Passing through Cameroon a few weeks ago, I spent most of my stay in the west of the country and its mountain villages.
During an outing, I passed a house that I will not soon forget.
It was a house like many found in this region of Cameroon. Rammed earth walls, a sheet metal roof, windows made up of simple openings secured by wrought iron...
I have seen hundreds of houses like this in Cameroon. But this one was special.
It was The Most Beautiful House in the World.
A hand with childish writing had drawn this title in white chalk on the wall of the house and these few words written in poorly formed and slightly tilted letters truly made it the most beautiful house in the world.
Indeed, the fact that a person living in this house without electricity or running water, with a roof that was certainly poorly insulated and with non-existent windows, considered their house as such was enough to legitimize this title.
I looked around the house. Two men were sitting off to the side, carrying on a conversation punctuated by bursts of laughter.
Three children were playing a few meters away.
What these few words expressed was a positive attitude despite life's difficulties, an ability to recognize and celebrate one's successes, a total lack of consideration for what others may think and say when one knows where the we come and where we go…
So many character traits which are, for me, essential to a fulfilled life both personally and professionally.
These few chalk lines on a wall remind us that happiness does not depend on the possessions we accumulate over the years but on the moments of exchange and sharing that punctuate our days.
That we can and must be proud of what we have accomplished even when we are aware that the road is still long to reach the goal we have set for ourselves.
“Success is measured not so much by the position one has reached in life as by the obstacles one has overcome. » – Booker T Washington
“Success is a series of small victories. " - Unknown author