Why are you afraid to show when you’re happy? Why must you hide the true state of your joy? Why are we encouraged to be apologetic about our success no matter the size thereof? Isn’t it ironic that we live in a society that encourages bad news and suffering. Our media is a perfect example for instance we’re more likely to read or watch how things are going terribly wrong than focus on those who are creating solutions and doing their most to make a positive impact in the world. There is a great disconnect and imbalance in our reportage. We see this trend even socially where we are not afraid to announce the death of someone, we can even post pictures of the dead and celebrate them however we dare not share about someone’s birth, pregnancy, marriage, new business etc. You are better off hiding these they say. Could we move away from a culture that glorifies suffering as a form of humility? I bet many would be liberated and stop feeling the need to pretend that they’re suffering even when they’re not.

It’s interesting how even in a group of friends one would rather declare sadness and poverty to be accepted since singing a different tune could easily make one unpopular? Really? How did we get here? How then do we expect to see a manifestation of good in this world or even our lives when we’re always encouraged to confess the contrary? Perhaps it’s time we learnt to celebrate with others and stop making them feel apologetic about their wins, after all if they can share their suffering with us surely they can also share their joy with us. It’s about time we corrected our perception and moreover our hearts because something is certainly screwed up about a society that has normalised pain and suffering and made happiness and success a thing to be ashamed of.

Often more than we’d like to admit we are driven by fear. Fear of what people think, fear of what if it doesn’t last , etc. in the guise of protecting what we hold dear. However we are different. There’s a quiet confidence and there’s a loud confidence there’s a soft laughter and there’s a wretched laughter there’s an inner cry and there’s a wailing, there are two left feet and there are dancers I think we ought to allow each other to be.  If it’s not who you are then it’s insincere that’s my take and being insincere to/with yourself robs YOU off not them. They might be quiet in their little  corners or behind the curtains but if being on the centre stage under the spotlight is what you truly want? Please go for it. As for me I’m a stage girl, I’ve always been and always will be no use pretending. I’m loud and fierce it’s unnatural for me to be cornered or boxed.

So what if life hasn’t been static? So what if you’ve seen my disappointments, my failures? So what happens now? I think by now we’ve substantiated the fact that life is progressive and none of us are immune to its ups and downs whether we are quiet about it or not. The culture of haters is also not helping because everyone is fuelled by the paranoia that all they do is constantly being hated by the rest. What an exhausting life if you ask me, could you channel that energy on focusing on you and making your moves instead? You cannot live your life with a chip on your shoulder constantly having to check who is with you or not. Listen! Whether they’re cheering or not learn to do you and focus and more over, learn to be unapologetic about your happiness.  Refuse the narrative that makes you feel guilty about your wins no matter the size. Learn to celebrate yourself, it’s part of self care. You deserve all of it! No apology for your happiness.

 

Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5fm