WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD

 

I was thinking this morning.... I have been travelling far and near in the last 30 years and in all my journeys I have never been left without an impression. Every trip on road, air or sea leaves an impression about how wonderful the World is and the mightiness of the creator.

In my former life as Environmental inspector for Shell, I had to travel deep into the swamp even to the edge of the Atlantic Ocean in Bayelsa and Delta States. Years later, when I did sail on a Cruise ship on the ocean so large that I couldn't see the end whichever direction I turned, I remembered the song of Louis Armstrong 'What a Wonderful World'.

Oh, what a wonderful world indeed. On my very first flight ever in 1992, I couldn't get over the thought of a giant metal suspended inside the clouds. In the vastness of the skies and looking down and seeing everything we hold dear look so tiny, my jaw dropped and like Louis Armstrong, I sang 'What a Wonderful Wooooorld'.

Some live close to or at the foot of the mountain but have never climbed to the peak. You only need to climb to the Mountain peaks of Idanre hills in Ondo state or Shere hills in Plateau State for you to shout 'What a wonderful wooooorld'

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Turkey is designated as one of the Seven wonders of the ancient world. It was built in 550 BC to honour Artemis, the goddess of hunting. The magnificent building took over 120 years to build and only one night to destroy! As I stood before the ruins of the temple and imagined how people kill to acquire material wealth, I whispered 'oh what a wonderful wooorld.'

Niagara falls in Canada, The Great Wall of China, Christ the Redeemer in Brazil and many others have been designated as great wonders of today. The interesting thing is that if you walk out your door, walk on the grass, watch the birds fly or simply smell the rain, then you will truly say, oh what a wonderful world we live.

It is common to hear someone say 'it's not that deep.' Overthinking your problems can lead to depression. Waking up every morning is a wonder, so relax and appreciate the simple gifts of life. Then and only then can you truly sing like Louis Armstrong 'What a Wonderful World.' Las las, in all things, give thanks (1Thes 5:18).

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

LIFE IS NOT A BLAZER

 

I was thinking this morning..... I had need for a new blazer and decided to go get one from nearby boutiques. I am not talking about the old-fashioned 'coat' but a bespoke blazer. I had gone into a number of shops looking for the perfect colour, cut and size. When the few shown to me fell short of my expectations, I decided to go to Balogun market in Lagos. I was taken to a massive warehouse appropriately called 'Suit Warehouse.' The sheer number of suits in the 6-floors building was intimidating. I kept checking and trying on one blazer after another until I found the perfect one, paid and left satisfied.

As I stepped out of the shop into my car to drive off, I reflected on how finite our time on earth is and how we have just once to live. Why can't we try out 'Lives' and choose the one we want to live? Why was I not given the opportunity to choose what time or era I want to live? Why didn't I have the options to decide what continent I want to live? Why wasn't I shown different parents to decide through whom I should be born? Before another question could brew in my fertile mind, I heard a soft voice say 'Shut up. Life is not a blazer.'

Life is not a blazer that one could try on and make a 'take it or leave it' choice. We only have one shot at life and when, where and by whom is a decision taken on our behalf. Truly, life is not a blazer that you can put on or pull off at will. This life that we all are in, is the only one we'll get a shot at in this realm.

If life is not a blazer, then why does some behave otherwise? I have seen people engage domestic staff (househelp, driver or cook) and misuse, abuse and then dump them like a N2k bend-down-select (okrika) coat. Haba! That life is a precious soul and not a blazer with which you do as you please. I have also seen some persons rent out their lives like cheap articles. In the same way you can rent a wedding gown or suit, that is how some rent their bodies for money. Life is not a blazer.

We have just one life, which we should cherish, care for, protect and make the best of. Life is not a blazer. Hebrews 9:27 says 'it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.'

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey 

YOUR BEST MOMENT IS IN FELLOWSHIP

 

I was thinking this morning.... I had the privilege of visiting the Banff National Park recently. As I got atop the Sulfur Mountain via the Gondola enjoying the breathtaking views of the rocky mountains and turquoise glacial Lake, my heart stood still in awe of the greatness of God.

While a few individuals came alone, most people, like us, came in small groups. I scanned the faces of people around and could tell that those in groups were enjoying the best moments. Yes, someone might have come there alone to be inspired, but those that came with friends and family did not only find inspiration but also love and happiness. It led me to the conclusion that the best moments in life are in fellowship.

I remember my first time of visiting Paris years ago, I was alone. As beautiful as the City was, my experience does not compare with my visit, with friends and family, to Idanre Hills in Ondo State, Nigeria. Sharing the awe, fear and laughter with friends and family was simply divine. Truly, our best moments in life are in fellowship.

Cast your mind back to the days of the Covid-19 lockdown when we all had to join Church services online. Lack of physical connection made the virtual service feel dry like vegetable salad without cream. When we eventually resumed in-person service, it was like a big celebration. No doubt, our best moments are in fellowship, this time fellowship with fellow believers.

Why would one be 'forming' class, ignoring friends and isolating from family, believing it is the way to peace and happiness? True, there are some people one must avoid for your safety and sound mental health, but the friends and family you lose in one part, you should gain in another, because our best moments in life are in fellowship.

Do not shut people out by your attitude until they become lonely because our best moments in life are in fellowship. There is a reason God placed everyone in a family. It is for fellowship. True happiness is in sharing with and serving others and not in self aggrandisement or feeding self. Romans 12:10 says 'Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves.'

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

PULL DOWN THAT FENCE

 

I was thinking this morning.... In those days in Warri, we lived in a community without boundaries. A 'yard' where there were no fences between compounds. High fences were for the rich and those that had something to hide or so we thought. What was common was 'monkey fence.' Today, a typical community in Nigeria has buildings locked in high fences like maximum security prisons while Residential estates are like mazes with high fences separating semi-detached duplexes.

As I drove off this 'fence-less' community, I reflected on how we have voluntarily imprisoned ourselves in Nigeria. I pondered on the different kinds of fences. Though it is said that good fences make good neighbours because it prevents unnecessary invasion of one's privacy, distrust for one's neighbour is at the root of the fencing mentality. The mata don bad so tay, some energise their fences to electrocute intruders.

Beyond the physical fences, there are invisible fences. I stayed in a majority Indian community recently. Though there were no physical fences between the apartments and semi-detached duplexes but there was a cultural fence between us because I do not look or talk like them.

The 2023 general elections in Nigeria caused serious damage to our integration as a people. Due to political differences, very high energised fences were built between friends and in some cases brothers, blocking themselves on social media. All in the name of political fencing.

When a man is offended in his wife, he will refuse to speak to her. That is emotional fencing. However, when a woman is angry with her husband, she places a pillow between herself and her husband. That is not only matrimonial but also intimacy fencing.

The world today is very divided and toxic needing men of goodwill to do something. If you have a broken or strained relationship with anyone, this is not a time to sit on the fence, rather, you should be mending fences (Romans 12:18). If for some reason you can't mend the fence, then pull it down

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

PLEASE STOP EATING AND SHARE

 

I was thinking this morning.... After about two weeks out of Nigeria and eating a blend of Nigeria and oyibo food, my Warri friend from Hussey college invited my family over for lunch. What's on the menu? Starch and banga soup. Apparently, it was a china packaged starch but very much same taste like what I am used to back home.

I was primed to eat and continue eating but not long after the first swallow, I was tired. I looked at what was left and wondered why I couldn’t continue enjoying this scrumptious meal.

Then I recalled watching a movie on Netflix days earlier titled 'To Catch a Killer.' It was about a sniper that killed 29 persons on New Year eve. When the investigative FBI officer asked a female police officer that responded to the incident what she thought about killer stopping at 29 rather than continue to kill more. She responded 'I think he got his fill. No matter how good the food taste, you stop eating when you've had enough. Till you get hungry again.'

I thought about the many good things we enjoy in life and how we get tired after we've had our fill. For example, I always look forward to travelling abroad on vacation but often wondered why after only a few weeks, I get tired and want to come back home. Now I understand why. 'No matter how good a food taste, you stop eating when you've had enough. Till you get hungry again.'

It is common saying that 'too much of everything is bad.' When you are privileged to have a banquet set before you, eat but not compulsively like Nigeria politicians. Remember, there are many who are praying for just a bite. The normal order is, no matter how good a food taste, you stop eating when you've had enough. When you can't stop eating, it is a disorder called Prader-Willi syndrome (a malfunction of the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that normally controls feelings of fullness or hunger).

Whatever God has blessed you with, enjoy but remember to stop eating at some point and share, else you will be guilty of debauchery (Galatians 5:19).

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

MAKE SENSE OF LIFE

 

I was thinking this morning..... Recently, the security guard of my apartment in Port-Harcourt was relieved of his job because he was disrespectful of the caretaker. His hitherto N30k minimum wage was ridiculous, but his life literally fell apart after the sack. He is always sick and could hardly care for himself. Every so often, he will text me asking for N2k for drugs or food. I kept supporting until his text two days ago asking for support to buy drugs as he was sick. I felt he was wearying me out and wanted to ignore him but then I recalled a message sent to me the day before that says 'Life makes more sense when we become the reason why others smile.'

The truth is, in the world today, people are not smiling at all. Many of the smiles you see are fake. Did you know there are 19 different types of smile, out of which only 6 are for happiness? The remaining 13 smiles are the embarrassed, miserable and fake smile (popularly known as wayo smile in Warri).

You will meet people with challenges daily. Don't build a fence around you nor squeeze your face to put them off. No one is asking you to cure world hunger, but to simply do something that will put a smile on the face of your neighbour. Be the conveyor of good news or good deeds because life makes more sense when we become the reason why others smile.

I am not talking about wayo smile or a smile of embarrassment. There is a lot you can do to put one of the 6 smiles of happiness on the faces of people. Invite a family over for dinner, buy small gift for someone or simply just smile at a random person. You know why? Life makes more sense when we become the reason why others smile.

A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face; a sad heart makes it hard to get through the day (Prov 15:13). I am smiling because I just want to make sense of life.

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

GIVE THEM THEIR ZOBO

 

I was thinking this morning.... As an African, there are many foreign practices I struggle to understand. One of such is the giving of flowers. Flowers are often seen as a symbol of love and affection, and when someone is given a bouquet, it's a sign that they are loved and appreciated.

Nevertheless, as youths, we did try out giving of flowers in our apprentice days of 'toasting' a girl in Warri by plucking an hibiscus flower on our way to visiting a babe. The bright red showy flowers of the hibiscus 🌺 was our symbol of love.

From experience, we soon learnt that rather than flowers that withers within hours, Africans appreciated gifts that add value such as money, food or even a souvenir that is long lasting.

Fast forward 25 years. When I first realised that the popular Nigerian drink Zobo was made from dry hibiscus flower, I was immediately put off, despite the drink being rich in antioxidants and aids detoxification. It took me a while to summon up courage to drink the juice made from our love flower, but I finally did years later. The taste? Not bad, I will say, particularly when prepared with ginger.

Acquiring a taste for Zobo gave me a whole new view of the practice of giving of flowers. Why should you give out flowers that can't be eaten when you can process the flower and give out as Zobo? No dulling!

Early last week, the Nigeria Women Football team were narrowly edged out of the Women's World Cup by England after a hard fought match. The ladies did Nigeria proud just like their basketball counterparts, D'Tigress that won their fourth consecutive FIBA Women's Afrobasket title, with mostly local players and first ever female coach. While many were saying, give them their flowers, I said they deserved more than flowers. Give them every dollar due and rather than flowers, give them their Zobo.

If you have achieved anything remarkable, and want to ginger yourself up, you need not wait for anyone to give you your flowers. Do one better, give yourself a chilled Zobo with a tint of ginger. Self appreciation is not pride (Ephesians 5:29).

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey