Don’t break the egg
It appears to me that Easter always has something to do with the first quarter of the year, or thereabouts.
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This year on March 29, we will mark Good Friday, which is the Friday before Easter Sunday, on which the Crucifixion of Christ is commemorated in the Christian Church. In previous years too, we had Easter between March and April.
Anyway this year, I am going to do something different— using the spirit of Easter to reflect on life in general, relying on strains of past editions of this column to lay the context. The “Easter Egg” is also important here in this whole analysis. Eggs, as you may know already, represent new life and rebirth and have become part of Easter celebrations.
History has it that in the medieval period, eating eggs was forbidden during Lent (the 40 days before Easter) so on Easter Sunday, tucking into an egg was a real treat! In other words, you need not break the egg.
So, this is where I bring in the past editions. Two years ago, my publication on Easter Saturday (April 16, 2022) was on a report by Oxfam, a global movement fighting inequality and poverty.
The Oxfam report, released on April 12 ahead of the World Bank and IMF Spring meetings painted a grim global economic situation. In that context, my title for the April 16 edition was “Poverty in the midst of pandemic”.
Highlighting the impact of rising food and energy costs on the global economy, the international charity pointed out that put together, the problems facing the global economy could push about a quarter of a billion more people into poverty by the end of 2022.
Okay, let’s take another step back, shall we? Great. In the Saturday, April 3, 2021 edition, (Easter Sunday was on April 4), I had the title “Snakes and ladders” for this column, explaining that ups and downs are part of life. Why is that?
Well, playing the game is fun in many ways, as you experience a succession of both bad and good moments. With Snakes and Ladders, one has to navigate through obstacles, climbing ladders when in the clear, but hindered by the “snakes”, when you fall prey.
In fact, the game represents something more than just trying your luck to climb up a ladder; the snakes that bring you down, as you progress up the board, also represent a life journey complicated by virtues and vices.
And, perhaps, also expresses the impact of luck in our journey in life because your climb up the ladder is largely due to the outcome of the roll of the dice. You have no control over the dice, so if you are lucky with your throw, you get to where you want to be or avoid a snake bite!
I have brought in these two past editions to make the point that even though l never set out to describe them as reflective pieces, they brought out very important facts of life that l believe are important to today’s situation.
Of course in reflective writing, you will have the self in the middle and describe as much as possible how you feel or what you want to express in your view. Reflecting on my own life experience, this is what I wrote in the titled piece, Snakes and Ladders.
“My experience with this board game in my teen years came to mind as l pored over the financial press because of the well of negative stories about the global economy and the pandemic that never seems to dry up.
In all this, l read about a seemingly good experience of possible economic recovery in the not-too-distant future and lurking in the shadows, a story about a possible third wave of viral infections and by extension, intensified problems of the pandemic.
It has been stop-starts- in well over a year, frankly. This was reflecting on how the pandemic had all but cast a dark shadow over the real meaning of life.
Again, in the 2022 edition titled: “Poverty in the midst of plenty”, I had a lot to ponder over too. “So what does the world need most right now? Well, this question occupied my mind as l was reading on global development issues this week.
In fact, this was my usual ‘mental exercise’, that is, routinely reading the financial pages of print and online sources of good editorial.
But there was something quite unusual this time round though, as l found myself deeply engulfed in some strain of thought reading a report released by Oxfam on April 12 [2022]”.
There is always something to think about and reflect on a journey or situation, and that is what l want you to think about as we end the first quarter of the year. As you can infer, the economy is never deterministic, therefore, you shouldn’t expect the solution to any economic problem to be derived from neat equations.
If you look at the board game described above, there are periods that you can seemingly climb the ladder unaided, just as it could be the case when moving up in life and periods that you may need a little push-up.
It can be frustrating sometimes, I know, and I have faced it all before. What l have always done though, just as the economic managers do, is not to despair and allow things to take a “natural course” but to deliberately steer the ship to the desired destination and provide the right anchor that will guarantee stability.
Ah, all too soon, the first quarter of 2024 is over. Is it not like a few weeks ago that we were happily on the streets ushering in 2024? And soon we are on “Hosanna in the Highest” lyrics? That is how time flies when you are having fun, whether paid for or free of charge.
Look, time and tide wait for no man and this life is not a dress rehearsal but the real deal. You have had ample time, I believe, to think about the goals you set for yourself at the start of this year.
Can you say, with a hand on heart, that you have remained true to your word and stayed on course? Can you? If you can’t, don’t worry. Just note that you have played the Snake and Ladders game unknowingly.
You may have been brought down in your climb, but that does not mean that you should quit. If you don’t get tested, you don’t get to know how tough you are and what strength you can fight.
If plan A fails, remember that there are 25 more alphabets to choose from! You can toggle it over till you get to Z. Let this period of Easter help you to bury all the dead wood in your life and have a renewed mind and spirit (just like the resurrection story of Easter) to start afresh with your dreams and aspirations this year.
Straying of course does not mean you can’t get back on track. You surely can get back so get right back up and fight on.
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