I Must Not Lower My Standard!

I was on my way out, I remembered I needed to put something in my bag, then I hurriedly entered the room and suddenly stumbled on a paper stuck to the wall. What’s this? I read “I must never lower my standard for anyone or anything.” It was an inscription of my roommate. I wouldn’t understand what the guy meant. Few days later, I had my experience. I was in a hostel to sell my food. I met one of my guys who lives in the hostel and he joined me to start meeting people in their rooms. Fifteen minutes after, no one had bought food. What’s happening? I questioned myself. I told the guy to go back to his room. I wouldn’t want him to be frustrated with people’s response and attitude. 

Then I began to go into the rooms one after the other, not minding whether they are Africans or not. Then I started from the highest floor. As I was moving through the rooms, I met a Mongolian girl. Hello! Hi! She responded with smile, I’m selling rice, very nice and tasty. Will you like to buy? I said. Hummm, I’m not sure, she replied with curiousity. But can I have a taste? She added. Of course you can. I replied. Then she got spoon and opened the pack to have a taste. She took the first spoon. Humm, yummy! She quietly spoke in surprise. And took the second spoon. It’s very nice, she added, astounded!

Then I said, it’s yours. Go and enjoy the rest. But I don’t want to buy it. She replied. But why? I asked. I just don’t want to buy it, She replied. Is it because you don’t have money or you want me to give you at a lower price? I asked. I just don’t want it. She replied. That was how we were throwing it back and forth. I was dazed. Then I said you know what, since you’ve eaten part of the food, you take it. But I was not happy because the girl looked like she was going to buy it. That was why I allowed her to have a taste. And she confirmed that the food was good. If she had told me she doesn’t have money, that would have been a different case. I wouldn’t mind paying for her. But for the fact that she just replied she didn’t want the food already closed the case. But I was forcing it on her. I eventually left the food with her and went away unsatisfied. 

Then I moved to the other floors of the hostel. I knocked at a door, an Arab guy came out. Hey man, how are you doing? I asked, greeting the guy. I’m good, he replied. Do you speak English? I asked. He said yes I do. I’m selling a very nice, tasty rice, and I’m sure you would like to have some taste, I said. Then another guy from inside the room yelled out, oh this is not the right room, go to the next room. But the food is not only for Africans, I prepared it for all nationalities and everyone that has eaten the food really love it. I’m sure you guys would like to have some taste. I replied them with smile. Humm, ok, give us 3 plates, they requested. Then, I did. Later, they requested for one more. I gave them. I was happy. Then I moved to the next room. There, were African guys. They bought 3 plates. Wow! I was full of surprises. But is it not in this same hostel that the selling was not moving some minutes ago? but just meeting the right people changed the whole thing. 

As I was about to take my leave from that place, I checked my phone, and I saw one of my guys’ message; “we’re waiting for food sir.” I was shocked. But the food is almost finished though, I soliloquized. Then I quickly called him. The food only remained 2 plates, I said. Please start coming now, and don’t sell it again! The guy yelled out in agitation. They’ve been waiting for food as well. Then I thought of how I’ve wasted one plate of food with the Mongolian girl I had met earlier when I felt the market was not going. I had lowered my standard by just forcing the food on her, even though she told me she doesn’t want. I felt so bad. And now, here are guys who want to buy the food, even for any price. I was so sad. It was as though I had lost a huge amount of money. Then I got an important lesson that I must not lower my standard or force myself on anyone who doesn’t want or like me no matter what, but know and be rest-assured that there are many more people out there who are in dare need and are looking for what I have. Peace.

Physical Environment

How much can we say about physical environment? Should we start from the air that we continuously breathe in? Or we take it from the water that we forever drink that takes a huge percentage of our body weight? Or we begin to dive into all the varieties of foods that we eat that have so much effect on our health and many more things like atmospheric temperature that directly affect our body temperature whether we’ll be cold or hot, or where we live, where we work, and where we meet people or buy things and so on? So much to say. 

Anyway, the journey has already started. All those were mentioned to trigger some thought processes and give you a tip of an iceberg of things that go on around us that we most times lose consciousness of but are very vital to our health. The physical environment essentially comprises all the things around us that are not living but affect our living. They are things that we can see or we cannot see with our naked eyes. Just as mentioned, though the air cannot be seen, it's impact can be felt on our body and it’s important for our health. The atmospheric temperature, pressure, humidity, radiation, waves, geothermal heat and other forces and energies around us, that can’t be seen, but their significant impact on our health can't be denied. 

Have you ever been outside in a cold weather, unprepared and you found yourself inappropriately dressed? If you had to stay long, your plan would immediately change and you will want to find a way out because you wouldn’t want the cold weather to have adverse effect on your health. Likewise when it’s summer time, the weather is so hot that you could feel like staying inside cold water. But these are just manipulations of temperature around us, yet have so much effect on our health and lifestyle. What about the water you drink? What about the clothes you put on? What about the food you eat? What about the place you work or study? And what about the places you meet people for events and so on? All these and many more form the components of our physical environment. There's so much to say, but let's take a pause here. Be healthy where you are. Be healthy with what you eat and drink. And be healthy with where you go. Have a great moment.

"I’m So Hungry Right Now!"

What if I tell you I'm so hungry right now? I just need to put something in my mouth to resuscitate those dying taste buds in my tongue. It was yesterday I ate so well that I overloaded my tummy till I went for bowel movement, not knowing that today has nothing to do with yesterday. At that time, I wouldn’t ever imagine that I would ever be hungry again. There’s just something about food that would keep us connected to it no matter what. Yes, we gain energy and nutrients from food, but apart from that, the desire and the feeling are so enormous that nothing else matters again when we are really hungry. Couple of times, I had hoped that no matter what, I would control my hunger, I would wait till I’m back from my trip or whenever I want to, not because I was fasting but just to control the desire to eat. I was so shocked at what I saw. I realized it wasn’t the way I had thought about it. I know significant part of hunger is psychological, and we can manipulate it. But that’s at the beginning part, not the later part when the feeling is so intense. The moment the feeling is getting more and more crazy, you probably might not have control over it again unless you want to starve yourself to death. 

The strong feeling of hunger is important for our survival because that’s how we can search for food and get the appropriate nutrients and energy into our body. Next time you are hungry, don’t be angry, just get something to eat if you are not fasting. But, what if you don’t have anything to eat? You can meet people who have or can help. There’s no crime in asking for what you don’t have, and you don’t need to feel ashamed about it. Better still you can talk to your close friends or family members who can help. It’s better to stay alive and live your dreams than to kill yourself because of hunger. If you don’t have resources, you can make a short and long term plans. You already have the big resources with you- your time and life. 

Short term plan is to offer yourself to help people. A lot of people around us need help in one way or the other. With the time you have, you can offer yourself to help people, and with that, people can give you something back in return. But don’t let your focus be money. Let it just be to add value or help people, you will see how things will work around for you. The long term plan would be to think of the area you are good at and start working on developing yourself in that area. If you develop your gift well enough, people will come and buy it at any cost only you can give it. I hope you are no longer hungry. Enjoy!