One of my regrets has been my reluctance to write about my life – experiences .I like to believe that I am redeeming myself. I am contemplating writing a book, entitled, What If. It will be about my missed opportunities .How I erred for example for not spending enough time with my parents .How different would have been my life, if I engaged them and listen to them with empathy. Now that our parents are no more, suddenly their words have become pearls of wisdom .How I wish; I was more attentive and receptive. I guess this is a regret of many individuals. How I erred by not being more responsive and responsible as a student at school? How I erred for not fully appreciating the transience of life! How I erred for not embracing the habit of reading earlier in my life! The list is endless. I want the book to be didactic and instructive. If you think the rest of this prose is going to be self-deprecatory you are mistaken. We will be living in Utopia if all of us pursued excellence relentlessly and understood fully the ineluctable passage of time. You may delay, but time will not. Yes, this is a powerful reminder.
When we are young we seldom appreciate adult perspectives on life .In fact we sometimes think our parents primarily and occasionally our teachers are not in touch with reality .What was given as advice was misconstrued as sermonizing or pontificating. Their ideas are antiquated (how wrong we were) and at the best of times we felt disengaged and instead of getting into an argument or debate, the right thing to do was not to say anything. What if, we understood the true meaning of life .Then we would have responded differently. One may argue that children are children and they should be allowed to make mistakes .After all this is part of the growing process. Edris , don’t be despondent you might say, you did not turn out too bad anyway.
Whether we were receptive or not to our parents we cannot ignore the impact they have on our life. My public profile can be attributed to my father’s insistence that I must get involved in community organizations and institutions so that I could improve the quality of life of others. My father was actively involved in many organizations and as a result was very well known in the community .I can say with conviction he left a legacy and is worthy of the highest emulation. What about my mother? She is perhaps the most compassionate being I have come across. What a soft heart! What an engaging smile! The impact she had on me cannot be quantified. Like my mother I am very easily moved by the pain of others .I am quick to visit the sick .I attribute this to my mother’s indefatigable stamina when it came to visiting and praying for the sick and indigent. Yes, how we miss them .The whole humanity cannot replace them. I pray that I was a worthy son.

You must believe in yourself .Choose great friends. If you want to do something, do it well. Learn the art of communication. Don’t languish .If you want to something, do it now. Be assertive. Visit the sick. Attend funerals and weddings etc.

Need I say that these were just a few of the recurring messages of my parents .Powerful universal truths.So if your parents are alive …Be there for them. Embrace them and learn from them.