The Earth Eats Again
A Nigerian phrase that I’m often reminded of says, ‘the earth eats people’.
The phrase is driven by the fact that all bodies are finally put in the ground hence the concept that the ground is a bottomless belly that never stops swallowing people.
Sometimes I think about that statement and remember all the people that I know who are now lying in the ground. It makes me wonder what the ground gives back in return for what it receives from us all.
I remember that from the same ground comes the food that is a source of energy that helps us to live. The ground is full of natural resources that’s behind the wealth of many nations and people, it has the oil that keeps us warm and holds the water that quench our thirst.
It provides the ingredients for the medications that keep us healthy. We can see what the ‘ground’ takes but we must balance it with what it gives in return.
The ground doesn’t discriminate and shows no bias as it swallows the rich and the poor, the lonely and the popular, the weak and the strong, young and old, the seriously ill and the ones at the peak of their health.
It swallows people of all shades, languages, sizes and beliefs and swallows them whether they are ready or not. It doesn’t ask for their permission and it doesn’t need their consent before it receives them.
It reminds me that despite all our discoveries, we are still very much not in control of many things that matter. The COVID pandemic brought that closer to home and now every time I hear of the sad passing of a person, I wonder about LIFE.
The earth waits to take each person back but we mustn’t live under the cloud of that and we definitely shouldn’t live in fear.
It leaves us with only one option which is to make the most of this LIFE, think about life after death and have no regrets when the ground opens its mouth.
The questions you need to ponder should include: how ready will you be? What things would you want to get done? Can you afford to procrastinate? Can you afford to take your opportunity to live for granted? Can you afford not to take control of the things that you can, knowing there’s so much that’s already outside your control?
Can you afford not to live your life well? Can you afford not giving it your best shot? At the end of it all, when the ground swallows again, there can be celebration of a life well lived and we can lay the foundations for that.
Will you LIVE joyfully, thankfully, hopefully and in contentment? Will you live ready? In closing, I want to share the poem ‘Life’.
Life – A poem by Mother Theresa
“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is a beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is costly, care for it.
Life is wealth, keep it.
Life is love, enjoy it.
Life is mystery, know it.
Life is a promise, fulfil it.
Life is a sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is Life, fight for it.”
The earth received my sister-in-law’s mother this morning and my thoughts and prayers are with the entire family. Here’s to the legacy she left behind and we celebrate her life even as we mourn her loss.
To all those reeling from the passing or anniversary of a loved one’s passing, my thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Thanks for reading and sharing my post. Have a purposeful week and live well.
