A drink of water

One hot day I was walking on the streets of Kampala feeling a little blue. I was stopped by a man who pointed at my half-full bottle of mineral water and proceeded to perform a little pantomime about drinking. I gave him the water and watched him gallop it down like a man who had been on the verge of dying of thirst.

All one needs is a drink of love and some understanding

 It was one of those rare experiences that leave you a little confused but which, as you ponder them, give you a deeper, sometimes, life-changing understanding of life. Here I was all miffed because of a business deal gone bad. And here was this mute stranger who needed just a drink of water to carry him through another unpredictable day. After he had taken the water, he bowed and gave me the most appreciative smile I ever saw.

It was enough to extinguish all the anger and frustration that until then had been boiling on the inside of me like a kettle. I continued on my way now lost in thoughts like a philosopher on one of his evening walks. I was thinking of how the things that give meaning and fulfillment to life are simple yet they have been complicated because selfish ambition.

All one needs in this life is a little drink of love and some understanding. Some people might be so hard up that they go on for days without a proper meal yet a thriving neighbour throws away food every morning. How I wish we all learn to get interested in the lives of not just us and our friends and families but others as well. Try befriending one of those street beggars, and your conversations alone could change his life, and yours. Forever.