Drown Out the Noise

Image credit: iStock

Hey, you!

Sometime last week, during my walk, I had my headphones plugged into my ears as I sang along to one of my all-time favourite songs, ‘Breathe’ by the Nigerian gospel artiste Dunsin Oyekan, on my playlist.

As I turned to the corner of the road, I dragged in quickly and deeply the fresh air that rushed towards my body while I smiled and spread my arms as I sank my soul into the lyrics. Suddenly as I approached a particular spot, the atmosphere started to change. It had gotten warmer and noisy. No, it wasn’t an episode of what may seem perfect as the introduction of a natural disaster scene in a movie. This one in the current reality contributes to what would become a climate disaster - the loud, vibrating engine and exhaust pipes of the gigantic generator for a corporate firm building.

I frowned in disappointment as I looked at the building and then the generator as if my frown could tell the owners that they were being irresponsible and inconsiderate to their environment. I wondered how the residents living in the surroundings can cope with the earsplitting noise. Immediately, I noticed that the noise had distracted the peaceful meditation, song, and my walk, then this phrase came to mind - “drown out the noise” as I struggled to reconnect to my previous state of mind.

Immediately, I took my eyes off the distraction, and kept walking, eyes forward and my mind gradually settling as it tuned back into the song. And as I kept walking away from the noise, it became clear. The air got fresher, and my mind was at ease again.

You see, through this random scenario, I learned a few things that I am happy to share with you.

On the path to your destination or goal, there will be distractions. You can allow yourself to get carried away or get drowned by the noise, or you choose to filter it and drown it out.
You must guard your heart and mind. Try this by meditating, praying, and listening to soul-lifting music. If your physical world is about to be rocked and turned upside down, the battle starts first with your mind.
Focus. Don’t get lost in other people’s dreams or lives. Focus and find your path (I learned this part from a Netflix series I recently saw - The Sandman).

Lastly and more literally, enjoy and bask in the joyous presence of nature.

If you enjoyed this read, please share the link, and I am always happy to read from you in the comment section!

Love,

Comments

For My G.Ma - Felicia

I never knew I would miss her this much. People never understood why I love Christmas. I didn’t quite get it too – apart from the bursting joy of the birth of Christ, the melodious songs and beautiful decorations; there was more to the super hyper and lovey-dovey feeling I always have this season. So, I was scrolling through my phone gallery and saw the last photo I had with my G.Ma. Oh by the way, Christmas was her birth and death day. I’m writing this because of her. Just to share a bit of her awesomeness with you. That woman was a bad-ass! Reminiscing on my childhood memories with her, I realized she was the reason I love Christmas. I usually spent my Christmas and New-Year holidays with her as a child. She would take me to her church and ask the priest to allow me join other children in the Christmas carol rehearsals and performances. She would take me to the salon and have my hair done and accessorized. I hated making my hair, it was just too stressf...

Life

It seems like the only thing we leave behind besides legacy are the memories we create and imprint in the hearts of the people we love, have met, or cared for. Legacy, in my opinion, is formed out of memories – where we’ve been, the things that we did, our goals and accomplishments, even failures. The older I get, the more I think I’m beginning to understand the true essence of life. I hope I do. One moment, the people we love, know, or care about are here and the next they are gone. Tell me again, why we clench our fists as a new-born and let it all out when we leave? Or why we make loud noises in the announcement of our arrival and walk away in silence, sometimes without notice. Is life that meaningless, as the words of the king in Jerusalem, son of David? I never entirely fully agreed with some of his words in Ecclesiastes, the idea of it is very understandable though, actually very deep for one who has seen it all, I suppose. ‘One generation goes its way, the next one...

The Walking Muse

Originally written: 19/4/2021 I saw something that made me smile today. One of the interesting parts of my daily walk or jog is that I see people, I connect with people, be it through a nod, smile, wave, or just observing, you know. There used to be this man, he was a huge and somewhat big man. The first thing I noticed about him was how his shirt always stayed above his belly. So, this man wakes up very early and carries on his head a large wooden tray of bread. Then he would walk from wherever he was coming from to a particular area and around, hawking. Now, if I calculate his walk from the point I meet him to the point he drops off his bread, it’s usually about 3kilometers. He reminded me of the typical ‘hardworking’ Nigerian. The ones who maybe made us tweak the term ‘hardworking’ because in this part of the world, ‘hard work is synonymous to some serious strength and physical jobs, which is also very synonymous to suffering. Back to this man let me call him Mr. ...

EDEN

Search This Blog