People like me who grew up around the elderly ones, fit into their ways and go out to share their words among his peers are called ọmọ ọ̀dọ̀ àgbà: literally elderly circle's kid.
Almost always, the words from the elderly are deep, often mystic or esoteric, strange and rare. They are what the Yorùbá called Àdìtú; the loose English translation I can give it is ‘the enigmatics.’
They are often incomprehensible until the elderly break them down. They are often tight and difficult. Only the elders can loose them.
For instance, the elders know the reasons behind every name. They tell us why a thing or person is so named, and so on.
Friend! Wait! Is life not actually enigmatic?
We often complain about the dark, but can we cope if there's no night and all we have is the day all through?
There's the notion that danger lurks in the dark. But the world has gone so wild that evils are perpetrated in broad day light.
Recall the various armed robberies, kidnapping, suicide bombing et al. that happened in the day? That is to show you that there's no darkness except in the closet of man's heart.
This realization keeps returning me to the words of Rumi that reads:
“Congratulations to the world for the sparkling sun and the glittering moon. But if the heart is in darkness, there's no light anywhere.”
Let me stop here today…
Since you're here, expect more of this.
But if you've not subscribed, do that below so you can get them straight in your inbox:
If you have subscribed, you can take it further to read ABOUT ÀDÌTÚ NEWSLETTER HERE
Cheers 🥂