… We live by faith…

The historian Yuval Noah Harari, in his famous book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, asserts that we are living during the most peaceful era in human history.

Think about that.

That, there has never been such a peaceful and prosperous time before.

Well, it’s not a statement from the blues. In the book, he lays a firm foundation on this argument, detailing the nature of the world that our predecessors found themselves in.

He provides 'the bigger picture’. ‘Bigger pictures' built on facts are rarely wrong, but they can be discriminative against individual experiences and stories.

Looking at the bigger picture, this could potentially be the most peaceful time in history. However, narrowing down to personal stories, it might not.

For example, while wars among nations have drastically gone down, civil wars remain a huge challenge, with peacekeepers having a hard time doing their job amid low budget and big interests.

Pain remains an overly very solo affair.

Also, peace doesn’t necessarily equate happiness, and that is why Yuval raises questions about whether the present global prosperity has brought with it a higher sense of happiness compared to the ancient world.

We are part of this experiment.

It’s important to note that there is a level of respect and moderation we ought to give problems that have persisted in the history of our existence. Talk about terrorism, corruption, all forms of inequalities, ailments etc. Solving them takes humility in the face of a possible defeat, and a long and arguably less pompous road to a sustainable solution.

If they were easy, they’d be done already, right?

Same case applies to the undisputed challenge of all time: FEAR.

Fear knows no boundaries. It is debatable whether the present world feels safer than the early one. For instance, with weapons of mass destruction continually falling into more hands.

Fear stands tall, intimidating life itself.

Mehn, doesn’t the world feel so dark these days? I was telling a friend how it feels like a cloud of death is hovering over the world, and the fear that comes with it is so crippling.

A person loses a loved one, and while in the season of mourning, another is mourning the loss of a family member. As you try to remain strong, a blast of epic proportions hits Beirut, and all you can see on TV is destruction and despair.

The coronavirus pandemic, which is increasingly moving from a matter of IF you’ll get it to a matter of WHEN, gives you mixed signals about whether you’ll overcome it, or succumb to it.

Tragedies. Job losses. Darkness.

God….

Even for those who might argue against this gloomy weather, and insist on changing focus to positive vibes, toxic positivity, we’re learning that one’s 'Road to Damascus' moment lurks in the dark for a time unspecified.

Of late, how many times have you postponed to do some task, or exercise because of the sadness and worry in your heart? Look around and you’ll see people growing more and more protective over their loved ones.

For the first time, your personal ambitions are no longer inspiring. You hold onto the moments with your clan because you’ve now realised that nothing else is more important.

Fear has been around, but perhaps it has gotten more manifested with the global slowdown. During such moments, we look up to our leaders for some ray of hope.

Please don’t! It’s terrible up there. To make matters worse, they don’t even try.

So again, we are home alone.

The truth about life is that it never did, never has, and never will operate in a vacuum or a controlled environment with predetermined outcomes. This unpredictability brings about uncertainty, which when unguarded, results in fear.

The fear of the unknown is felt by both young and old: from young graduates, to young couples, parents and leaders.

Most of us have heard the ageless quote that “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” delivered by Franklin D. Roosevelt during his 1933 inaugration as the 32nd president of the United States. But not many know the source of his courage to say that to a country that was drowning in the Great Depression.

FDR was diagnosed with polio at the age of 39, which completely paralysed him from the waist down.

Imagine the shock and despair that swept through his body; he could no longer run and play with his kids, and the ambitions of climbing up the political ladder came tumbling down.

However, he decided to fight on, and went through a very painful experience of wearing steel braces around his legs, hidden under his trouser, and making heavy attempts to walk. In private, he would be on his wheelchair.

Some historians argue that, it is this fight with polio that gave him the empathy needed to occupy the office, inspire a paralysed nation and push one of the most progressive social agenda in history: The New Deal.

It is possible to argue that FDR didn’t see himself as a testimony, but as a man who was having a very difficult time.

His uncle, Theodore Roosevelt had a terribly tragic experience. Having lost both his mum and his dear wife on the same day due to separate illnesses, he wrote in his diary on that fateful Valentine’s Day of 1884:

“The light has gone out of my life.”

This is a grief he fought through all his life. The man credited for his famous “..Credit goes to the man in the arena..” speech kept showing up, working hard, until he finally earned an immortal place in the history books.

Back in 2018, Jeff Koinange, on his JKLive Christmas Edition show, hosted renowned Gospel music legend Reuben Kigame. At the age of 3, Kigame noticed something was wrong with his eyesight after reaching out for a plate at the dinner table and missing it.

He had cataracts in both his eyes, but unfortunately, it was too late to get treatment.

His songs remain loved in the Christian community. A popular composition is the inspiring ‘Bwana ni Mchungaji Wangu’, played in many Christian gatherings, weddings, funerals and even by Kenyan army bands.

During the interview, Jeff asked him an extremely thought-provoking question. “Since you meditate and speak to God a lot, do you ask Him why he took away your sight?”

He answered, “No, that’s gone. I ask Him bigger questions. Like, why he took away my wife, in a road accident. You see, I had learnt to live without sight, but I had never learnt to live without my best friend.”

In a separate interview, he told the story of how he had tried to run for governorship of Vihiga County in 2013, only for some political figures to argue that he was unfit since he ‘did not’ know how to count money and couldn’t inspect county projects if he cant even see.

Folks just trying to remind him of his original fear, and degrading his life’s worth, not his ideas or track record.

And yet, he remains a man with a very positive attitude towards life, even after a period of setbacks and wondering if God has favourites.

This very small sample of inspiring stories merely acts as a representative to the many untold stories around us. When you look at the actors, they usually appear strong. Unfortunately, we have a tendency to ignore strength because it is deemed normal, or expected.

Look at a friend or acquaintance who lost a family member including a pet, or is jobless, or is just lost, or has a terminal illness, or fights an addiction,trauma etc and spot that muscle that keeps them going.

They keep going, battling strong voices inside, and having this unyielding faith in everything working for their good. Looking at their lives, this faith appears really odd because it’s expected that their negative experiences ought to breed bitterness.

A branch’s olive, they find faith and love in the most unexpected and hopeless of places.

Mehn, such stories serve to remind us that the triumph of life is its victory over fear.

The fight over fear isn’t one with a quick-fix. Losses and setbacks are very sad events. It is important for us to accept going through the periods of such seasons, taking breaks to rest and reflect, embracing our imperfect selves, and reaching out to the One with all the strength and grace to overcome the world.

Friends, it’s true that despite all that is happening, this is the most peaceful era in human existence. Like our ancestors, who faced enormous tragedies, we are faced with the same fears, but in different forms.

My late grandfather, who fought in the Burma Campaign, literally walking through the valley of the shadow of death and eventually returning home: a millennial in a depressive society fighting digital, economic and social forces unique to the current world.

So how do we stay alive in such a peaceful yet so fearful chapter?

We live by faith.