It was weekend again. All that was on my mind was submitting the documents to my client and leaving the towers. I had to catch the Virgin Nigeria 18.35 flight out of Abuja. I just hoped that Mercy would not have closed by the time I got upstairs.
Mercy was not there when I got upstairs. She did not come to work that day! Fortunately, Ebun was there to receive the documents from me. After acknowledging receipt of the documents, I grabbed the acknowledgment copy and headed for the lift. Luckly, I did not have to wait for long before the lift came by. When the doors pulled open, I got in to find there was no one else in it apart from the lift operator. It was a quite ride all the way from the 6th floor till we reached the 2nd floor. The lift operator broke the silence when he greeted in a low, timid voice
“Happy Weekend”.
In Lagos, where I have been leaving for the last 5 years, When a man greets you happy weekend, he actually expects you to respond by giving him a tip. Just something to enjoy the weekend with. So, without hesitating, I pulled out my wallet and reached for some note to give the man.
“Oga, abeg you go manage am o cos e no much”
I pleaded as I streched the money towards him. The man looked shocked and embarrassed. His expression was like “What could have warranted this insult from this young man”. I was very embarrassed. I apologised deeply to him. Then there was dead silence in the lift. After what seemed like hours the lift finally reached the ground floor and the doors opened. I apologized once again as I bolted out glad to leave his tormenting presence. Despite all my apologies, I still felt very bad.
When I got to the office I narrated the incident to my colleague. He laughed!
“Don’t you see the phones those guys carry and the clothes they wear?”
He asked.
“Omo leave oh! These guys are very well paid. I would not be suprised if he has a brand new car outside in the parking lot. If anyone around greets me happy weekend, my response is happy weekend! I don’t take chances.”
The lesson had sunk in. I packed my bag and headed for the basement where the driver was waiting for me.
The next week started on a good note but somehow I found myself consciously avoiding that lift operator.I opted to using the other lifts at the western wing of the tower with the hope that I do not bump into him. This went on till Wednesday when like the prodigal son, I came to myself.
“Would you run forever son?”
I asked myself.
“Why not face your devil once and for all so that you can be free again?”
I decided I was consciously going to watch out for him to apologize and lay the matter to rest.
It was about 10 a.m on Friday. I was going upstairs for a review meeting with my client. I decided to use the lift. When the lift door opened it was him! Finally!! Unfortunately, all I could do was graciously nod a good morning to him as the lift was full.
“Well, I would catch you later”
I thought to myself.
As I went about my activities, I discovered I was actually looking forward to the encounter. Somehow, throughout the day, the second lift always seemed to come around before his. But my moment finally came at about 4 p.m. When the lift door pulled opened he was alone. I greeted him as I stepped in.
“How is the day?”
I asked
“Fine oh!”
He replied.
“Sorry about last week”
I said looking into his eyes
“Last week?”
He asked.
“What happened last week?”
“You can’t remember?”
I asked.
“Please remind me”
He pleaded.
“If you can’t remember then the better for the two of us.”
I responded
“Ah! Remind me now…”
He begged.
“Let it pass. It’s nothing”
I responded.
With a puzzled look on his facing, still trying to recall whatever could have happened, he smiled and said something I would never forget.
“Last week?… But this week has been good. Why bother about last week?”
I thought briefly about it, smiled and nodded my head. Just about then the lift door opened. As I stepped out I greeted him Happy Weekend. This time not guilty striken as I felt a week before, but with confidence and a clear conscience - the kind that comes with true freedom.
“At last. That has been put to rest.”
I thought as I headed back to my office. With each step I took I knew It was truly going to be a happy weekend!
Well I have faced my devil. What about you? What, in your last week, are you still holding on to? Is it worth the burden it has placed on you? Why not address it and put it behind you? Remember, you remain it’s prisoner until you address it. And like me, you may just find out that it has moved on!
So what are you waiting for? Forgive yourself, apologize to that person, pick up the phone and make that call, send a text message, send an instant message, leave an offline, walk up to him/her. Face your devil. Free yourself. When you open the dragon’s cage to face it, you may be suprised to find that it has been the shadow of a praying mantis that has been terrifying you all along.
HAPPY WEEKEND!!!
- Deji Olatunde
Thank you for your memorable stories!
Thank you for using your talent to encourage us!
God bless and may your continue to glorify His name!
hmmmmmmmm! dis is something… Today is all we have, yesterday’s gone n tomorrow just might never be ours… time never stands still, it keeps ticking off every second we live… y hold on to yesterday’s issues… all they do is blind our today… thereby depriving us of our tomorrow. “Let it pass” pple, so we can c d brighter light ahead.
Deji…This is a good one and funy enough, I talked at length with my housemate last night on a subject that dwelt on dealing with past relationships.Sometimes, you can actually “let it pass”, but in some cases, you have every reason to not ‘let it pass’ cos if it’s let pass, it might resurface tomorrow if it was not dealt with.So I liked your idea of having to face the issue until it was addressed.I realised that in our daily encounters and relationships with others esp as adults, it’s important to not gloss over issues though they may look seemingly unimportant.We should consciously shut doors properly and courageously when reality and purpose demands so rather than ‘let it pass’…ie why a lot of people hold on to the past b/c they felt time will heal or cover up the past.Rather the past is to be faced and dealt with b4 it can lose its power over us…and Dr Miles Monroe offers that ‘ the past we’re ready to talk about without feeling ashamed, is the past we’ve conquered and dealt with’..keep up the good work buddie!
Face your devil. Free yourself…..Is it worth the burden it has placed on you? Why not address it and put it behind you? – Wisdom is speaking!
Great article…bless you my brother!
Deji…well put! God bless you for sharing such a powerful message using an “every day” simple life reality… How you dey my brother?
Cheers!
Good one and very inspiring too… May God continue to feed you with his wisdom, knowledge and understanding and may you continually be blessed even as you bless others with these WORDS OF WISDOM. Bless you…
U knw i re-read ths bt it has a nu meaning every tym.1-samtyms we cnt face sam aspect of our careers coz we screwd up.big deal.face ur demons.n de-powa them,also let it pas afta dat.its no use.it wil poison today n yestaday is d worst it wil eva hv get. 2-so u pisd of ur pal or let him or ha dwn .n ur harbouring it -guilt n shame.u dint turn up4 d event,turn up2help ha wit samthng..ok.sure u mesd up but instead of starting2days conversatn on a melancholy tone wen ‘they hav obviously let it pas’ ,DO UR SOUL A FAVOUR,n let it pas.they knw ur sory.learn24 gv urself.sawa(ok?) gud work D eji.am xpectn mo frm u..:-)