On unlearning and re-learning.
We are products of our society. Our opinions are largely framed by what are considered public thoughts. Consciouly or otherwise, we slowly get ingrained into the fabric. Socialization takes place from the moment you're handed over to your mum. You begin to grasp the world by what your six senses permit. You see, feel, smell, touch or hear things and little by little, life's images are formed.
The process of learning starts and with it comes everything. You know water should be colorless, you know how a mango should taste like, you know a snake is dangerous. Indoctrination starts. You become aware of value. You can seperate good from evil. Truth from lies. Life is white and black to you. For things that don't fall into these sets, you're told to leave them or 'just take them as they are'.
There are a lot of things I held onto when I was growing up. Things I thought were undefeatable truths. “If you did good, good will come to you”. “Only Christians get the blessings of God”. “A woman cannot be better than a man”. “Igbo people are only after the money”. And so on and forth.
Eventually, life happened. We face circumstances that question our core beliefs. And at the end of the day, we're left reeling from the aftermath. “How can these things be? We were told they were the fundamentals, how come?”.
If there’s a lesson to be taken from life, it’s to learn and unlearn. Life isn't fixed. Nobody has the formula. We're all iterating. Some people have found answers to some questions before others, but still, piecing the whole picture together is a lifetime process. Learn. Unlearn. It's why we are humans. It's why we have freewill. Our conscience acts as a guide. To think things through. We're not robots who have to follow a certain fixed pattern. Pastors are humans like us, women can be as equally impressive as men, Yoruba people can be neat, people with tattoos can be rational and humane, Muslims can be kind & moral, girls who wear ankle chains can be modest. Etc. Etc.
Things aren't always black and white. Sometimes they're grey.
Be open to new ideas. Be flexible. Be teachable. Be rational. Don’t be stiff.
E go be. I hail.