Everyone has been singing it. Social media was recently flooded with it. People made jokes at gatherings out of it. Nigerian musician, Obesere, will be full of joy and satisfaction that his song has been trending on social media. The song is Egungun be careful. Released about 19 years ago, a part of the song only recently flooded social media and was on almost everyone’s lips. So, what does this song really mean?
On the surface, it is just about a masquerade walking towards the expressway and its need to be careful while doing so. But when you dig deep, there is a lot you come to understand.
1.All of us our masquerades to some people.
Life is complicated. There is a whole lot we don’t understand about it. When it comes to the men and women that make life worthwhile, they are even more complicated. You may meet a person you really don’t like. But after a while, you may end up becoming best friends with that person. You may also like a person and even get along well with him or her and suddenly start hating that person for one reason or the other. You may begin to wonder why you liked that person in the first place.
Humans are like an onion – the more you peel open the different layers of their personalities, the more likely you are to shed tears, either tears of joy or tears of disappointment.
Once upon a time, there was a guy who obviously wanted to be my friend. He kept clinging to me, and I was irritated by it all. I even withdrew from him for a while. Eventually, I accepted his friendship. We ended up becoming good friends. I can say that I benefited from that friendship just as he did too. The obnoxious guy ended up becoming the cool guy. Such is life.
The truth is that the first time you meet someone, it’s like they are wearing a mask. They are hiding their true self from you, much like a masquerade does. It takes some time, some digging deep, some close association – to get to see the real person behind the mask.
2.Life’s journey can be very dangerous.
Many of us have dreams and goals. Children want to become doctors, engineers, accountants, and lawyers. Young adults want to have good jobs, happy marriages and families. Older ones want to have a comfortable retirement and successful children. In the midst of all this, we tend to forget about all the bad things that could happen along the way. Some people don’t even want to think about it, they fear it brings them bad luck.
A man may be about to get married and he dies just before doing it. A lady might be about to have her first child and she dies in the process of giving birth. Literally anything can happen the next minute. Nothing is sure. Just like a masquerade about to cross the expressway is in danger of getting hit by a car, all of us are in danger on this journey called life. Although being very careful does help, sometimes it doesn’t matter whether you are careful or not. Things just happen. Being alive in itself, is a risk.
But don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of interesting and pleasurable parts of life. The refreshment that comes from drinking a glass of cold water on a hot day. The joy that comes from finishing a task and doing it well. The pleasure of seeing a loved one after a long time apart. All of that more than makes up for it.
3.Some of the best advice can be gotten from strangers.
Egungun be careful is a good piece of advice from one person to a total stranger. Not a friend. Friends tend to not want to hurt your feelings. They like you and hardly ever see anything bad in you. Months or years of socialising with you can also make them blind to your faults. But not so with a stranger.
A stranger has the freedom to bluntly tell you your faults to your face. A stranger doesn’t care much about your feelings and emotions. A stranger is not biased when telling you the truth about yourself. For that reason, you can trust the words of a stranger more than that of a friend. Except of course, the stranger has some selfish agenda.
A man I met for the first time, told me some shocking truths about my personality. I was a bit embarrassed, but later on, I thought long and hard about it. At that point, I decided to learn from his words. I don’t think anyone has ever been that blunt to me before. Still, I respect and admire him for what he did.
4.If you are not in a position to take on a task, don’t do it alone.
Motivational speakers will always encourage you to push yourself in order to do the impossible. But take my advice: If you are not in a position to carry out a task, don’t do it. Ask for help if you must do it. The masquerade in Obesere’s song is in very real danger of being hit by a vehicle because it is unable to see clearly while crossing the expressway.
Being in a masquerade costume is very limiting. The person in the costume cannot see as he or she would have if they were not wearing the costume. This is why some masquerades have a handler who directs them on where to go and where not to go. Going solo is a bad idea for a masquerade and a bad idea for you too.
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