Love and Money

For a long time, people have used the phrase "Its the thought that counts". Lets face it ive used it a few times to get myself out of tricky situations. The use of money to show love has been branded as shallow, materialistic etc.. But am not so sure anymore.

I suppose this depends on your attitude towards money. If you are a spendthrift then you wont need that much encouragement to buy expensive gifts and stuff. But if you are a tight git, like yours truly, then u find out you will hold back and this is not limited to gifts. It could be beggars in traffic, cousin who needs credit etc..... Is it possible to show love and still be tight.......

I dont know but there is something liberating about doing a good deed. Being prudent is good. But can you be too prudent that it becomes overbearing... I think so. It shouldnt control you. As we say in Naija. Spend this money!!! Live life!!!!! Let it go!!!!!!!

So hey the thought counts but money counts a lot as welll.........

I think?

Anyhows peace out

Searching for oneself

Every once in a while, its always good to find out who exactly we are and why we do the things we do. In searching for that understanding i stumbled on this website http://www.9types.com/homepage.actual.html. It lists the various personalities and traits etc. Now i know that this is not exactly everyones cup of tea, but for a laugh its a good idea to have a look and see where u fit.

Most people will likely fit into many categories but there will be one dominant personality. Its strange but some of the stuff is actually true. (let me talk about myself :) ) So the major question..... So you find out who you are, then what........

Hmmm..... Thats a good question. It depends how much you believe this stuff. Some people might link new reasons why they behave the way they behave. Others dont.....

I feel it is a good thing to come back at intervals to see if your are changing or not.....

So have a look and see if its worth it.


Laters.....

Thou Shalt Not Drink Part II

Now i know sequels are in fashion and i dont mean those crappy Nollywood sequels which have been in season before the beginning of time. I mean the other equally crappy sequels that come out of Hollywood i.e. Mission Impossible 3, Scary Movie 100 etc. Lets face it. Sequels are never as good as the originals and most of the time they get worse and worse e.g. the Matrix. But thats not the reason for this post. I would actually want to revisit an issue i dicussed earlier on in my blog.

Is it wrong to drink?

I actually tried a period of abstinence which was quite interesting. I discovered that i didnt die which shows am not as much as an alcoholic as i feared but it also shows me that that in itself doesnt make for a better relationship with God. It was good for the outward saintly appearance but not much for inside. In my opinion it was largely symbolical and to be honest i dont think its that mission critical.

Its about moderation and self control just like any part of life. Its very difficult to be holy. To be honest sometimes its feels like its just not in my nature and i shouldnt bother, But a little voice keeps on telling me to keep going.

I never thought that being a xtian was such an excruciating experience. Sometimes i feel like giving up. Its hard and it can get you down when you know you are weak. and pathetic......

Anyway, i think i need to take stock and take things easy for a while. I hate to say this but it looks like there is going to be a part 3. (Hate sounding like a hypocryte). What can I say the story continues.....

Laters

Home is Where the Heart Is

Well it was in the "Wizard of Oz" where Dorothy goes there is no place like home. And you know what she was absolutely right. There really is no place like home. Its very strange that despite all Nigeria's problems whenever u leave for a period of time you start longing to come back even with NEPA, traffic etc. It got me thinking so what makes home, well, home.

Home changes for us all as we go through life. Could be the town you were born, work or went to university. Its that place where you feel or felt at peace, at ease, at home. I know am no masochist but Lagos is home for me. I dont know why? To the rational mind it shouldnt be. But this is where i grew up. Ive had memories here that i would never want to erase or forget. Amidst all the chaos it seems Lagos will always have somewhere special in my heart. Well what can i say. Home is where the Heart is. How true!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Say Something Positive

Now if you have been a frequent reader of my blog you will notice i bash Naija a lot. Lets face it, its very easy to do. But i always critise foreign correspondents who only write negative stories about Nigeria. So a few weeks back i decided to put my money where my mouth was and write something positive. After thinking for about 20 mins, i noticed the ideas were not flowing as they normally do. Is it that there is nothing good to write about Nigeria or its always easier to write negative stories?

The fact is, in my opinion, it is more of the latter than the former. It seems easier for humans to be negative, pessimistic and to see the wrong in everything than the noble and good. This is moreso when weve been through what weve been thru in Naija. Its like "Ive heard this all before", " This country is $%^^£$" etc. But does this pessimistic atmosphere enable objective thinking about Nigeria's situation? Besides decay and corruption, is it that nothing of any repute occurs in this nation?

So here i go. I will give it a try. Say something positive. This might sound lame and basic but i honestly belive it is a testament to Nigerians that despite our differences and all we have been though, we still stay together as one nation. I dont think that there is any other group of people in the world as long suffering as your average Nigeria who despite all the desperation around him keeps on striving and hoping that tomorrow "go beta". Who lives in horrendous conditions without the basic necesities of life. Who can barely afford to provide for his families needs, but still somehow wakes up the next day prepared for whatever challenges the day might throw at him. Despite all his faults, that kind of persistence and strenght takes guts and not only do Nigerians do this, they do it with a smile on their faces. This i say is admirable.

So for one post at least let me say this. I look forward to a Nigeria where its citizens long-suffering will be rewarded. And I hope, pray and believe that i will see it in my life-time .

God Bless Nigeria!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dependency on God

The one thing i have noticed for a while now is that it is both easy and difficult to depend on God. What does that mean? Exactly what i said. Theres a tendency, i suppose human tendnecy, that we seperate our challenges into two. Those that we can handle overselves e.g. routine work, daily challenges etc. Then we also have things that we beleive are out of hands that we need God for e.g. life partner, career aspirations etc..... For the latter it seems easy to depend on God for them because they are huge... But for the former its much harder..

I dont know about you, but i struggle with this. I suppose its ego related. To depend totally on God requires a lot of humility. You just need to cut yourself down and acknowledge that without God you are nothing and you need him for everything you do in life. Now thats tough. To beleive that every success you ever achieve is not solely because of your actions or intelligence and you might not be as great as you think you are can be difficult. But that daily dependence on God puts that ego in check. It stops you thinking more highly of yourself than u ought and helps you relate better with others.

This is an area that will need to be reflected on deeply and "requires improvement".

Anyway, enough about that.. See yall around..