I came from a continent where it is mandatory for all children to obey their parents without questioning. Everything both our religion and culture reminds us that our parents Wisdom and guidance is what we needed if we want to go far in life. In Africa, the child dosen't only belong to the parents but also belonged to the community. This is to say that the elders ; uncles, and aunts are also considered the parents of the child too.
There is this chinese proverb that says that an elderly person at home is like a living golden treasure.
The grey hairs on their head is not for fashion or for fancy. It means wisdom and most times wisdom comes with experience. The fact that they have been here longer means that they have seen things and heard whispers that can help us in our own journey of life.
My father was the head of our family as the first son following the death of their father. His position as one of the king's cabinet members popularly called Chief gained him extra respect and adoration not just in the family but in my whole town. He was loved and respected by many and his advice was considered the best. Infact in all of the kinsmen's meeting, they will specially ask for his own take on any matter and ofcourse they always go with his own advice or suggestions. I wasn't so close to my father because he was a disciplinarian and very strict but nevertheless his action showed how much he love and want to protect his family.
There was this day that I was waiting for a taxi to take me to the market. After few minutes one eventually stopped for me and I noticed that there was two other people in the car. A man and a woman thus it erased all manner of suspense from my mind. On our way the driver started asking which of his passengers left a bag full if dollars in the car booth. The woman confessed that it was her and that she stole it from her boss. There they all decided to go to a hidden place to share the money. As they were discussing this i was silent because there was a serious battle going on in my mind. My desperate desire to have money was giving me a thousand reasons to neglect my father's stern warning against greed and covetousness.
The first word I said when my mouth finally opened was STOP. They were all shocked and turned to look at me. I told them to stop the car that I don't want to be part of their scheme. They became nervous and as I alighted from the car they drove off with a speed of light. It turned out that they were kidnappers and that was their tactic they use to lure people into deserted places before unleashing their evil acts on them.
My friend used to say...
The advice of an elder might sound absorb, old fashioned and bored to the younger generation but in it a child will find wisdom and guidance until he is old enough to find his path.
Irrespective of how wise my father was, there were some of his advice to me that got me in trouble not because they were bad advice but because the only thing constant in life is change. Things won't always remain the same forever. Technology is changing the way we live on daily basis and also people are evolving too. He was so adamant on protecting us thus we rarely go out to socialize and our level of exposure was zero. To him that was the best way to train us and keep us from mingling with friends without good home values. This made me a very shy person that cannot express herself well in public. I wasn't just shy but also lack the confidence to stand out among others. When I discovered this i immediately rebelled against his way of confining us and ofcourse he was very disappointed in me. I started working on myself again and with time I became a confidence woman who can stand out anywhere and express myself without fear.