From Gloom to Bloom

Before I became an optimist I was a pessimist. I remember one night I sat late in my room watching and despising the crookedness of my silhouette on the wall. Before me, on an open page in my diary, I had summed life in two words: "a whip".

Before I became an optimist I was a pessimist

Yes, life had whipped me brutally or so I thought; the inner turbulence, the lusts of the flesh, and the fear of failure had me tramping about in stressing self-pity while aggravating fantasies roved pitilessly in my despairing soul. I hurled blame at everything and everybody: a rootless childhood, friends that seemed not to care as much as I wanted them to, and a government that was blind to the grievances of the citizens. Deep inside I guess I was longing for validation, a peace of mind or anything that would quiet the tumult in my troubled spirit. Then one day, I saw the light that made all the difference.

I was reminded of my past days of despondency on Friday by the news of a young woman that threw herself down from a tall building in Kampala. Is it true she had two degrees? How long had she groaned in despair before pulling the disastrous move? Had a relative, friend, neighbour or anybody at all not seen through her disillusionment and tried to help?

Poor woman; her lonely death reminded me of the high levels of unemployment and the rise in HIV/Aids prevalence that has pushed the number of Ugandans living positively from about 1.8million in 2005 to 2.3million today. Plus consider the restlessness of the affected and the misery of the unloved Ugandans whose parents or guardians are trapped in amassing material wealth instead of dispensing love and friendship to their offspring.

Evidently, we are a weary and heavy-laden people, but being all God's children we should find encouragement in that beautiful verse -"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me" – an attitude that will help us forget the gloom and inspire us to bear one another's burden with love.

Otherwise, that tragic heroine at Workers House should inspire us to renew our spirits and with all optimism find the antidote to our predicaments. Then this country shall cease being the tenth saddest place in the world to live