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Grateful Beginnings
Every now and again, we come across certain tweets and posts that turn viral for various reasons. In my humble opinion, I have discovered that most posts become viral because they seem to strike a chord with many readers. People are more likely to forward on something they find interesting, funny, inspiring, pathetic or simply annoying. I for one, enjoy looking at several posts, as a way of relaxation and learning because most times, even after laughing, I find my analytic mind over processing things and bringing up more writing ideas. So, some Decembers ago, there was this tweet where someone was lamenting about her/his single status. You may have come…
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One step at a time
One of the things about the New Year is there is a certain hope and contagious expectation with which most people start a year. Somehow there is a new surge of faith that says that the life that has been afforded is a divine sign that there is going to be change for the better in the future. With this new surge, several people start out with New Year resolutions that sadly do not last the first week of the year. I cannot say if the year 2021 had as much excitement of the newness that previous years have enjoyed because it seemed like several people were afraid to hope…
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Great Expectations
For me, learning to drive was as exciting as it was at times scary. I had expectations that if I could work as a doctor, surely learning to drive would be a walk in the park. There were lots of silly mistakes made such as stalling at the most inopportune times; so, my frustration levels were climbing. It didn’t help that my instructor was neither being very constructive with his criticism nor encouraging when I actually got something right. My brother’s driving instructor seemed to have good reviews, so I decided to try him instead. Full of excitement, I thought “this is what I’ve been waiting for” but oh my…
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Milestones
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us… … And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Marianne Williamson If I had started this piece some weeks ago, when the idea first popped into my head, it would have been a very angry read. However, I have calmed down a bit and changed my tone, but you may still feel the odd outburst so please bear…
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Beyond Yesterday
Hi, my name is Carl. And I’m a Dad. You probably already know this, but being a parent instantly transforms you. And no, I’m not talking about my dad bod (please stop staring). I mean it immediately changes your cosmic DNA. You go from being a calm, living, breathing human into a panicked human who is officially responsible for creating a new life—or multiple new lives if God’s in a fun mood and decides that he prefers you feeding twins, triplets or quintuplets. I still remember the first day I found out I was going to be a father. My wife called excitedly from her office to tell me the…
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My Father’s Daughter
Growing up for me was blissful. I had a father who would listen to me, empower me and reinforce in me, the fact that God fearfully and wonderfully created me. Daddy told me daily how I could be anything I wanted to be. You see, my daddy was 30 years older than my mother. He was better educated in “terms of certificates” than her and he was greatly travelled gentleman. My mother on the flip side, was only a standard six holder, from more humble background but “a very intelligent woman” without the glory of “many a paper certificates”. By virtue of the gap in their background, my mother’s mantra…
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Above 40 , single and childless
That is not my portion. Absolutely. I do agree with you I mean that is what I would have said to this topic about two decades ago but as one of my former classmates would say “whose portion is it ?” Today is Mother’s Day(US version) and we will all agree it has come with a difference. However, the Coronavirus should not stop us from celebrating and appreciating our mothers and a big shout out to those who have already done so. This year, rather than the several celebrations and dining out that would have occurred or the recitals and performances that would have been done by several children, we…
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The Selfless Zone
Lockdown = Selflessness Of Faith = Me + You + Us COVID 19 came on Earth and our World changed. Mecca is empty….St. Peter’s Basilica is a ghost town. New York has slept, people have run away from the runways in Milan and London . Lagos human traffick has halted while Abuja grinds to a halt. Our humanity has never been more shared than the times we are in. Never have all men and women suddenly become more palpably equal. Status and class are gone with the wind…as we all grapple with the COVID 19 virus reality. Prime ministers, the homeless, the rich, the poor, people of all gender, race,…
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Keep Counting
Happy Mother’s Day to all, especially to all those who are still counting. I know you may be wondering what I mean but I will explain. I was in a meeting and as we were checking in on each other and an ‘English lady’ needed to explain how she was feeling in detail because it was a different kind of feeling on that day. She blurted out ‘I just discovered that I am pregnant’. This was followed by an awkward silence by the men while the women ooohed and ahhed. We congratulated her and went as far as is it your first? (trying to gauge how exiting this bit of news was), we chatted…
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Cut your Coat…
We all know them. Most of us have friends, relatives and people who always like to appear to be more than they are and quite frankly, they are doing a good job at it. They have perfected the art so well leaving no room for doubts but no matter how hard they try, we are always awakened to the reality when they come again knocking at our doors, to borrow something else or more. Sometimes reality also means we are the ones knocking on doors to borrow, yet again. I still remember the first thing I borrowed. The response I got from my mother was horrendous and it left such…
