It’s been one of those days; such is the despair that can be imbued into our souls when we focus on the muck of this world. It started the minute I turned on the news and I saw an analysis of Joe Biden’s performance on Tuesday’s contrived “town hall”. I could sense the fury rising within me as I consumed the gunk being offered by CNN and immediately sensed the joys evaporating from my spirits. I fell for the trap that is impossible to avoid; politics is a narcotic that robs us of our mirth and replaces it with indignation devoid of joie de vivre.
I was moved enough to write an article this morning laced with arsenic in order to bleed my spleen of the rage that had been stoked by our president’s phoniness only to find myself mired further in the stews of bitterness. The whole day passed and I sensed my chest tightening up with enmity; the more I reflected on the kabuki dance of our politics, the further I felt annoyed. Such was my state of pique that I decided to take a nap midday when I’m normally playing with my son and exchanging moments of levity with my wife.
I woke up this evening only to find myself still enmeshed in ire; cooped up in my home, recovering from Covid-19 and walled off from the world, I let a malicious public serpent root me in a passion I could not outpace no matter how much I tried. My wife finally decided to take time for herself after spending the whole day tending to her unending duties as a mother so it was my time to take care of our son. I knew I had to shake this feeling of irritability that was enveloping me like the bitter cold in Texas. I decided to turn to music in order to shed the shadows of exasperation that was mobbing my heart.
For some reason, one of my favorite songs from my childhood beckoned so I turned to YouTube and typed in “Can’t Hurry Love Cover” hoping to find respite from umbrage through music. The transformation happened instantly! Perhaps it was the sounds of my youth or the uncontained glee of my son Yohannes; in a flash the enmity I carried all day morphed into jubilation. As horrible I sound when I attempt to croon, I started to sing along and I felt at one with the melodies emitting from television. My son, never one to miss an opportunity to dance and exude felicity, started to clap and boogie as Jordin Sparks belted her rendition of the Supremes hit in the background.
No matter the muck in the world, always find the melody that speaks to your soul. Meet the rhythm that gives joys to my blues, song by the Supremes, joy by my son Yohannes:: #Ethiopia #Love #FikerYashenifal pic.twitter.com/wRKr1Vkyzs
— Teodrose Fikremariam (@TeodroseFikre) February 19, 2021
Despite the concert taking place in the White House with political deep fakes like the Obamas, Biden and a motely crew of frauds in attendance, I shook their dirt off my shoulders and just embraced the resonance. You see, life is what we make of it and our moods are a reflection of what we seek; we can either focus on miseries or embrace the subtle occasions that give meaning to the universe. I refused to let grifters in the background evaporate the rising sense of delight in my heart. The First Bank President and the Crypt Keeper currently occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue were erased from my mind by the pure cheerfulness of my son.
It was at this precise moment that I realized a lesson I learned a long time ago; no matter how much we care about justice and no matter how much we rage against the iniquities of this world, we cannot let the multiplying inequalities of society steal our optimism. It is imperative that we ground ourselves in the staccatos of gratitude in between the bars of infringements. I write this to the author as much as the sojourners who try daily to bend the arc of history towards due process; find your balance and seek thankfulness in the face of resentment or else you will sink your disposition in a sea of animosity.
I am thankful to my son for being a beacon and reminding me that all is perfect in this world despite the breaches of our time. There is a message in between the melody you see, we truly cannot hurry redress anymore than we can rush love. All we can do is our part and then leave to a greater power the rest. In spite of the excesses, rather in defiance of the surpluses of suffering we keep witnessing about us, we must find it within our essence to embrace every minute of life and relish the ups and downs of living while we are still breathing. I learned this one lesson from my son Yohannes—feel everything in the moment. One second tears, the next second bliss; we must emulate the innocence of children to find heaven on this earth. #LessonsFromChildren Click To Tweet
“Only that day dawns to which we are awake. There is more day to dawn. The sun is but a morning star.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
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Teodrose Fikremariam
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