Today's thoughts.

Hello, my people.

I thought I’d share with you 5 thoughts yet again…

I keep telling people; the longer you live, the more knowledge you acquire. Now, one would argue that the older you are, the wiser you’d be but since nothing is absolute except death in this world, it isn’t always the case. Older people aren’t necessarily smarter than young people; they simply know more about life, pain, failure, success, joy, death most likely, loss, heartbreaks, corporate politics, political stuff, etc. Experience cannot be bought…It must be earned and the only way to earn that, is to live and going through some shit! That’s just it.

If you are not learning about history, you are missing out. The past has this incredible gift of explaining the present and sometimes predicting the future given that human nature hasn’t changed much since humans started roaming the earth. Listen, you don’t even have to start big by reading about the Roman empire which seems to be in vogue these days. Simply start by asking your parents about their parents and if your grand parents are still alive, ask them about their parents, origins, etc. You will be surprised at the amount of knowledge you’ll get, and you’ll find yourself understanding your family and especially your parents better. Do that simple research…It’s totally worth it.

Getting older sucks in one specific area; people die more often than when you are young. I am about to be 42 which means my dad is in his mid-70s and my mom is already gone. But that’s not the end of the line. My uncles and aunts, my friends’ parents, even people my age or in their 50s and 60s are starting to die. It’s disorienting when you know that as you get older, more people are going to die. When death becomes an integral part of your life, you must question life itself, your priorities, your behavior, goals, flaws, qualities, purpose and especially the way you treat yourself and others. How about we spend a bit more time loving others and trying to avoid unnecessary conflicts? Where are hate and resentment going lead us if not to our own ugly and insipid demise? Smile more, for real! And love even more!

You know what I find funny about this fast-paced world we live in? It’s our inability to separate the crucial things from the truly unimportant things. It’s hard to miss because it happens to us all the time. I have this friend who spends their time on social media getting upset about injustices happening thousands of km away from them. Now, I do appreciate their passion and their admirable desire to fight off injustices. Yet, those things are happening in the US, and they live in Burundi. She called me last week to tell me she was tired from all the injustice happening in some US states she couldn’t place on a map. My only answer was, “have you thought about taking a break? Logging off and going outside to talk to people here in Burundi, like your family or perhaps the less fortunate and see if you can help?”. I love that she cares about people, and it makes an amazing human being but the algorithm on Instagram keeps bombarding her with the same things, effectively getting her angrier and angrier. I just received a message from her, where she simply wrote, “been off social media and I feel great!”. Log off regularly, people. Otherwise, you’ll go crazy, and you won’t be able to help anyone, especially not yourself!

I cannot recommend enough the book “Sapiens” by Yuval Noah Harari. It is a condensed history of humankind, and it is a fantastic read. Please read it because it will change your view on humanity, history and it would remind you that we are simply in transit on this earth. But most importantly, you will understand people and yourself better. I mean what does the average person know about how humans came to be? How fare we’ve gone? Where religion, economics and agriculture came from and their long term effects to this day on the world? For real! Read it!

Thanks for reading me, my people!

Now smile and go on with your day!

Freeman Binagana