YOU NEVER KNOW UNTIL YOU TRY 2

…I didn’t know I could write this piece until I started scribbling whatever it was that came to mind…and it shouldn’t be that surprising. That 1st sentence, should it?

…I am a writer… Yes! I am! But most of the time, I feel as though my head was empty- with nothing. I mean “absolutely nothing” inside of it. I end up pitying myself….and well- sulking. Both are bad.

…but isn’t it true? The writer’s greatest fear- that when he sits before the blank page, he finds himself at the foot of a mountain higher than Everest?! Do you know for how long an artist contemplates on where to line the first strokes of his painting? Thinking he can’t produce anything close to ‘a work of art’? Would you like to wonder with me, if Da Vinci ever did the same before he started to paint Mona Lisa (so filled with the urge to impress) or before Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie scribbled the first lines “Princeton in the summer smelled of nothing and although Ifemelu liked the tranquil greenness of the many trees…”?

Well, back to me(#smiles)…I read a lot, yet it happens that it happens…that feeling of emptiness- that you’re without depth, and that which you wish to set your hands on will please nobody but yourself…

But in the words of this very wonderful writer, Dani Shapiro, we learn, that,

“…this is the writer’s mind when embarking on a piece of work. We sit perched in front of our laptop screen, or our spiral-bound notebook, or a giant desktop monitor, and- we freeze….”

…but

“….build a corner…this is what people who are good at puzzles do. They ignore the heap of colors and shapes and simply look for straight edges. They focus on piecing together one tiny corner…begin with a sentence…then a paragraph…one image…one detail…go ahead…”

…just begin…and what happens? You’re enraptured in a world only you can create. Your stool is out, glistening in the spotlight- yet empty…your audience is ready to receive you…your orchestra of life’s experiences await your command…just begin….you walk into the room with the weight of the world on your shoulders…but nature claps on, knowing it has trusted you with more than enough to get things done. Slowly, you approach the stool, the audience bursts into a round of applause at the sight of the conductor. You mount. You hold your arms out, as if willing yourself to fly. All eyes are on you. With a wave of your stick, the music begins. A first note. Soft. Kind. Peaceful. It floats through the air, lingers, then dissipates into the crowd. Your heart pounds. Your knees quake beneath you. You command another note. This time, bold. Confident. A stroke of the brush. A bang on the nail. A journey to a dreaded place. A Princeton in the summer.

Only at the end, awash with satisfaction and ease do you realize that you had begun, and now it has all come to an end. And for that shiny moment in between, space and time had ceased to exist, and the awareness of the audience had floated away with the chords. You realize it was you at the edge of a cliff. You had thrust yourself in the air with no one to catch you- yet you had no fear of falling, and in the air, you were free- of tension- of ‘hows’- of expectations. Of what would happen if you hit the ground!

Oh, how do you know all of these? You know- because you tried.

A friend said “there’s no such thing as a writer’s block. It just means the writer has something physical or emotional or even spiritual going on that he has to deal with. And then,it might just be fear. And once you overcome all that, you are good to go… ”

This write-up is for him…

My lovelies, we are good to go 😀😀

Your Reflection

Hello lovelies…

I looked into a mirror last night before going to bed,just like we all do everyday,and I liked what I saw. I was like,”this is my reflection.” But then,as I thought about it, I realized that in itself isn’t my reflection. I mean,the mirror gives me exactly what I expect it to. If I’m on makeup, I get a dolled up reflection. If I just cried,I get a swollen or tear stained face as a reflection. And on and on and on. In short, whatever you see is as a result of what you intend to see.

Then I asked myself: “what then is my true reflection?” Lucky for me,I got my answer,and here it is:

My reflection is the lives I’ve touched. My reflection is the people who have picked one or two things from me. There’s no better reflection than that.

Have you ever looked at someone and  then liked one particular thing about that person and then you just started doing the same thing? That’s exactly what I’m talking about. We look at someone and then we’re like,”I want to be able to talk like this” or “I want to dress like she does” or “she’s so respectful. I want to be like that too”. When you begin to dress or talk or act or think like that person,you are a reflection of him or her.

And then the next question was: “do I have any reflection in this world?” I hope I already do. No one should leave this world without having at least one reflection. That would just be too sorrowful. And the real indication of growth is the number of people growing with and through us. If we’re growing alone,then we’re just existing.

We might already have reflections, unconsciously. I mean,there would definitely be someone who has picked one or two things from us along the way. But wouldn’t it be nicer if these reflections are created due to our own efforts?

I want to have reflections. I want people to grow with me. I want someone to look at me and say,”I made it because if you” or “thank God you came into my life”.

With that in mind, I can’t look at a mirror anymore and call what I see a reflection. Science can go ahead and argue with it’s theory, but that wouldn’t change anything (I’m not even in the field anyway).

I’ve not started. It’s something I just learnt, and I decided to share it with y’all. Let’s grow together; let’s create our reflections together. And who knows? I might just have created one reflection with this writeup. I hope.

Have a wonderful day, and don’t forget to create a reflection.

 

PICK YOUR PIECES,CREATE YOUR WORD

I believe it’s safe to say many of us play Word Cookies (I’ve come again with my puzzle ish). Anyway, for the sake of our brothers and sisters who don’t know what the game is all about, this game slash puzzle has to do with creating different words out of a set of letters that has been given you.

I played a particular level one time where the available letters were I,R,T,D,Y. From there,you would get DIRTY and TIDY. Antonyms got from the same set of letters. Fascinating, no?

Moral lesson:

Not all the letters given to you belongs to you. You just have to pick the ones that work for you. I mean,from DIRTY, I just need the letters T,I,D and Y. The letter R isn’t putting food on my table. The letter R isn’t affecting the price of Apple in the market,so I don’t need it.

And luckily for us,there are 26 letters in the English alphabet; more than enough letters to make your own words. And the good part is,you don’t have to pay any being to make use of any of these letters. “C’est gratuit.” So even if the letters aren’t enough, you get to pick any from the alphabet.

So,SORROW gets thrown your way,you only need the letter O. Pick the letters J and Y from the alphabet and create JOY. FAILURE gets thrown your way, you only need L,I,F,E = LIFE. Knowing fully well that,”when there is life, there is hope”.

No one can create your words for you. No one can limit you to some sad pieces of letters that only give you a bunch of heartbreaking words. You know what they say,”If life gives you lemons,make lemonade”.

My lovelies, create your words,pick your pieces,make it real. You’ll be smiling all day long.

Happy Sunday…

A Lesson From A Puzzle 2

For those who might be interested in this game,its name is Free Flow. Funny how something you underestimated could turn out to be more than you expected. I got this game from a friend, just to make him happy because I felt it was too easy to play,and I needed something more challenging than just connecting dots and colours. Turns out,this puzzle is more than just connecting the dots;it’s got to do with using your brain (if you know what I mean).

Now,back to business…

This level was pretty tough. In a game of Free Flow,you’ve got to connect the dots and get a star if you could complete the game with just the number of flows you have to make to complete it. Completing the game with more flows than you need gets you just a tick. Sounds easy enough,not so?

It was pretty easy at first,and I was bagging my stars like no man’s business. But like every other puzzle,you always move on to the tougher meats. I was supposed to win this with just 5 flows, but I played 19… Prior this one,I’ve always been replaying other levels,so I could get the perfect flows and earn my star.

But then it hit me…

I’m not perfect, so not everything I do has to be perfect. Only perfect people do perfect things, and absolutely no one in this planet is perfect. If everything was perfect, we wouldn’t be making upgrades of every product in this world.

You don’t have to be perfect,you just have to win it…

Once I had that understanding, I just played it to win,not to be perfect. Not that I don’t strive to get my star anymore (I still do, sometimes), but it’s no longer my driving force. I don’t get blinded too blinded by the star anymore. If I don’t get my star in a level,I know I’m still going to get it somewhere else.

Same with my Sudoku (I’m a puzzle freak). I don’t rush to meet up with the fastest time anymore,because even the fastest time isn’t the perfect time. I just play what I know,and win like I should,like I will…

That’s it my lovelies:::: you just have to win it. You don’t have to get the whole 100stars. No wonder why “A” starts from 70, and not 100…

Love you

Someone is Looking at You

I was in church one day,and after service, and all the normal greetings,I stood by the car, waiting for my people. While I was waiting, I was looking around,and someone caught my attention. I don’t remember what he was doing,but whatever it was fascinated me enough to stare at him for minutes but he was unaware that I was watching him. When my sister got to me,I said,”I’ve been staring at that man for a while now,and he isn’t aware of it. And that’s the same way another person would be looking at me without my knowledge. ”

It’s common knowledge that there is always someone looking at us,watching us,picking one or two things from us…but many times, we forget that these people might not be people around us. They might not even be people we’ve been expecting to look at or up to us. We try to ‘arrange’ ourselves, so we can fit into the criteria the people around us are holding over our heads. Then, when we know they aren’t looking, we drop our guards, forgetting that someone else is watching us from a very farrrrr distance.

The people watching you don’t have to stick to you like glue before you realize that someone is watching you. There are people watching you from the other side of the world,as unlikely as it may sound. I don’t know about you,but I’ve had occasions where people walked up to me,’proclaiming’ I did something,when I thought no one was watching…

Even though you look around, and notice that no one around you is watching, don’t forget that someone you can’t see is watching. Don’t let your liberty cause another man to fall. Whatever it is you’re doing, always remember that someone is watching you.

That’s it my lovelies: someone is watching you,even if you can’t or don’t see them. Whatever you do,keep that at the back of your mind.

 

WORSE CASE SCENARIOS

The Premier University, the University of Ibadan, decided to move the date of resumption, adding two more weeks to the initial date.  This caused a lot of reaction from many students who were already eager to resume (why do I feel like I’m broadcasting? Oh well). One particular student said, “my mates in 300l in other schools are already writing their second semester examinations, while I’m yet to even begin the session.” In response to that, someone else said, “some of your mates are dead too, so what are you complaining about?” A perfect example of a worse case scenario.

No matter what you’re going through, there are worse case scenarios. For every seemingly worse case scenario, there are ‘worser’ case scenarios. And even for every seemingly worser case scenario, there is still something worser. And it goes on and on and on.

We tend to place so much focus on our problems, we forget that there are people with worse problems.  So your breakfast this morning was garri, someone else didn’t get something to eat, and then someone else didn’t even wake up, not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t- Worse case scenarios.

Be grateful for everything you have, someone else couldn’t get them. Be grateful for even the things you don’t have, someone else would have preferred your problems to what he is going through. One day, with your grateful heart, your problems will be over.

My lovelies, always remember : whatever it is you are going through, it isn’t the worst that could happen to a man.  The worst is death, and you are alive.  And like they say, “when there is life, there is hope.” Don’t be weighed down by it. Square your shoulders and have a good day, because it is a good day…

You’ll Never Know Till You Try

There was this time I was packing my things, and I was trying to fit everything into a bag. There was this other smaller bag I was trying to put into that bigger bag, and it was looking like it wouldn’t fit in. I asked my roommate if it could possibly fit in, and she was like it wouldn’t, and I should just hold it as a separate bag.

I was contemplating what she said, until I just decided to at least ‘try’ to see what would happen; at least, to clear all doubts. Then, I put the bag in and voila! It actually entered. I wouldn’t have known that if I hadn’t tried it.

That got me thinking: many times we abandon ship even before getting on, just because the ship looks like it would capsize. We don’t start something because it wouldn’t be successful, or probably because people said it wouldn’t work. How are you going to know if the ship would capsize or not if you don’t get on it? I’m not saying you should rush into things, but there are some risks that are worth taking.

Don’t make your decisions based on what someone else said or experienced. What didn’t work for someone else could work for you. But then,how are you going to know that if you don’t try?

I was able to fit it all into a bag because I tried 😀😀. I know,I know, I know, it isn’t too much of a deal, but you get my point.

That’s it, my lovelies: You never know until you try.

It’s Me Again

This is like Purpose 2… I was a member of the “Phoneless Association” for a while (my friends created the Association), but I became an ex member a while back.  I think that’s the only excuse I have for my absence.

I promise this is the last time I would be giving an excuse.  I’m back and I’m BACK.

My lovelies, stay tuned to Gracespiration. I love you😘😘😘

 

FAIL AND BE HAPPY YOU DID

So I’ve been away for a while,and I don’t have any excuse. If I were to give one though, I would have said I had been in and out of examination halls,but I don’t think that’s an excuse. But I believe you all care about me well enough to know how my exams were, so I’m going to say,”they were fine,thank you very much.”

So,to the business of the day…

I’ve never liked failure,and I’m certain the same goes for many people. I remember a time I cried because I didn’t win a ludo game,and I was in Ss2,so it wasn’t a baby syndrome. I just didn’t like the fact that I couldn’t win that game. I mean,it was just Ludo for heaven’s sake. That’s just one out of many examples I could give. It was so bad that I didn’t engage in anything unless I was certain I was going to win it,because if I didn’t, I would break down almost to the point of shedding tears.

This affected me in so many ways. I created a comfort zone,and I got so comfortable in it. I had to watch my colleagues go ahead of me,just because they weren’t scared of losing. Funny enough, I wasn’t in the least bit bothered. I mean,we aren’t the same. If they’re comfortable with getting embarrassed whenever they lose, I’m not.

Something changed me though. Maybe I should say I had a paradigm shift. I was in church one day,and a brother ( bless his heart) was talking about Thomas Edison, the man who invented the light bulb. He failed so many times, but what he had to say was,” I have not failed. I’ve just found 10000 ways that won’t work.”

What confidence! What understanding! Not everyone would think like that. I certainly didn’t. That got me thinking: we don’t always see failure that way. Whenever we fail,or something doesn’t go our way,we begin to think we aren’t good enough,or we’re cursed,or we were cheated. We even go as far as blaming God,people around us,even objects; just about anything ‘blamable’. Then I discovered that’s it’s just a trait of immaturity,or low self-esteem.

Someone who is mature would not cry over failure. Instead, he would find a better way to make it work. Thomas tried 10000 times. Many of us haven’t even tried it twice.

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Then I wondered how many times I had been so close to success only to lose it just because I gave up. The thing is,we should just be faithful. A friend told me this, and I quote ( I already told him I would): “faithfulness is key when you fail.” Stick to what you’ve been doing,like Thomas did. Dropping it just because you didn’t make a headway once doesn’t mean it isn’t going to be a success later in life. I haven’t seen anyone who hasn’t found a use or the other for the light bulb. Who knows, you might just be working on something that would save the whole world,say a thousand years from now.

True,no one wants to fail. I don’t want to fail. Thomas didn’t want to fail. But failure would definitely come. The question is,”what do we do when it comes visiting?”

I’ve learnt my lesson; I don’t cry anymore over a game of Ludo…lol. I want you to learn yours too…

The Parable of the Mind

Today, I’ll be telling you a story,although I’d rather we called it a parable. And this is dedicated to a friend who’s very dear to me. Enjoy!!!

There lived a great man (I don’t know what to call him). He was a great man born into a long generation of gardeners and he had 3 sons. By virtue of this fact,these 3 sons had to carry on with their family tradition,but to them,it was more than just a family tradition. It had become more or less like a religion,each man having an individual garden that they could plant on, any flower in the world that appealed to them.

Now, interestingly, the first son loved almost every plant he could see. So every time he found a new plant, you know what he would do? He would toss it into the garden and later,he’d come back to water it.

The second son on the other hand,you know what he loved? Of all the flowers in the world,he was in love with tulips, that every single day of his life,he would water it,day and night in his garden and cherish it. He loved it almost to the point of obsession.

The third son was much like the first son, in his love for variety- less variety though, because the love for one flower led to that of the other. He made interesting discoveries. He would pick out different seeds and then organize them according to their colours and sizes and the beauty they would bring out when combined together…And so the seeds were planted. And those seeds began to grow, just like the sons.

It was time for the first visit,where people would come to check out their gardens and see how well the young men have fared…

The second son’s garden was first in line: those tulips, they were so beautiful, and people would come into the second son’s garden and be like, “wow! This is beautiful! Splendid! What a great work you’ve done. Impressive!”

The third son’s garden was next. His garden flourished and people were even more amazed at the spontaneous brilliance. “Wow! This is even better! It’s like heaven on earth.”

But the beauty was not quite “too” remarkable… Or at least,when they got to the first son’s garden,they all seemed to change their minds about how amazing it was. You really should have seen this garden. It was amazing. What wild brilliance. Another level of genius they could only think was humanly impossible by yet another savant from the long line of gardeners. Some even called it Paradise.

Now, time crept again,almost unnoticeably, as it always does, and it was time for the second visit.

The second son’s garden looked a lot better; the best tulips they could ever find in that town. People came from all over the world to get tulips from just one man. Wow!

The third son’s garden,jeez! The blend! One flower’s beauty complemented the other and supplemented itself at the same time. It was a garden yet, looked like a museum at the same time. If there was one word for it this time,it was Eden. Second to paradise… But…

The first son’s garden, yes,it grew. Yes,it was pretty, but the plants wrestled for nutrients, wrestled for air,for space and none survived. Not a single one of them and sad enough,the only thing that illusively survived were the thorns and weeds. The garden lost its colour, its beauty. And the gardener,he lost everything.

THE END!!!

The first thing we have to realize is: The mind is the Garden. Second,there are just so many lessons to be learnt from this sweet story/parable. I definitely won’t be able to state all,but I’ll drop what I have. You could too,in the comments box,if you feel it would be a blessing to someone. That settled,let’s go.

• People don’t know it,but there’s a blessing in Simple. People wish they could sing and dance and be everything. But what we don’t realize is, the fact that life has made that decision for us,not making us good at many things,but one,is a blessing. We really tend to ignore that life has given us a purpose, something to work on and towards,a niche of specialization and concentration. That was the case with the second son. He had the ability to grow and nurture only one type of flower. Look how it turned out. He was able to concentrate on just that one thing,and he made a huge boom.
• ‘Jack of all trades,master of none.’ How is it possible for us to have our hands in so many pies and not get overstuffed? Really,if there’s a way around it, I need to know. But until then,just stick to what you know,and develop it. We really should stop jumping up and down,getting engaged in just about anything that catches our attention. Then at the end of the day,we can’t even lay a claim on one thing we have achieved.
• Be organized. Make plans. Have a focus. Have goals. The only difference between the first and third son is the ability to plan and be organized. They both had the same passion,but different approaches. Everything in this life revolves around order. That is why I have to go to school before I get a job before I get married before I get kids. Even God created the world in a particular ORDER. That should tell us that order is ancient, and should be treated as one.
• The flowers in the garden of the first son had to fight for space, air and nutrients. Why? There were just too many of them. Worse,they weren’t aligned, like the third son’s. Congratulations on having a lot of aspirations- I do too. But the question is,how well are they going hand in hand? If we don’t create a balance,then our ‘flowers’,our dreams and our visions would die. There are just some things that we have to let go of,no matter how much we love them, because it’s obvious that they would just interfere with some other things. That’s when prioritization comes in…
• Don’t envy that guy you think can do all. The little we have, how effective have we been with them? “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings and not mean men.” Be diligent with what you have, no matter how little, no matter how small. And you would definitely surpass that guy who has ‘more’. At the end of the day,there’s more to life than having more.

There are so many other lessons that can be learnt from this,but I think I’ve exhausted all I have. Like I said at the start,you could drop something in the comments box.

Bless you.