DEATH AND HUMAN OPTIMISM
By: Tijani Abdullahi
Many people have been living, struggling despite the fact that they had known before hand, that there is inevitability in death. But then, is it not surprising that people live as if they will not leave the world again?
There are so many things that open my mouth in wonderment about how people live so lively in this life. Whosoever has known his soul will soon be taken in unscheduled time is supposed not to be living vibrantly but listlessly.
Human optimism, I suppose has given humans the full audacity to think we would remain in this world till eternity. A concept which I conceptualize as a kind of creed and hope is keeping all alive even when there’s no certainty of living further.
Human optimism is what has been keeping us to move progressively when we not certain of progress. It is an instrument which has been giving us hope where there is no foreseeability of hope. We forecast possibly some bright futures, whereas not all future are certain, some are impossible.
Before I conclusively arrive at this concept, I have notably noticed some exemplary instances, where the hope of human is higher than its life itself. I have noticed how human tried to find space where there is none, and how we suffer to survive in this life of vanity.
Let’s imagine an individual lying on a sick bed severely suffering from some unbearable illness which is late to be healed or due to some circumstances has already been despaired by our hopeless doctor. A person who has known that there will be end for living and non-living should be able to request for an end. But, human optimism will not permit him to speak nor seek for the natural phenomenon (death).
I have noticed circumspectly time without number of the scrupulous attitude of all people whenever they visit or present at a burial ground. What is common in all, which I have noticed is that when a man is looking at graves, spread in hundreds, thinking of what is probably happening to his same specie lying helplessly below the surface, all alone in a room of darkness, will be quiet. While in his state of observation thinking, the observant thinker will be scrupulous in his mind. I mean he will be well behaved and indifferent only at the moment. He will be reluctant to say or any immoral act and be busy thinking about the life after life(death). But what is confusing most is that the minute he moves out of the scene, it will be like his brain is being formatted and he will forget all that he had seen, heard and thought of, some minutes ago. He forgot, so as to move progress in life and not to remain stagnant. So what’s this? Human Optimism.
Can we take a cognizance view on how the old refuse to accept that they’re old. We can take a classical example of our country. The old men have refused to relinquish their power to the youth, claiming they are not too old to still run the government. Time changes but the system remain stagnant. Having known for certain of what will be of their end, still, they live as if they will have no end. With the power of human optimism, which they are using to foresee uncertain future, they continue to accumulate and subjugate the young. Then it is not surprising that they said word populations rigorously increase every day and time. Obviously it is because the young are meeting the old when the old supposed to have left the system for the young.
This conception has been the instrument which has made life sustainable. So at a point in time when you feel remorseful, instead of losing hope and being pessimistic.
Though, it is good to aim, dream, want, and to have visions and missions, but then we need to have it in mind that we will all die like the past leaders did.