The Most Wonderful People in the World.

"The most wonderful people 

are those who have 
· known defeat, 
· known suffering, 
· known struggle, 
· known loss
· and, above all,
· have found their way out of the depths. 
These individuals have 
· an appreciation,
· a sensitivity, 
· and an understanding of life 
· that fills them with 
· compassion, 
· gentleness, 
· and a deep loving concern. 
Wonderful people don't just happen."

- Elisabeth Kübler-Ross.

This is a Very Sad Part of Human Nature.

For Those who Refuse to Heed the Warnings about COVID-19.

Be Careful about the Type of People with whom you Socialize.

"Be very careful about the type of people with whom you socialize. If you choose to roll with pigs, you're going to get muddy. And pigs will love it. If you go about with dogs, you'll eat faeces. And dogs will adore you for it." - An old adage.

When People Exhibit the Attitude of a Caged Animal.

The words on the marble by Bob Marley

Some individuals, irrespective of their intellect, are like animals that have been caged for too long. When, by benevolence, the cage is finally flung open, they will refuse to leave. To them, the cage is a comfort zone but to the rational bystander, it's another case of mental slavery. 

LEADERSHIP IS NOT A BUSINESS.

The time the Leader of the Islamic State, Umar Ibn Khattab (RA) demands from the people of the city of Hims (in Syria) to list out the names of the needy so as to assist them with a share of the State funds; what Umar came across shocked and amazed him. In the midst of the name of the poor and impoverished people was the name of the Governor of Hims, that is, Sa’eed Ibn Amir (RA).

Umar asked why the name of the Governor was included in the list of the needy. They replied: “He shares his salary to the poor and needy such that by the time the cycle completes, he is left with nothing”.

Then Umar asked further: Does he do things that you don’t want? They said: Yes.

1. He doesn’t come to attend to us until mid-morning

2. He doesn’t see us at night

3. In a week, he keeps away for a day without anyone seeing him.

Umar (RA) then asked him why? He (Sa’eed Ibn Amir (RA)) said:

1. The reason why I don’t come out until mid-morning is that my wife has been sick and I don’t have any helper at home, so I usually stay back to complete the basic domestic works, thereafter I will then come out.

2. Why I don’t see anyone at night is because I have set aside the whole day for the people, to respond to their needs. And I have set aside the night to relate with my Lord

3. Why I set aside a day in a week not to see anyone is because that is the day I take off my clothe to wash and wait for it to dry up because I have no other clothe aside this.

Umar (RA) burst into tears.

LESSON: *Leadership should be a sacrifice not a business*

Wonderful People.

"The most wonderful people are those

who have known defeat, known suffering,

known struggle, known loss and, above all,

have found their way out of the depths.

These individuals have an appreciation,

a sensitivity, and an understanding of life

that fills them with compassion, gentleness, 

and a deep loving concern. 

Wonderful people don't just happen."

- Elisabeth Kübler-Ross.

To Forgive and Forget? Nothing Short of a Mission Impossible.

Imagine getting offended by someone who, after a while, realizes their error and pleads for forgiveness. For many of us who have found ourselves in this type of situation, forgiveness is not a problem. Very often however, the offending person will not only ask for forgiveness. They will most likely ask that we “forgive and forget”. And this is where the problem arises. Yes, we tend to agree. But do we really ever forget? In reality, this is easier said than done. A brain has no eraser and neither does it have a delete button. Some things will just refuse to go away, depending on the hurts that arise from them.

The Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria have a saying to the effect, “Spoken words are like eggs. Once they fall off from a mouth, they can’t be repackaged into their previous shapes.” Now, actions or spoken words that inflict physical or emotional pain cannot, in all reality, be expected to go away. The aggrieved party only has to see the scar or remember the emotional anguish to feel offended all over again.

Therefore, the only anti-dote to this type of situation is for us all to be mindful of what we do or say in moments of anger. And each time we do mess up, as imperfect mortals, the best we can hope for is forgiveness. Asking the aggrieved parties to forget is akin to asking them to wipe off a part of their brains. This is a “Mission Impossible”.

“No Offense But…” is the beginning of Disrespect.

Usually, when someone starts a conversation with “No offense but…” he/she is not going to say anything positive. 

Definitely, that person is just about to be offensive. At that point, if they are not immediately discouraged or stopped, an avenue for them to be disrespectful will be created unwittingly. And when that happens, unnecessary problems will arise between them and the other person.

Personally, I have resolved to never wait for such an ignorant person to continue with their conversation. This way, I give a prompt impression that I refuse to be a victim of whatever ignorant thing is about to come out of their mouths. I have however witnessed several scenarios where unwary victims got prejudiced, stereotyped and insulted through spoken words that are started with “No offense but…”

Therefore, when next someone around you starts a conversation with that ominous statement, “No offense but…” tell them immediately to stop right there! Alternatively, change the subject or, run, if all else fails.

Oprah in Her Own Words.

Humanity Goes Beyond Skin Color.

There is a small shopping center in New Castle, Delaware which harbored only a pet clinic and an African Foods Supermarket.  Yesterday, I had just pulled into the parking lot when my car suddenly screeched to an abrupt halt. The front left tire had dislocated.

While waiting for my insurance company to send a tow truck, vehicles of clients (mostly Caucasians) of the pet clinic and customers (all Africans, especially Nigerians) of the African foods store were pulling into the parking lot. But while each of the white people stepped out of their vehicles to approach me to show compassion, my fellow Africans were frowning their faces at me. Before long, their ugly attitudes turned into rude verbal outbursts such as “Hey…this car is disturbing the free flow of traffic…” to loud orders such as “You’ve got to get this car out of here now…”

Some of these outbursts were even delivered in my Yoruba language while all my explanations fell on deaf ears. Incidentally, my car was only parked awkwardly but it was not blocking the road. The drama soon assumed a new dimension when some of the white people in the pet clinic stepped out to confront them.

“You guys are so rude!” one white man yelled. “Is it this guy’s fault that his car became disabled?”

“Disabled…disabled as how?” some Africans, most likely Nigerians asked in ignorance.

“Okay…” a white woman screamed at them. “Can’t you ‘frigging’ see the twisted tire of the car?’

Another white woman added. “Maybe they are all vision-impaired?”

I could only shake my head in embarrassment. Finally, and much to my relief, the tow truck arrived. And while my folks stared sheepishly, a couple of white people came around, offering to assist the tow truck driver in loading my car.

I have always refused to see humanity in colors but objectivity. Yesterday, I was greatly vindicated.

The Song That Got Me in Trouble.

[embed]http://youtu.be/P47ZQtIHTqc[/embed]

This video reminds me of an incident in 1986. I was the Disc Jockey at a friend’s bachelor’s eve party. Everything was going smoothly more so, with many of the guests dancing so beautifully.

At one particular moment when the groom was ushered onto the dancing floor, some women rushed forward to dance with and encircle him to the song, “Ain't No Stopping Us Now” by McFadden & Whitehead.

At this stage, one woman left the circle to approach the groom for a one-on-one dance. She was the groom’s immediate ex-girlfriend. Earlier, the groom and some of us were really surprised that the woman could summon the courage to attend the party, especially since their break-up was very bitter.

As the D.J., I had already arranged some albums on the dual turn-table for my convenience. So, as the current track was rounding up, I released the next album on a different turn-table and the track was, “I Don’t Love You Anymore…” by Teddy Pendergrass. Subsequently, I was engrossed in arranging more albums on the previous turn-table. But according to the groom and other friends, while the crowd went crazy on hearing the song by Teddy Pendergrass, the groom’s ex-girlfriend was seen fuming at me because of the contents of the track blaring over the speakers.

All I knew was that the woman suddenly appeared in the Disc Jockey’s cubicle, her eyes filled with fury. In spite of her attitude, I asked “Hey…how are you doing?”

“Oh, you want to know how I am doing?” she asked with a sneer.

I nodded without a word.

And boom…she threw a glass of beer in my face!

“Now, you know how I am feeling?” she screamed in tears. “I know you don’t like me…and you played that stupid music just to ridicule me…”

 

 

 

The Damned Human Race by Ebun Olawole.

In Mark Twain’s literary work, “The Damned Human Race” (1905), he conducted an experiment that compared man to other animals. He concluded that man should be called the lower animals while the so-called lower animals should be regarded as the higher animals. He found Darwin’s theory wrong.

In terms of brutality, lower animals are better than man. He gave humorous examples of how brutal man can be. He continued that man has a flaw. And with the flaw, he is unable to reason because he descended from lower animals.



I agree with Twain (p. 8), that man is greedy, compared to the so-called inferior animals. In line with Twain’s opinion, it is man that will keep accumulating excessive things, especially riches, far beyond his actual needs because he is never satisfied. Man always wants more. For example, a well-fed, satisfied lion won’t kill another animal merely for the fun of it.

With man’s brain and intelligence, he is supposed to be able to differentiate between good and evil. However, it is not so in reality. As Twain noted (p.10) man is the only animal that agonizes over insults and waits patiently for a sign of weakness, then retaliates. A dog has no brain that is so sensitive as to realize that it has been offended and has to retaliate.



Twain recognized the many bad traits of the human race. Man is the only religious animal, yet the same man fights each other because of religion. There is a good example where, in the name of religion, a Moslem sect in Nigeria is currently holding about 150 abducted high school students hostage.

I also agree with Twain that man is the only animal that engages in war. Examples are the Ukraine-Russia crisis, Israel-Gaza war and many more. While the human race is known to possess the best brain, man will often act before he thinks.

 

 

 

The Ugly Face of Human Nature.

Sooner or later, a point in your life will come when good news will be your portion.

There will be promotions at work, accolades from appreciative quarters and success in every endeavor.

Your spouse and kids will be doing great to make you proud and accomplished.

In essence, you’ll get a lot of wonderful things going on in your life and for which you’ll be eternally grateful to God.

At this same point however, you will have to be wary of one very important factor.

Simply put, NOT everyone will be happy for you…NOT even within your immediate family, relations and environments!

Your success, happiness and sense of fulfillment will actually make some people sick and hateful toward you!

So what do you do?

Hold your head high, don't ever feel guilty for your great fortune; you earn and deserve every bit of it!

Rather, tell every hater to go jump into the nearest river or lake…whichever one is closer!

Pursue Mutual Affection, Not Happiness.

“One should never direct people towards happiness, 
because happiness too is an idol of the market-place. 
One should direct them towards mutual affection. 
A beast gnawing at its prey can be happy too, 
but only human beings can feel affection for each other, 
and this is the highest achievement they can aspire to.” 
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.