A Child laughs in Lagos

The January 18th daily prompt was called Reason to Believe it asked; In Reason to Believe, Bruce Springsteen sings, “At the end of every hard-earned day / people find some reason to believe.” What’s your reason to believe?

I have always felt that laughter in the face of reality is probably the finest sound there is and will last until the day when the game is called on account of darkness. In this world, a good time to laugh is any time you can.

— Linda Ellerbee

My reason to believe is even in the worst of circumstances, the most harrowing of places, and in the lowest depths of humanity, I find laughter.  Usually in the face and body of a child.

This is the third blog regarding my tour of Makoko the stilt village in Nigeria.  As always, my favorite part of this tour was being able to interact with and watch the children actively engaged in the routines of their daily life.  It seems that no matter where I go and what environment I am in, the children are always the happiest or at least the most engaged and willing to interact with the people who pass through their lives.

Every house we went by the kids would jump around, try to hide from us, and laugh and scream and call us silly names.  They loved getting their pictures taken. It was inspiring and made you really think about where you were in your own life.  Despite everything, this area was filled with play and constant laughter.  How can you not have hope and believe with those smiling happy faces staring back at you?

If you’re able to grow up in Nigeria and go through certain things, you’re able to tackle anything around the world because you’re able to live wherever, if you can survive in a city like Lagos or Warri or Niger Delta, as far as I’m concerned.

Nneka

 

[Humanity] has unquestionably one really effective weapon—laughter. Power, money, persuasion, supplication, persecution—these can lift at a colossal humbug—push it a little—weaken it a little, century by century, but only laughter can blow it to rags and atoms at a blast. Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand. — Mark Twain

I hope you enjoyed my tour of Makoko.  Like I mentioned, this tour was just the start, just the beginning of my new routine.  Tours like this give me a reason to believe that I have a purpose for being here or anywhere.  For me the only difference between a routine and a rut, is how you move through it.

My goal is to once again move through my new routine in as a manner of learning about where I am and gaining a larger understanding of what I am doing and how to do it better.  It’s what keeps me believing.

Culture makes people understand each other better. And if they understand each other better in their soul, it is easier to overcome the economic and political barriers. But first they have to understand that their neighbour is, in the end, just like them, with the same problems, the same questions.

Paulo Coelho

Nigerian Proverb:

Chicken wey run way from borno go Ibadan go still end up inside  pot of soup

loose translation: You Can’t Run Away From Your Destiny

HOPE – by Shaggy

More Reasons to believe

• Randomness expressed
• More laughter
• Almost Italian
• VM tran blog
• Mama
• Being a believer
• Shame port
• My atheist blog
• Wandering
• Peaceful blessed Star
• Viewsplash
• yichinglin