Life · Philosophy of Life

A Lesson in The Bug…

I think that I’ve been bitten by the bug of a thought following Linda’s earlier prompt for SoCS.

Does the saying that ‘the early bird gets to eat the fattest worm’ ever bug you a bit? Well, it does bite me in the butt now and again. Sometimes I feel that I’m late for lifes’ party and that the early birds before me have harvested the best and the fattest worms, leaving slim pickings for those of us who made it late.Related image

When my thought pattern begins to go down this route of ‘woe is me and regretting time lost’ I painstakingly drag it back to the present firmly reminding myself of a couple of common Igbo adages that say, ‘when someone wakes up is their morning,’ and ‘the first house built on the street is not necessarily the finest.’

Reminding oneself that the land is still green and full of harvest and that the Earth is abundant for every one of us is not cold comfort or living in a fool’s paradise. It is true. However, it is based on your perspective.

Our reality is what it is, but our reality is equally what we can make it ‘to be’ if we want it badly enough. Constantly comparing our circumstance to that of someone else who seems to be thriving better simply exposes us to the evil twins – envy and jealousy – and allowing these two to occupy free space in your heart never bodes well for anyone.

I would say that as life keeps evolving, just wear your dancing shoes. Today’s early bird might become tomorrow’s hunters’ prey, so stop fretting about being late for lifes’ party and simply start your own party, there will always be enough guests to invite.

Jacqueline

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Stream of Consciousness Saturday.

The Whole Nine Yards – Stream of Consciousness Saturday

My dad used to say ‘be careful in giving someone a yard, the next thing you know they would want a mile,’ and my mother would say ‘be that yardstick of the best quality and do it better than your best,’ which not surprisingly always seemed to follow house chores that didn’t meet her yardstick of measuring cleanliness.

I never quite knew what that yardstick of hers was except she liked us polishing the floor till it was shiny enough to eat food off it and somehow we always managed to spill our food, then we picked it up, dusted if off and ate it. It’s amazing how strong we were back then and we had no worries about microbes. Now, even with all the advancement in technology and medical sciences, the names of diseases keep growing in numbers.

I like the saying ‘going the whole nine yards,’ though I have always wondered why nine yards and not ten, eleven, twelve or seven yards even. I am the going the whole nine yards kinda girl. I would give it my all till I’ve got nothing more to give – I guess when a person has taken all the nine yards that I can afford to give them I stop cutting them any more slack and fabric lest I find myself naked and in need of yards myself and that’s when I remember my dad’s words about those who would want a mile.

So, are you the whole nine yards type of person or do you hold back some of the yardages as backup 😉

Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Yard – SoCS