FLOURISHING IN DRY PLACES

The air was hot and humid as we stepped out of the terminal to walk a few meters to the plane billed to fly us from Lagos to Kigali. I quickened my pace to get in the plane; the heat was excruciating and the air, still. The coolness of the cabin was a welcome one and I soon was seated and looking out the window. I love the window seat as I always get a superb panoramic view as the plane lands and takes off. You often can tell the level of development of the city from such views. Anyway that's a topic for another day.

I settled down in the plane and began to take in the view outside. The domineering hues surrounding us were grey and brown. It was like someone had made a concerted effort to remove other colors leaving what Wally Serote calls, ‘a concrete jungle’. It was depressing. But as I observed further, I noticed that there were patches of green here and there like stubborn precocious children who refuse to be denied their say. The color, green, brightened up the horizon. As I appreciated them, I thought how well they could have done in more fertile circumstances.  But then, another thought immediately struck me that I would not have noticed them if everything had been lush and green. What made them stand out is their ability to thrive and flourish in seemingly arid unfavorable circumstances.

 WANTING TO STAND OUT

I wonder how many of us would want to be the green plants in the midst of a vast landscape of brown and grey. We all want to be planted in lush, verdant environment and yet stand out. The desire to excel is innate in us all and sometimes brings out the worst in us.  When people engage in ‘Pull Him/Her Down (PHD) activities, what they are exhibiting wrongly is a desire to make a name for themselves. Two opposing factors are often at play in our lives: we want to make a name but don’t want to venture into uncharted or seemingly unfertile grounds. I wonder if Nelson Mandela would have become the household name he is today if he did not venture into the engulfing sea of advocating for liberation.  Sometimes these two are not mutually exclusive.

Stop trying to choke life out of people around you; stop trying to put out their light - yours won’t shine any brighter! You want to stand out? Go out into the open. Believe me that seemingly dry, uninspiring ground can be become your opportunity to shine.

COVID IDEAS

This COVID lockdown must have created some time for us to reflect and come up with solutions to issues and ideas for new ventures. We will start talking about ideas from my next post. There is space for all of us to grow, thrive and flourish even in these seemingly dry times.

I Bi Bem