Yes, Debre Birhan is chilly!
Walk as you may. Walk as I do or as you like. One of my
colleagues and friends advises me to be self-aware when I walk. You walk self-aware
or not, you may get the opportunity to observe others. While you walk, you will
not come across any men wearing sandals. This is probable. However, the women
here, on the contrary, wear sandals and flip-flops since, I think, they prioritize
beauty over health.
The wearing style of Debre Birhan, as is elsewhere, is influenced
by the weather. This weather requires one to conform. If not, they shall taste
the consequence. Sometimes, if not often, we feel some form of discomfort and
complain from the way we wear. By we, I mean the residents of this quiet town.
Recently, my feet have attracted criticism and scorn from a
number of guys. Teachers who meet me have kept asking me how I wear sandals
this time around. “If it were in the lowland areas, okay,” they remark. I tell
them my plight by which they seem unconvinced. “You know, sir, it is summer time now. It is
very cold. In addition, as you see, it rains. The sun shines only rarely,” they
try to persuade me in vain.
Some of my friends and colleagues attribute my decisions to
stubbornness. “My friend, you have some rules that do not seem logical. You
don’t treat people as we do. You don’t take meat to your home. You... You don’t...”
they try their best. However, this is me. This is not them. This is my
upbringing. This is my learning. This is my religion. Kkk.
You, the reader, yes you…
While you are reading, you have been confused about what
point I am about to make. I’m not to make a point about say, what has crossed
my mind now - why almost certainly there is no God. We will talk about such
matters another time.
Hold on, please. Let me tell you a story. A story of a
not-too-young English teacher: Ten months. Teach. TEACH. Think about teaching
only. Forget self.
It is my summer vacation now. I feel a respite. I have a two
or three-month break. My holiday is at least a time in which I think about
myself. Even if I can’t travel and visit
some places of interest, I can listen to myself. What I mean by myself is I
think about my physical self. I notice my feet. Oh, you belong to me? I just
trim my nails. I wash my feet. For those of you who do not know Amharic, my
language, ‘feet’ is ‘face’ in the Amharic language. I wash both my Amharic and
English feet.
I see the space between my toes. It is rotten. Fungus? I went
to the pharmacy or chemists. The chemist recommended me an ointment. I applied
that a few times. My feet started to dry and become normal. Washing with the
soap recommended. Scraping or peeling the
dead skin.
Again I kept them in shoes. Shoes which are tight at times.
The shoes that I wear all day long. I only get relief only at night when I go
to sleep.
The tip of the iceberg. This feet issue is just an indicator
of the forgotten self. Do I know if I am ever thinking about myself? Can I
tell? I just can’t. I am forgotten by myself.
In this summer season most often I am wearing the sandals I
bought from Anbessa shoes. They are comfortable. They made my walking easier
and enjoyable. My toes are healing. I feel the release of pain all over my
body.
A few years ago I bought a beautiful pair of sandals from
kangaroo shoes. When I went to my place of birth to visit my family, I forgot
them there. They eventually send them to a guy who has a bad attitude towards
me and either he kept the shoes to himself or threw them away. That is why my
feet are rotting. He really avenged me.
I think about things that can transform my life and state of
being. Only because of my shoes. Only because of the simple respite I am
talking about.
Another few years ago. When I was at the present day Birana
Academy compound, I had a spongy plastic pair of sandals which kept me bled
every time I wore it. It was after a year or so of suffering and bleeding that
I discovered that a sharp piece of glass stuck in it. I got a relief then. I
was about to weep. Even tears won’t comfort me. When I stepped on it, it
pierced my feet. Uhhh!
Let me tell you. If your life is not balanced and if you do
not allot adequate time for yourself, you shall live miserable days. Those
miserable days shall beget other miserable days. And so and so forth. And this
will lead you to untimely death and disaster. You die mentally!
In the cold weather of my town I rather enjoy walking in
sandals which give me freedom. Free at last! Free at last!
Do you remember Covey’s lesson on the blood vessels which had
to be cut out and replaced? Yes. They couldn’t rejuvenate. They were not cared
for on time. Our body fails us if we forget it. It shall avenge itself hugely.
Then, we definitely tumble down.
Why don’t we give ourselves a time?
A time not only for the physical being – shaving hair,
manscaping, bathing, massaging, having a medical check-up, wearing suitable
clothes, perfumes, ointment etc.
A time also for the emotional being,
A time also for the spiritual being,
A time for the mental being as well.
Have you got the point I am making? I hope you have. You
abuse your body. Then you will be abused back. You treat it kindly. It treats
you kindly back. If you walk fast, as my friend said noticing how fast I walked,
as if you lost a cow and you are looking for it, you will not have time to see
your surroundings, listen to yourself or decide about tomorrow. Please calm down!
ምንም አስተያየቶች የሉም:
አስተያየት ይለጥፉ