1. The document discusses different emotional and physical feelings that humans can experience, from joy and laughter to moments of shock or dumbstruckness. 2. It describes several personal experiences where the author was left speechless, such as when a teacher helped complete an assignment after others had failed, or when a romantic interest expressed love for the first time. 3. The author concludes that feeling dumbstruck or rendered speechless by unexpected acts of love or kindness from others may be among the best feelings a human can experience.

1. What isthe bestphysical cumemotional feelingahumancan have?I imagine you’re goingtotake some
time before comingtoone singularconclusion.Yeah,it'sokayto caught up betweenone ortwooptions.
Have you thoughtof joy?I'd betyou have.For sure,the feelingof joy issoso good – and a few minutes
of rockyheartylaughtercan leave youfeelinglike arefreshed G.To be honest,whenIfirstheardthat
genuine laughterhad the effectof lengtheningone'slifespan,Ibelieveditwithnoounce of skepticism.
Wheneveryou’re fedahealthydose of hilarity,noticethe wayyourbodyrocks uncontrollably?No
doubt,laughterisa natural therapy.Butis happinessreallythe bestemotional/physical feeling?Have
youthoughtof the experience of anorgasm? Well,we'll leavethistopicfornow assome mightfindita
bitconfusing.
The average personlovestobe calm, wants to be in control,yearnsfor equilibrium–and althoughwe
love tobe surprisedonce inawhile,we dreadevil newsaswe doa rottingcorpse. The profoundest
momentswe experience are those we will never forget–be they goodor evil – and mostof the times,
theyare eventswe neverthoughtcould happenandthose momentsare almostcapable of leavingus
shell-shocked.They couldbe anything;abadmedical report,ahouse inferno, acar crash, a sudden
divorce or breakup. Frankly, everyonelivinghashadhis/herfairdose of upsanddownsand science
explainsthatourmindacts like afilterthroughoutlife; filteringawaythose memoriesthathurtusso
much andleavinguswith vignettesof the goodtimes. Butwhataboutthose momentsthatleave uswith
no concrete reactions – noexclamationof joy,nooutburstof painand anguish – instead,afeelingof
dumbness.
I rememberSamattnur/pryschool not justbecause of the friendsImade there butalsofor the great
personalitiesthathelpedshape myearliestformative years. It'shardto forgetthem;Mrs Olushina,Mr
Lepe,Mrs Arinze anda host of many others.Imust confessIhad a nice little crushon Mrs Olushina,the
headmistress.Notsomuchas I did onher daughtertobi – indeedthe feelingwasof an innocentnature.
She made me fall inlove withthe Englishlanguage,inundatingme withthe rulesof grammar ina style
that smackedof finesse, masteryandpanache. Butshe keptherdistance.Maybe for the fact that she
was busymostof the time,and she kepta blankfacial expression whichwasnothelpedbyheruse of
spectacles, andwheneverhercheeks stretchedslowly inaplush smile,itwasalwaysa precursorto a
neatsarcastic remark renderedinsucha melodioustone –you’dneverreallyunderstandthe severityof
your academiccrimes. Yetshe wasa role model, alwayscalm, organizedand collected. However,Inever
imaginedshe couldbe an angel – in blackshiny skin– until one fateful Mondaymorning. Inthe summer
of 2005 I hadmade a newfriend. We wouldplay,gistanddoabouteveryotherthingtogether,tothe
pointthat I entrustedmy home economicsassignment–an instruction tomake a pair of shorts from
plainmaterial –to him. Monday came and I saunteredgleefullytohiscornerinclassto pickup my
finishedwork. ButIcouldn’tbelievemyeyeswhenIheldup the clothing.Itwasto mygreatestdismay,
somethingbetweenasingletanda camisole.I fumed,bellowedandcursed. We were tosubmititbefore
noonand time wasrunningout. “what’sthe meaningof thisrubbish!”became my swansong.Yetthe
dude justkepthisarms foldedwhilstlookingpitifullyinmydirection. “I’msorrychi-boy,Ithoughtmy
sistercouldhandle it”he finallymanagedtoreply. Quitedramatically,Mrs Olushinacame intothe scene
and angrilydemandedtoknow whatwasgoingon. Needlesstosay,I wasvisibly shakenandmycries
had attracteda goodnumberof pupils. Aftershe heardourstoryshe turnedto me;“Is that whyyou’re
angry,give me the cloth” . She snatchedthe material frommyhesitantpalmsandstormedawayto
kitchen,muchtomy confusion.

2. Later that morning,Ifoundherwitha needle andathreadworkingmy pinkmaterial intoa pairof
shorts.She was movingthe tiny pointedsteel atanunbelievablyrapid pace yetshe seemedsoconfident
inwhat she wasworkinglike itwasherown little project. Iwasstruckdumb.I couldn’tmove,Icouldn’t
talk. I stoodnot so far fromthe kitchensdoor,at a place where she couldgeta good view of me if she
wantedbutshe didn’tlookup.She continuedsewing. WhenIrecollectedmyself,Isimplyturnedto my
seat.I didn’tknowwhethertobe happyor cry out forjoy or rushto her and whipherwitha barrage of
‘thank-yous'butIknewI neverdeservedthe treatmentshe'dgivenme.Iwassotouched.Perhapsthe
worldisfull withsomanyangelswe don’trecognize because theyhave nowings. Maybe underneath
the brusque exteriorof people liesapersoncapable of showingtremendouslove. Fromthatday
onwards, Mrs Olushinabecame an epitome of love andtenderness.Here wassomeonewhowouldscold
youfor beingunseriouswithyouracademicworksavingme from prospective doomatthe handsof
anotherteacheras a resultof my laziness. Icame tosee her ina differentlightandIwas blownawayby
hercompassion.Iwas struckwith that singularact of kindness. I've beenshownnumerousactsof
kindnessinovertwodecadesspentonGod'sgreenearth – I know it'sdownto divine help –butfor
some reason,Ithinkthistops the list.
Theysay the bestthoughtscome to youwhenyou’re inthe loo, and underthe showers. Ithinksotoo.
You can turn the knobdown till the wateronlydribbles throughyourheadanddownyourback. You can
lookout the windowandsee the sunlight. Youcangive a moment'spause to thinking,andyoucan think
deeptoo. Lovingiseasyand itseffects soastronomical. Well,throughoutmylifetime Ineverpaid
attention tothisemotional side of life.I'drather play,joke aroundlaugh,have funthansoberlyutter the
three words;“I love you”eventhoughI cared foryou that much. Once I fell inlove withalusciousbelle.
She was like somethingcarvedoutof a fantasy novel – havinga longnatural hair, tall and curvywitha
pristine voice togo with.I fell forherlongbefore we evergot close andboydidwe become a crazy crazy
pair!But she was an enigma. She notonlywowed,she waswildandadventurous. We foughtall the time
and made up all the time anddue to the factthat she was wayolder than me,she'dchide me for
immaturity –she seemedto have my emotional channel onlockdown. One night, afterourusual
banterswhichwere mostlylacedwithsexual innuendos –the type to make a teenage boy rock hard–
,we sat downto talk.I gave hera piece of my maturingself.Notsomuch that she wouldchoke but
enoughtoruminate on. The nextmorningshe called,andaftera few minutesthe mellifluoustone
producedthe three letterwords slowly;“Iloveyou”.AgainI foundmyself dumbstruck!
In that instant,itdawnedonme.I'd givenuponher longbefore that,concludingshe waswayabove my
league – thatnothinglike aseriousrelationshipwouldeveroccurbetween us. I'dfoundcontentin
friendship, we hadchemistrynodoubtbutthe thoughtof foreverandforevernevercrossedthe
cerebral cortex. My vocal chordswere sealed inwhatseemedlike aneternity. She then giggledandcut
off the call. We wouldgoon to have a much better relationship later,butthatsingularmoment wasby
far the most remarkable.Perhapswe are scaredof showinglove aswe think itmay be of little import.
But indeed,noactof tendernesscaneasilybe forgotten.Itmaynotbe appreciated initiallybutthe
memorywouldsurelyembrace aneverlasting nature sofarthe act is genuine andhonest.
The Englishcommunityregardsthe word‘dumbstruck’asa unique feelingof shockandastonishment.
An obviouslyrare reaction,notlimitedtothe receptionof goodnews –one couldalsobe rendered
speechless byevil tidings.Irememberafriendof mine;Collins, whosaidhe feltlike histongue hadbeen
slappedoutof hischeekwhena girl toldhimshe onlyregardedhimas brother.A girl he'dspentlong
hourscomposinglove poemsfor. Well,mostguysmusthave foundtheirmouthsrunningdryat the

3. soundof one rejectionoranother– I’ve hadmy momentstoo.Idon’twant to relive suchmoments.
They're more or lessinconsequential.ButIdo wish to returnto those fleetingseconds –manyof whichI
can’t reproduce here –whenI was renderedspeechless bythe undeservedactsof love andaffection of
others. Those momentswhenyoufail tocomprehendwhysomeone hasjustplayedthe role of anangel
inyour life,andyou’re sounsure if wordsof thankswouldbe enough.I've hadthose moments; Iknow
you've had too. Maybe the feelingof beingawesomelydumbstruck should be the bestphysical cum
emotional feelinganyonecan have,ordon’t youthink?