the hand of the blacksmith. Nothing good comes easy and in every ugly situation there is always a hidden beauty.
We all have our different stories! Stories that make us cry, weep, laugh and smile. Stories that send shivers, making one feel nostalgic. No one person has same story line, it might be slightly similar but not entirely the same. We are different, with different destinations, assignments, purpose and goals.
No two persons are the same, no two persons purpose is similar, the route to achieving them may be the same but the plans and strategies may entirely be different.
Our stories may not be outwardly expressed, they may be hidden, where nobody else knows them except the bearer. Until he leads one to that very spot, tells the tale, one might either be admiring or despising an image one has no full understanding of.
We all have stories, only those we decide to tell get to know them .
Until you hear ones story, admiring one or despising one may be premature.
Forget what you see, the posh appearance, the carriage, the worth, the status,the haggard and sore sight ,they are not what one is , there is a story behind them, look for the stories, listen to them, by that one would understand better and reduce the risk of judging one, either wrongly or over rating ones worth.
Our life is full of stories, the good, the bad even the ugly. Many have made lemonade out of the lemon life thrown at them while others made a lemon from the lemonade given to them by life. We all have stories to tell one way or the other. Only those who know ours will either appreciate or denigrate us rightly.
Happy Lenten season
#Jarlath
