I've just had a funny, funny, funny moment on accepting your lot - taking the good and bad in everything....
I bumped into a South African friend earlier on today. Normally bubbly and full of joie de vivre, she looked somewhat discomforted. "Hey, how was your day today?' I asked. "Not sure," she said, even as she scratched her blonde head. "I've been on the go for 10 hours - I offered to view one of our new offices in Ikeja today. I spent two and a half hours getting there, I was at the site for three hours and spent another two odd hours getting back, and I am thinking, I want those five hours of my life that I spent in traffic back so that I could use them productively."
I laughed my head off like it was a laughing competition.
Honestly, my friend was quite peturbed. She kind of just could not get that it took five whole hours of driving to get three whole hours of productivity! And she was burnt out from the whole experience. I tell you, I laughed and laughed even as she was peturbed.
But you know what? She said, "Oh, well, that's my occupational hazard, I guess. Thank God that's over with." I love that spirit
So, I kind of thought, Ms ArtofLiving, whenever you next have a 'not so pleasant' occupational experience, think of it only as an occupational hazard.
Nice weekend, folks!
Saturday 24 May 2008
Wednesday 21 May 2008
Intuition
Can I put it to you that there is no such thing as a coincidence? And that the majority of our structured and measured decisions have an intended end beyond that which we ourselves intended? Can I?
Not having ready access to the internet over the past few weeks, I've had time to think through the next couple of postings. The issue of coincidences and God-incidences continued to surround so much of my being, and I kind of figured that I must talk write about it.
I'll start with one of my claims to fame, my sister Abidemi Sanusi. I remember when her book God has Daughters Too was published, I ordered about 10 copies and gifted them to friends. Practically every single person that I gave that book to spoke about how it was a tremendous blessing. In fact, a friend was visiting Ghana for the weekend at the time and I gave her a copy of the book. Two days Iater she rang me from Nigeria to thank me for the book and to say how she so much needed to read the book - it has provided answers and comfort for many of the challenges she was presently going through.
Of course I mentioned this to Abidemi. Her response? It's amazing how God works. He lays it on your heart to write a book, you write it, forget about it and move on to the next project, and then three years down the line hundreds of people tell you the book was written for them.
Coincidence?
I remember three odd years ago I was in Freetown on a short assignment. 7.30pm. Work is done for the day and I am in my unremarkable hotel room. And I am thinking, I need to make better use of times like this. After weeks of thinking how that might be, I decide to embark on an MBA course. A few weeks ago I am giving a presentation on an assignment using all the knowlegde and insight I had gained from the Making Policy module of the MBA, and the participants spoke to how 'on the ball' the presentation was. And I thought: (i) thank God and (ii) coincidences.
The last one for the road. I am currently out of Ghana on assignment. Before I left Ghana all the horror stories that you hear about the country I find myself in threatened to keep me from action. Nevertheless I take the step. I arrive. In absolutely every area that I had had sleepless nights over, a colleague who had earlier arrived from Cameroon readily and with good grace assisted me on every step. Having had to go through those same logistical issues himself, he knew where and how to go about every 'settling in' issue I had. Talk about a forerunner.
Okay, this is really the last one for the road now...
An on church? Well, my church in Ghana has a branch in this city. The only thing is, the branch is far, far away from home and work. So I figure, well, I might only be doing church on Sundays. The week I contact the church office here to find out the logistics of getting to the church, I am told that a mid-week service is being launched in the area where I work - 10 minutes drive from my workplace in fact.
Coincidence? God-incidence? Intuition? None of the above?
Not having ready access to the internet over the past few weeks, I've had time to think through the next couple of postings. The issue of coincidences and God-incidences continued to surround so much of my being, and I kind of figured that I must talk write about it.
I'll start with one of my claims to fame, my sister Abidemi Sanusi. I remember when her book God has Daughters Too was published, I ordered about 10 copies and gifted them to friends. Practically every single person that I gave that book to spoke about how it was a tremendous blessing. In fact, a friend was visiting Ghana for the weekend at the time and I gave her a copy of the book. Two days Iater she rang me from Nigeria to thank me for the book and to say how she so much needed to read the book - it has provided answers and comfort for many of the challenges she was presently going through.
Of course I mentioned this to Abidemi. Her response? It's amazing how God works. He lays it on your heart to write a book, you write it, forget about it and move on to the next project, and then three years down the line hundreds of people tell you the book was written for them.
Coincidence?
I remember three odd years ago I was in Freetown on a short assignment. 7.30pm. Work is done for the day and I am in my unremarkable hotel room. And I am thinking, I need to make better use of times like this. After weeks of thinking how that might be, I decide to embark on an MBA course. A few weeks ago I am giving a presentation on an assignment using all the knowlegde and insight I had gained from the Making Policy module of the MBA, and the participants spoke to how 'on the ball' the presentation was. And I thought: (i) thank God and (ii) coincidences.
The last one for the road. I am currently out of Ghana on assignment. Before I left Ghana all the horror stories that you hear about the country I find myself in threatened to keep me from action. Nevertheless I take the step. I arrive. In absolutely every area that I had had sleepless nights over, a colleague who had earlier arrived from Cameroon readily and with good grace assisted me on every step. Having had to go through those same logistical issues himself, he knew where and how to go about every 'settling in' issue I had. Talk about a forerunner.
Okay, this is really the last one for the road now...
An on church? Well, my church in Ghana has a branch in this city. The only thing is, the branch is far, far away from home and work. So I figure, well, I might only be doing church on Sundays. The week I contact the church office here to find out the logistics of getting to the church, I am told that a mid-week service is being launched in the area where I work - 10 minutes drive from my workplace in fact.
Coincidence? God-incidence? Intuition? None of the above?
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