I had one of the most profound conversations of my life last night. When Raven, Mats, and I woke up yesterday, we werent sure where we were going to sleep. We sent out a few last minute couchsurfing requests (which in Amsterdam is a little risky, because its hard enough to find a host a week or two in advance, let alone a few hours in advance) and luckily, we got a reply from an INCREDIBLE Nigerian man named Adeleke. He has been living in Amsterdam for a few months while going to school to study Finance and Law. He opened up his home to us at the last minute, without even knowing who we were or what type of people we were. He let us use his shower, he gave us food, and he took us for a little tour around his neighborhood. Not only that, he gave Raven and I his bed, and gave Mats his only spare mattress while he slept in a chair most of that time. We talked about so many things, including his family history and his life in Nigeria. Our conversation lasted over 6 hours, and put an astounding amount of things into perspective for me.. Things that Ive been struggling to deal with for some time now. Most of which, had to do with forgiveness. There are some people in my life that I thought I had forgiven, that I thought I already had found closure with, that I now realize I hadnt truly forgiven. When youre hurt so deeply that you feel its best to just cut the people that hurt you out of your life, its easy to tell yourself that loss of contact with them is a good thing. You feel sad because you wish you could work things out, but you still build up a barrier against them because youre scared of getting hurt again. I didnt realize until now, that I have many barriers up around myself that I need to break down before Im ready to move on with my life. The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive them, unless you truly forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot truly move forward, and I see that now. As Alexander Pope once said, “To err is human, to forgive, divine.” It was one of those conversations that I will never, ever forget no matter how long I live. It shattered so many illusions that I was hiding behind. Thank you from the bottom of my heart Adeleke. Thank you for your kindness, for your generosity, for sharing your knowledge and wisdom, and for just being you. Knowing there are people like you in the world, fills me with great hope for humanity. I truly feel blessed and honored to know you, and to be your new friend. Namaste brother.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 09:32:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015