Today, I simply feel like freestyling, too many topics fighting in my mind for attention, I don’t want to be bound by one topic. As I reminisce over the last 11 months of this amazing year, my heart swells with gratitude to God, and is slightly punctuated by unexpressed tears gathering momentum in my tear sac. My mind is well trained, not to ask the questions for which the answers are clear. Today is (I can’t seem to use past tense) my mum’s birthday, and oh, how I miss calling her and and hearing her reassuring voice.  So today, I just want to well it out from my heart, demonstrate gratitude by counting the blessings that can be counted in public, sharing the bitter sweet lessons, and giving everybody a reason to have hope, to trust and to obey.

Mummy’s Day

It’s my mum’s day today, and though I know the righteous do not die, they sleep, I miss her.  If you read the two articles I wrote at the time of her departure in the second half of this year, you’ll see what an enigma she was. Sweet mother and Lessons from the life of my mum. Interestingly however, even though fast asleep from this current existence, she’s more alive than many who still have breath, or how do you reconcile these things. On my Fathers birthday for example, my mum’s phone suddenly comes back to live and starts beeping and alarm, on the face of the phone was a cake and lights and a message – Jo’s (meaning sweetheart) birthday! My father was happily shocked and told me about it, in my mind the phrase that rang – “Still relevant!”. A few weeks ago, my dad asked me to tell any of my friends coming to Lagos to him, that my mum’s farm of Yams have just been harvested and he wants to send the yam to all the children (we) and siblings.  We are still eating the yam from my mum’s farm, it’s a lot of yam as it was a huge farm, in my mind? Still relevant! You are alive and well, are you relevant? Who are you relevant to? Is your life relevant to now, and are you living to be relevant in eternity?

Relationships

Whenever I think about this year, one of the things I’m most grateful for are the people God has brought into my life. Please understand that whatever God will deliver into your hands must come via the vehicle of people, value will change hands till that which you desire comes to you. He who is seperated from all relationships is on the pathway to ruin. This year has been a great year for me in the context of relationships. I’m in a friendly relationship with so many great people, my personal accessible network has doubled. I have also added value to more people than I have ever, travelled more widely and simply enjoyed the company of family and friends who last year were total strangers. The door to my abundance is wide, there are many channels through which the divine can cause my desires to reach me. It’s worth every clap and shout of praise.

Are you conciously adding value to people? Are you building quality relationships? Or is this your year of  “My Job first”? Poeple are our connectors with our possibilities, they are the access points through which our desires are delivered, they are our options. Don’t let work clubber you into a position where all that is left with you, are the people you are forced to work with, who don’t like you very much and who you don’t send either.

Opportunities

I had a few great opportunities this year, I also had many not so good opportunities. What I have learnt however is that if one is great it sometimes covers for 20 others.  One success wipes away the memory of many failures. The challenge is not in failing, it is stopping short of success.  This year has been a year of tremendous learning for me,  infact it has made me look back in time with absolutely no regrets, as even the rough and rugged times of my life have prepared me for the opportunity of now.  No experience in life is a waste, every experience shifts your benchmark, sharpens your mind and prepares you for the next.

I am sincerely sad for those whose past failures have numbed from positive movement. I’m sad for those who have taken their current realities as the TRUTH and have refused to listen to the inner guidance of their maker. I weep for those who will not amount to much in life, because fear has eaten deep into the fabrics of their soul. Does your philosophy allow you to seek for opportunities, or do you operate with a closed mind and limited options?