How Do They Do It?

 How do they do it?

Today, I challenged myself to a ten-thousand-step walk in the scorching sun just for the sake of it. It went well; no need to bore you with the details. However, while I rested next to the boda boda riders, I observed the hundreds of people around me as they struggled through life. Or life pushed itself through them.

I saw a group of schoolchildren—weary and happy—laughing through the dusty tarmac; several madmen moved around mumbling to themselves and sneering at other people. A young couple walked the busy street hand in hand—as if life threatened to separate them. A few beautiful ladies slid by in lordly abandon, quite aware of the salivating stares being shot at them. The boda boda riders near me kicked the slow tick-tock of time with meaningless banter. But most of all, it was the way people lived with a sense of detachment that intrigued me the most.

I couldn't help but ask myself how those people felt about what life had forced them to become. Did the boda boda guys enjoy spending the entirety of their day under a shade arguing about politics and football? Did the hawkers enjoy walking the daunting sun day in and day out just to feed their stomachs? Hell, did they fancy reacting to life instead of forging one they would marvel at?

Perhaps I'm thinking from a point of privilege—I see life as something to be conquered, an entity that is subject to our own will. Who is to say that the ignorant point of view that I pride myself on isn't flawed? As I'm busy trying to force my will into nature and life in general, these people are busy living—even if they don't have the smarts to differentiate between living and surviving.

Look at nature and animals—that seamless and flawless way in which the two collaborate—and how the animals put nature on a pedestal. Nature comes first; it sieves and chooses the species with detachment—there are no favourites. The river flows freely; it doesn't punish animals for defecating on it. The gazelle eats grass to be eaten by the lion—and neither the grass nor the gazelle boycotts the status quo.

What if these people are simply doing the same? What if they're smart enough to understand that life and nature came first and what they decide goes? While we look at nature as an obstacle, they look at it as a mirror—who's smarter?

Still, I can't shake the question—how do they do it?