By Nimi Princewill
‘Something must kill a man!’ As heartwarming and pleasant as that phrase sounds, it’s a nagging reminder that neither of us will be lucky to get out of Earth alive! Well, of course, except the Astronauts. Nevertheless, you get to live for as long as your cause of death is yet to catch up with you. Your own time of passing, although, not entirely up to you to decide, may be partly dependent on what you do or believe in.
One’s fate or cause of death can be delayed, depending on faith (for those who are rooted in one), safety precautions, or healthy living. However, you should also note that just because you eat right and exercise regularly, doesn’t mean you can’t fall prey to a life-threatening ailment anyway. The same way, taking the right precautions and ensuring to be at the right place at the right time, doesn’t guarantee you won’t be at the next scene of an unexpected bomb blast.
Humans are wired to vacate the Earth in various ways, and at a certain time, as there are obviously a million ways to die. Some of these ways have become more popular than the others, because of the civil unrest all over the world. People rarely die in their sleep anymore. They’re either murdered by robbers, rival gangs, terrorists, or are consumed by all varieties of accidents, domestic violence, war, epidemics and so on. Nonetheless, whatever takes the life of someone (regardless of how random or unexpected it happened), was predetermined for such person.
If one is not predestined to die a certain way, or at a certain time, none of such incidents can snatch his or her life away. That’s the reason people ‘miraculously’ survive what others do not. Interestingly, a few moments before I rounded off this article, a loved one phoned (at quite perfect timing) and narrated how he narrowly survived electrocution, after being knocked almost unconscious by a high-voltage cable. I simply smiled, expressed my happiness and carried on writing.
“Smokers are liable to die young,” cries the Ministry of Health. “Yeah right!” an aged smoker sarcastically replied. He’s been a chimney for nearly forty years of his life, and can boast of a clean bill of health without any damage to his internal organs. Some other person, may tarry on cigarette for just two years, and end up with lung cancer!
People survive ghastly motor accidents, severe bullet wounds, tragic plane crashes and even massive bomb explosions. A lot of people were lost to Ebola, while a few others were quarantined and left for dead, but amazingly survived. One could lower his or her guard (just one time) and end up with a killer STD, while another, could stunningly turn out to be uninfected after numerous encounters of having unprotected sexual relations. Babies are easily snuffed out of the womb during abortions, but some strange babies just wouldn’t leave despite the attempts. In every country, the safest person is presumably the President. Some Presidents still got assassinated anyway, despite the rigid security.
People only die from what’s meant to kill them. Sadly, you can’t exactly tell which and when is yours. So, live right, put your house in order, hold on to some faith/belief (if possible), and live everyday like it’s your last!
Bio: Nimi Princewill is a Nigerian-born writer and social reformer.
Email: princewill.nimi@yahoo.com
Twitter: @princewill_nimi
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