simple life

The experience had been all things. It had introduced me to another world; a world where things had less significance, where living has nothing much to it. The stories of the early men were made more real in my heart. Only that this is the 21st century, very little had changed for this people though. Living entails basically few things that people don’t even consider anymore. On this side of life, these things form the core of their lives. All other things are just superficial; a sin!
                Life couldn’t be any simpler when all you need do is wake, eat, play, “love”, sleep. Working is just something you could do; a choice seldom made. And those who make such choice do so just for essentially daily bread, nothing more. No waste! Surely that is a pious advice.
                Wake, eat, play, “love”, sleep as it is, is quite a huge job sometimes. Not everybody gets through with that daily.
                Wake for a simple life can be around 10 am. He is the head man in charge. There is no need to rush out of bed. The day is going to be just exactly the same as yesterday. The nitty-gritties remain the same for each day. Everything is kept simple.
                Eat comes with a N10 price, that’s all! T.D (tuwon dawa) and green soup, ba Nama, is such a delicious delicacy. Everyman, even middle class Almanjeri, can afford a plate. A pot of water is surely waiting you in those corners. Being refrigerated by nature itself, nobody needs to pay for a cup. Same cup everybody uses each time they stop by for a drink. You would like to know when last the water pot was washed. Never is the answer. By the time you’ve got N30 a day, you’re more than surviving.
                Play is major. It can take as much time as you are willing to give. In this case, it’s like forever. Why deny yourself the only one thing that could possibly fill up your day? It will be a shame to waste such lovely shade Dogo Yaro trees provide so lying under the tree all day long with a couple of jobless or seemingly job engaged friends is perfect. Seemingly job engaged since his tray of Goro only decreases because it aids there chatting. Most of the Goro goes for free. Can he do anything when only Allah brings profit? Play has no limit even if it’s to toss around in the soil, it’s still called play. And age doesn’t come in to play.
                “Love”.  OMG! Nothing could ever be greater. It is natural. Never too much especially when you have enough to share and get back. Nothing like unrequited love around here. You have no choice even if you do, it will only be in your head. Your actions must comply with the expected norms. A girl is nurtured from birth to respect her husband and totally submit to him. She’s reared for it! A man is entitled to up to four channel of pleasure. Allots a time for each one of them. No quarrel; no squabbles. If his strength would fail him, Magani (drugs) will do the magic.
                Sleep ends the day. And such day could end 2 am second morning, not unless you don’t want to finish your rounds around the hut. You determine when your day ends don’t you?
                Hardly do you find work on the list or at least not what would be recognized as work in the complicated life. It’s surely a simple life around here. The head of the house sets a table in front of his house displaying few leafs of vegetable, little seeds of tomatoes, onion and groundnut spices. All his capital is just around N500 and has sold nothing in the last two days. He is not bother. He’s got no bills to pay; children fend for their selves, wives are on their own. The N50 he dropped two days ago should carry the women for three more days and he still got another N50 stashed in his Baba Riga. Sugar cane is free, his brother sells that. What else could he be looking for then?
Begging is such a lucrative business. If you know multiplication a bit, then you know N1 could multiply well in numbers. Unless there is shortage of cheerful givers, you’d never run out of business. That much, cheerful givers could easily give N30 out and that has covered a day. No aspiration whatsoever. Why aspire when your life isn’t owned by you? Collecting Sadaka is perfect. Blessed are the cheerful givers! Meaning there must be a taker.
Here is the taker-SIMPLE LIFE!