Free

The best things in life don’t cost a kobo. Did you have to google what kobo means? Be honest, especially you Millennials. The best things in life are free. Is this notion really true? Especially in a world where we believe that the cost of living is rapidly going up. Can we really tie ourselves to this notion?

Ladies! Let us start with what we ponder about……. What we wear?

Oscar de la Renta said,” Fashion is a trend, Style lives within a person”. Can we take a wild guess at which cost money and which is free? If you’re a smarty pants like me, your answer would be that style is free. Style goes beyond just clothes. Style is an individual choice unique to how a person wants to represent themselves and be perceived. For those of you that live in Abuja you may know H-Medix, I remember as I was at the till ready to pay, and I got a glance of this lady. She was wearing a corduroy jacket with a suede patch on its sleeve, white button up shirt, khaki brown trouser folded at her ankle and an oxblood oxford style lace up brogues.

Wow! I couldn’t take my eyes off what she was wearing. Her boldness in her expression of herself captivated me. This was 3 years ago and I can still remember every detail in how she was dressed. I went up to her and said, “I love what you’re wearing”, with a broad smile and happiness beaming from her eyes she whispered, “Thank you”.

With fashion, it’s on the clothing, the items deemed to be fashionable.  With style, it’s on the person.

Coco Chanel is reputed to have said, “The best things in life are free. The second-best things are very, very expensive. Don’t you just love her.

Creating a home is free, while owning a house would cost you a few naira and kobo. A house is just four walls and a roof. Did you ever wonder why the saying,” Home Sweet Home” isn’t “House Sweet House”? I think the answer is obvious as the word “home” has a much deeper meaning that is more intangible and this intangibility is F-R-E-E. Home is comfort. Home is inviting. Home is a refuge from the world. A home can even be something abstract, a place in your mind. When you say, “Let’s go home,” you are probably not taking simply about going to the physical structure where you live. You are talking about being in the place where you feel most comfortable that belongs to you.

 A home is warmer, fuller of love and happiness which can be lacking in a house.

The air we breathe is free. I ‘m sure that you are aware that every system in our body relies on oxygen. From cognition to digestion, effective breathing provides mental clarity, it helps us sleep better, digest our food more effectively and the benefits are extensive. Please kindly take a moment to imagine if this wasn’t free. What kind of world would we live in if we had to pay for the air that we breathe?

Now, passing the baton to you, can you make a list of what you consider the best things in your life that are free.

Written by Toju Cole