A CALM AND UNDISTURBED MIND

It’s 6:47am here in the cosmopolitan city of Lagos. The traffic situation in the overpopulated city is usually on the rise at this hour. A lot of people set out early, so they can catch a few minutes of head-on-the-desk before they start working their butts out, while some leave the comforts of their homes a lil late, and take a head-on-the-steering nap due to the ever-encouraging active traffic.

Okay, I set out to the office with bags under my eyes, cos I barely had enough sleep the previous night – about 4hrs. (Don’t even try to give me the whole Great-minds-sleep-less speech”).

Is there any place in the world where people get paid for sleeping overtime? I think I need to relocate!

Feeling very over-sensitive, I hit the front seat of my colleagues car, and shut my eyes for a few seconds, wishing I had the luxury of a couple of hours to lazy around, without someone coming around to say, “we need visuals for the next story; are you done with that script?” I’m not lazy; I just like to rest before I get tired…lol…It keeps me from writing notes like this one.

 Arrrgggghhhh*

For a while now, I’ve been kinda apprehensive about ‘Life & Living.’ – maybe not pessimistically, but the inescapable turnout of certain events gives me more reasons to.

The more I think, the more questions I create, mentally.

(No room left to log them! Can I borrow your head?)

Trust me, you don’t want to be haunted by your own thoughts.

At what point in your life do you need to STOP giving a heck about what happens next? At what point in your life do you need to STOP caring about the feelings of your neighbour? At what point in your life do you need to STOP pressing harder, even in the obvious face of failure?

Pray never to get to that POINT, cos it has nothing but frustrations and regrets as its by-products. It helps you build a skyscraper of well-furnished depression, in split seconds.

(weird thoughts)

By definition, the MIND is the centre of consciousness that generates thoughts, feelings, ideas, and perceptions and stores knowledge and memories. Permit me to add a lil something to this definition. The MIND is also a fertile ground for developing GREATNESS and (sometimes) burying dreams, advertently or inadvertently. 

I’ll pause right here, before I lose it!

While assisting my colleague, yesterday, with a research on cardiovascular diseases in children, the gravity of the ailment didn’t strike me as much as it did this morning, as I bumped into an eight-year old girl with a congenital heart defect – a hole in the heart.

I didn’t bother to find out more, because “a hole in the heart” was enough information for me to create images in my head.

Shortly after the interview kicked off, the little girl just stared at the screen, which displayed graphics of the human heart and a dummy baby. She giggled as the graphics flashed by, and there she was on live TV. I’m pretty sure she was excited to see herself on the screen. 

As I gazed at her, I thought to myself, “this child doesn’t deserve to be in that condition. She looked so tired, but calm and beautiful. What went wrong?” It will be sheer imprudence to question the Creator…or blame anyone…

Jesus, answering the disciples, said, “…that my Father in Heaven may be glorified”

Is it safe to say that people who are ignorant of the gravity of their ailment are more relaxed than people who are fully aware of their life expectancy?

I said all that to say this, Proverbs 14:30 “A calm and undisturbed MIND and heart are the life and health of the body, but envy, jealousy, and wrath are like rottenness of the bones.”

Keep your mind active with productive thoughts – or just let it be! Don’t let your current situation or circumstance stimulate you into destroying the few bricks you’ve gathered.

Keep fighting…keep surviving…keep living! And above all, keep believing!

    

MY CONVICTION, MY IDOL, MY SANITY

Expressions, confusion, precision, devotion, actions, temptation…lies, mistakes,
Betrayal, fallacies, integrity…arguments, break-ups, reunions, divorce…accuracy, lapses, setbacks, consequences…these and many more, are the side dishes of a life occupied by different entities with varying opinions, beliefs, social status and proclivity.

Some people walk around like zombies, blaming every fragment of their predicaments on poor “Mr. Life” (Like He cares). They say, “which kind life be this sef? Na suffer dem say make I come suffer?” They forget that suffering is a choice…

“What can I get from it?” sounds interesting; “what can I give it?” sounds responsible!

What really matters to a hungry man? What is of immediate necessity to a disgruntled woman whose house is about to be taken over by a shameless mistress (soothing words on how to tolerate her company?) A sick child needs medication to stay alive (A large cup of ice cream with caramel won’t do him any good!).
Moral: Call a spade a spade…not an agricultural tool!

What becomes of a “leader” without followers; Mr. Smartie with a big head and a skimpy retentive capacity; or a damsel who’s got all working for her, but her pride. Who’s more gullible – a child afraid of the dark, or a full-fledged man afraid of the light? Hmm…selah

How did water find it’s way into a coconut?
Try explaining Goodluck Jonathan’s good luck - from high school to Aso rock! (If you don’t know him, use a search engine – I’m pretty sure you’ll get some info on “GOODLUCK’S GOT GOOD LUCK DOT WISDOM”)

He has a drive for it, she’s got passion for it; His eyes glitter with lust, she got whooped with a bag of attraction; He’s got greed buried inside, and she simply craves for modest satisfaction? how are they going to strike a balance?

I love it, I love her, I love them, she loves me, she loves it, they love it, they love us…who cares what you think or feel? Spare me the “human nature” philosophy. Register your suggestions and opinions, but keep your hypothesis and laws to yourself…they are invalid to the ever-dynamic nature of life and living… what works today may not necessarily work during summer! The meteorologist gives a weather forecast; YOU decide how it affects the price of plantain in Moscow!

Two people are in contention over who takes a bow and quits the game - Who plays pinky? Who plays brain? Maybe we should ask the scriptwriter for clarity…or just leave them to the mercy of their pathetic egos – hoping that one of them will find the maxim “He who fights and runs, lives to fight another day” useful! There’s still a lot to wrestle over…you’ve barely started!

They say dude is anti-social and uptight. They say dude is chicken-hearted and cannot attempt 2%. They say dude is too principled. They say dude is too tall. They say dude is a snob, and only pays attention to a class of people. They say dude spends more time around the ladies, than he talks on the phone. They're too scared to stand up to dude. Dude looks at ’em and says, “Is that all? You don't like it my way, hit your head against a cliff" ouch!!! it must really hurt to hate!
Moral: say all you want, the sun will always rise in the east!

Guy says, “You’re awesome, hardworking and a goal getter” (that’s impressive).
He goes on and on about your efficiency and the level of enthusiasm you shove into getting the job done so much that He’s oblivious of the expression written all over your face “can I get paid, now?”

Dude meets this young lady, very attractive (o wa alright gan) and says “Hello”! With a faint blush on her face, she says “Hi”
Dude is thinking, “Could she be single? Naaahhh! Not with the kind of voracious masculine earthlings residing on this planet,” he thought to himself! (Obama must be Swedish) Not a chance in hell! A few weeks down the line, it’s a different story.

Heart meets Pearl; Heart falls in love with Pearl; Heart used to have ligaments and nerves attached to it, but decides to cut them all off, without apologies. Heart is so optimistic and convinced that the attraction cannot be defined; the direction of the love is too complicated to be of help on a map; their future together is too bright to be hid by the dead of the night!
The heart – the seat of life

They say they are your friends. They say they’ll do everything to make you happy. They say they’ll rejoice with you and cry with you. They say you can always count on them to be there for you. You finally see happiness and fulfillment smiling at you, a mile away; you reach out and grab it, expecting them to rejoice with you, but what do they do? They hide their faces, and dish out excuses for their remoteness – “you know my kind of work is very tasking; I’m not usually in the area; I go shopping on public holidays; I wish I had more time”
Moral: don’t be self-centered, don’t be a hater!

I cherish it! I’ll go the extra mile to make sure it’s in good condition. If it drops, I’ll pick it up, and wipe it until it shines again. I can’t share it with anyone, not even YOU! Will I let it ruin my relationship? ….ermm…HELL NO! immo sit on it, choke it and render it inactive for a long time…a very long time! “Does that make you happy?” She said “yes”!
Moral: saying “I’m sorry” and letting go, is not as expensive as getting an implant at Doc. 90210’s (Boy, those dudes are hitting it, big time!

So I like to put my plate of food in the refrigerator after cooking, to reduce the temperature; I like to get rid of visible slices of onions, and of course, make sure there’s a good number of animal parts as an incentive…why does it bother you if I use my hand, or the right set of cutleries for my meals? I might just decide to use a teacup for water, and wineglass for tea…a spoon to eat spaghetti, and a fork for soup!
Morals: if you live by the rules, the rules will certainly nail you! On the other hand, a lawless person is not necessarily above the law! Selah

You don’t value it until you become responsible for it…you don’t guard it with all diligence, until you are in a position to give account for mismanagement…until you find out you can’t live without it…until you let it slip away…until all efforts to recover it proves abortive…wanna know what it is? Figure it out!

What motivates you to keep pushing? What are you passionate about? What/who do you believe in? What is your conviction? What do you live for? What will be worth dying for?


My conviction – I will be successful!
My Idol – nil!
My Sanity – lies in my conviction that I WILL be successful…even without an Idol!


...just thinking...