#MyWordForToday is #Stability

#MyWordForToday is #Stability

Human beings are perhaps the only animals that actively crave for stability, and would do almost everything to gain that. 

Other animals are usually in constant motion, foraging for food, shelter, safety etc. Once they are unable to find these in a location, they will disrupt their current circumstances, to go in search of greener pastures. 

You see, life is about change. You can be stable in a place, or a set of circumstances for years, and BOOM, everything changes. Your life, as you know it becomes turned upside down.

Many of us know this because we often mouth the phrase "the only constant thing in life is change".

This, however, does not stop us from craving stability. I do believe it is a basic human need, and we all have to be stable in order to thrive.

It is the stability of both the Sun and Moon that enables us to plan for the future and perhaps live normal lives.

Stability can then mean achieving "a state of equilibrium", "a life that is not prone to fluctuations". It can also mean living a "calm and tranquil life".

Stability is particularly important for children, because a lot of adult problems stem from issues encountered, and unresolved, from childhood.

I was saying on my Twitter the other day that Michael Jackson had everything. Fame,  fortune, the adulation of many people, but he was also intensely unhappy.

When I wondered out loud about this, lots of people were of the opinion, that there were issues unresolved from his childhood, stemming perhaps,  from being thrust into stardom, so early in life. 

Children in war-torn places around the world live such tragic lives, and it is so painful to watch.

In Nigeria, we have children who are suffering from a disruption of their childhood because of the unrest in those parts of the Country. 

These children are put in "Internally-displaced Persons Camps" and referred to as IDPs. Some of them have lost their homes, some both parents, and everything their lives were. 

All sorts of unimaginable things happen in those places, and I cannot begin to imagine what life holds for these poor children if they become adults in those circumstances. In fact, as it is, life is already tortuous and unstable.

It is funny that stability, although very important may deprive one of being resilient. The phrase "a ship is safe in harbour, but this is not what ships are built for" resonates here.

We will never grow resilient if we remain in the harbour of life.

In my view, this makes stability enigmatic. If we do not have a stable life, we may never build a comfort zone. If we never build a comfort zone, what exactly are we getting out of? 

That sounded weird, right 😩? As one can actually be stable in crime. Crime, therefore, is that person's comfort zone/harbour or stable place.

Being stable in life, finances, career,  marriage and parenthood can be comforting. But it can also, over time, become stale and confining. 

My people would say "one who has a cap, does not have a head. One who has a head does not have a cap". 😊

This, in the context of stability, means some people live turbulent lives, as in the story of the IDPs, and just want some sort of stability. While others live stable, comforting lives, which have become confining for them.

I'm likening the latter to wearing a tie that made you look dapper at the beginning of your day, but that is beginning to chafe at your neck as the day went by. 

My musing this morning has thus led me to conclude that life is all about balance.

Although stability cannot be underestimated in our lives, we must also prepare, as much as we can, for curveballs and disruptions. Life is always susceptible to change. 

It is very important to be mindful that life, all of it, is a gift, and must be treated as such. 

We must also remember that  "A great future does not require a great past".  

Namaste🙏🏾

Bibireosefowora 💌