THE ART OF LOSING.

Yesterday I could not find my pen so I dared myself to ask my little sister for one. She gave me a lecture before giving me the pen. She went on to warn me to take care of the pen because it was a gift (I know it was no gift. She knew I was careless and was bound to misplace hers too so she had to find a way to get me to keep the pen safe). True to her assertion, I misplaced it (as if I had a choice). When she came asking for it, I could not give her an affirmative answer. Tempers were rising so I had to search for the "gift". It took me thirty minutes to find it. While searching for it, I had to tell her a story about another loss to calm her temper (of all the stories I could think of, it was a story on loss that came to mind). An Uncle we had not seen for a while intended to pay the extended family a visit. The visit sent us all into raptures. When he finally arrived, he was met with handshakes, hugs and demands. He came with a brown paper bag full of red apples. We took the apples coupled with the other goodies that he had in his hands. We dashed to the kitchen to perform a "ritual". Growing up as children, we always refrigerated apples to a certain "coldness level" before we ate them. We had a field day with our Uncle. We took him round the house and told him every little secret there was. I cannot seem to recall a place we did not take him. Soon, darkness had fallen upon us and the obvious was becoming imminent. The time had come for him to leave. We walked him to the car. He dipped his hand into his pocket but the expression on his face changed because his hand came back out empty. He had lost his car key. Even though some of us were happy at the "unfortunate" turn of events, (because our Uncle was going to stay a while longer) we had to search for the key. We looked everywhere, inside the flowerpots, kitchen sink, pillowcases, fishpond and all the bizarre places you can imagine. The key was nowhere to be found. We resolved to let our Uncle pass the night. I therefore went into the kitchen to get myself a glass of water. Upon reaching the empty kitchen, an "evil thought" came to mind. I purposed in my heart to take one of the many apples for myself. Upon opening the brown paper bag, there lay my Uncle's car key "chilling" with the apples. I believe the key fell in the bag during the chaotic welcome scene we staged.A necessary evil had turned me into a local champion (the finder). It was the last place I or anyone could think of searching. Soon, my uncle was on his way; to my disappointment.
It was not the relief from finding the key that got me fascinated, rather it was the mystery of loss that got me intrigued. More often than not we tend to lose things and even people. Death is a painful but inevitable loss, loss of property, relationships, even the loss of self-worth and what have you. The thing about loss is that it teaches us the essence and importance of value. My Uncle had a number of cars and as a matter of fact, he would not normally worry about a means of transport but in that very moment it was the small car he brought that was going to carry him home and you could tell from his face that he was worried. I realized that we always tend rush into finding a replacement for our loss so as to fill the void that the loss has created. By so doing, we tend to look at the wrong places probably due to desperation. Sometimes the things we need are the things and people we disregard. Whenever there is a loss, we normally do not take the time to do an assessment of the causes of the loss. Happiness and fulfilment are sometimes found in places we least expect. I have come to accept that sometimes it is good to lose people and things. It gives you the chance to know if you are doing wrong things. It encourages you to strive for better but more importantly, it teaches you to know the things and people who are worth keeping and taking good care of. Every loss is a loss and it comes with pain and disappointment in its wake. Whether you lost something or someone, come to terms with it and strive to come out of that situation as a champion who has learnt a lesson from that episode. My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is a "lost but found" R.A.T (RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT). More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com
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UPCOMING EVENT:
 THEO ALHASSAN MINISTRY PRESENTS:
"MY WORSHIP CONCERT"
Date :1st July, 2015
Venue: Bethel Family Chapel Assemblies of God, Tema Community 22 Annex
Time: 3:30pm
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