Category Archives: Reflective

SEVERAL STITCHES IN TIME

Before I proceed, I reckon that it’s been a bit of a while since I registered any kind of presence here. Of course, I can defend the fact that I’ve had almost impossible schedules and deadlines for some while now and have more than once found myself literally gasping for some fresh air  devoid of deadlines. But I won’t.

So a number of occurrences have made the timeless cliche of ‘a stitch in time saves nine’ stick out in my medulla oblongata. Is it the time when we had a deadline for submitting documents overseas and too much of dotting of ‘i’s and crossing of ‘t’s almost made us miss that deadline but for the resourcefulness of a colleague? Or when we needed to project a presentation without a projector in view? Resourcefulness made one available just at the nick of time. Or is it when unforeseen contingencies made me and my team arrive a venue for an event we were to host just at the dot of the start time? Or arriving court just before the case one is responsible for is called?

I could go on and on… but one thing I have gathered from these diverse experiences is the art of trudging on in spite of all odds because that extra effort could well be the difference between success and failure. After all, a stitch in time indeed saves nine.

Counting my Blessings

As I add another year today, I cannot help but look back upon the mercies of my Maker and count my many blessings.

For the gift of sound mind, I remain eternally indebted, because I know what it feels like not to have one. Again, I can’t take the simple joys of sleeping and waking up for granted because yet again, I know what it feels like to lose sleep. For provision and protection from the vicissitudes of life, I remain grateful.

In sum, for the grace to successfully withstand the stressors in life, I bow my knees in obeisance.

Happy birthday to me💃🏽

Resilience

A cliché has it that, “what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger,’ and that my friend, about sums up what resilience is all about. I like to think about resilience in terms of a ball which bounces back regardless of the number of times it is flung against the wall, or a spring which does not snap irrespective of how much it is stretched.

I’m pretty sure a good number of people may have experienced one situation or the other which led to the rhetorical question, ‘can I survive this?’ Well, the fact that you are still standing gidigba shows resilience on your part.

Why am I thinking resilience? To be honest, I’ve had a hectic couple of weeks and this piece is as much an encouragement for myself as I hope it is for any one in similar shoes.

So here’s cheers to keeping up that resilience!

Replaceable

Ever had that, ‘no one can do this like me feeling?’ Well, while there’s nothing wrong with hyping oneself, after all that adrenaline needs to flow big time to get some work done, one should never be deluded into that feeling that one is irreplaceable. If you doubt me, just think back to that supposedly indispensable guy who left that organisation, did the organisation crumble? Or perhaps taking it a notch closer, when loved ones are transported to the great beyond, irrespective of the grief that survivors feel, do they wish to be transported in a similar fashion? Your guess is as good as mine.

So bottom line, is that while we should strive in our daily endeavours to ensure that even if our presence seems not to be noticed, yet our absence is deeply felt, we should come off the high horse that we or any other person for that matter is irreplaceable. No wonder a singer cautioned, “don’t you ever for a second get to thinking….you’re irreplaceable!”

Cheers😎

That little ERROR!

Just the other day, I received some printed work from the commissioned contractor and was initially all ‘ooohs’ and ‘ahhhhs’ for a job well done until I noticed a single ‘but’ which was sufficient to make me backtrack. This ‘but’ was not a typographical error. In fact, the ‘but’ arose from failure to use the Caps Lock button to begin a significant word.

To be candid, this seemingly little error was sufficient to make me request for a reprint.

This ‘error’ drove home to me the meaning of the admonition in the holy book about different kinds of vessels and the need to make oneself fit for the master’s use. Just as a single spot of red oil on a white cloth can make such cloth ill-fitted for any worthy use, is the same manner, only one ‘little’ error can make us unfit for our Master’s use.

So, let’s watch it!