JOLT!

Some time ago, my thoughts, by its own will, strayed far away from me and drifted towards my brains ‘Out of Bound’ area of life’s eventual inevitability. It was not that I had recently witnessed or even experienced that situation at that time, but my mind just wandered- a careless move - to my own eventual ‘The End’: Death.  Momentarily my heart jump twice in my chest and my pulse quickened!  This reaction lasted 3seconds, but were I to be in my 50s it was enough to throw me into a lethal shock. That reaction could be none other than Fear…a fear of ‘kicking more than just the bucket’. A fear that when I pass away ‘My Own’ world- as I view it, my own thought process, ‘my own’ rational, MY OWN ‘ALL’ will seize to exist from that day, forever! kai! What a jolt!

I was able to rein in my wandering thoughts as fast as possible, and successfully buried it 66ft below brain level, until I was recently reminded of the IT, by the words of a septuagenarian close and dear to me. That ‘Jolt’ again, so fresh, so new…still there.

 His words,’ I have lived my life and now my only fear is in death’.

 In my small mind I had always believed that people who have seen the world, accomplished much, and are blessed with old age, yet cursed with aging pains, would be eager to go to meet their Maker and rest peacefully; apparently I have thought wrong. There is fear in dying, even in old age it is clear and present.

 The thought that the aged, even the fulfilled ones, hold fears about their final depart from earth troubled me and I reflected, ‘why die?’,  ‘why all the entire life’s struggle to achieve much more than we can even contain when in the end it is from dust to dust…nothing added! I laboured with my thoughts, deeply considering why shouldn’t I just do the little I can for Me; put in no more effort required, and enjoy more? Live and sustain the immediate things that concern ME basically, ‘because in the end I won’t know anything after! But could that still stop the Jolt that I associate with fear for my end?

It is a fright of a 'subconsciously' suspected emptiness. I later realized that no matter how prepared people of the modern  and old religion say they are about meeting their Almighty there is still this uncertainty that is laced with fear in their minds somewhere. No matter how these individuals have successfully encapsulated their consciousness about a 'joyous after life', 66ft below that their perception is a 'fear'…

Question: Are These religious clergies-icons of our faith immune to this reaction too? Answer: Humanly I would say No, but we have successfully buried that thought with a mile long of beliefs, delusions and notions, and decided not to think about it.

There is a certain jolt that comes with that thought of The End-it is realistic-, and I do get scared! I know some people will want to quote some verses of the Holy Book to me, but please do not get me wrong, I am not loving life way too much- even though I do, but I just worry that everything that 'means' Me will be over! JOLT!!!

Its Black Its White.

                                   
What is wrong with this shade of dark? Anything out of place: eyes, nose, lips, jaw…anything?

The WHO have said that ‘ 77% of women in Nigeria use skin lightening product, the highest in the world’; mind you, this statistic does not includes the number of men who have also discovered their own ‘beauty’ in being fair complexioned. 77%! Now that is a lot of skin lightening happening! …A complexion lightening that usually excludes the knuckles, elbows, knees and the et&c of some parts of the body. 

I am not talking about the slight skin toning that is…well, not so bad, but it is about the total skin bleaching: from dark to a very obvious ‘false’ fair complexion…which, trust me, even the best one done still is noticeable.

It is a wonder what these fine people really hope to achieve when they bleach their skin. Is it that they have the ‘wacko jacko’ syndrome which has made them yearn for acceptance by both the white and black races- in Nigeria?! Or is it ‘the wacko’s ‘alleged’ skin discoloration disease that they have? Or again, is it a Beauty trip?- am hoping the men who bleach will also give me an answer here.

‘WHO said that some chemical properties used in those lightening cream are toxic and harmful to a normal skin and to health when used wrongly’. These products are meant for serious medical conditions, like injuries from burns or other skin defects, and not a beauty therapy- two extremes by 100%!

What is mind boggling about the misuse of these products is that despite the obvious evidence of the damage they do to the skin, on a long or short run, a lot of people-even the beautiful young people- still use them. At the early stage it might seem to look good, but in a while some obvious parts of the skin will refuse to respond to the bleaching properties in the cream, and then the burnt black patches begins to show.  Even the most expensive whitening products have its duration of effectiveness, and not to mention the tropical sunny weather in Nigeria, that can be roasting. These skin damages are usually permanent and ugly- and then the question, ‘Beauty trip’…really? Like someone said “the knuckles will give you up”!

Ladies being very light skinned could be attractive, yes, but it ends there. The eventual outcome of skin bleaching is not worth the trouble at all. You will spend more trying to heal your damaged skin- that is if it heals at all, or covering it up with layers of makeup.

As for the men who use these bleaching products, what really is the deal? The poem goes ‘…my fair lady’, so where do you fit in?

There is nothing wrong with your natural skin colour: black, dark, choc or fair, and there is absolutely nothing out of place with it. Polish your skin with the right vitamins and skin products, and wear it well.

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