LESSONS LEARNT FROM BEING KIND (a short story)

LESSONS LEARNT FROM BEING KIND

A wise man once set off on a long journey through a dangerous forest to a distant land. He had to meet an old friend for an urgent favor. The journey will last for about a week on foot and he was on foot. On his way, he met a couple of people traveling the woods. He was later on joined by another lone traveler going to a village close to where he was heading. This man has a different understanding to life all together. He doesn't believe in a lot of things. In short, he doesn't believe that being 'kind' is a virtue worth dying for. He believes that people who believe in things like love, kindness just like the first traveler, live in fools' paradise. According to him, the world and life for that matter are not fair and are not to be trusted. So he therefore believes that being generous does not really pay as initially thought. The first traveler on the other hand believes in love, kindness and more...

Halfway through their journey, they were running out of provisions and so started their rationing plan. As they continued their walk through the quiet woods, they came across a big tree with a restful environment. Feeling tired as they were, they decided to rest over so that they can continue their trip when they regain enough energy later. While resting, another lone traveler stopped by too. After short pleasantries, the third traveler voiced his grievance, 'I am really hungry. Please can I get something eatable from you my cultured friends?' As if it were something bad to ask, the second traveler asked him sharply, 'haven't you prepared for the trip before setting off? But before the third traveler answers, the first traveler have already offered him water to drink to quech his thirst. After drinking the water, he then turned to the second traveler and said in calm voice, 'I was robbed off my belongs before I covered halfway of my journey'. The first traveler gave part of his remaining provisions to the third traveler who went another way later on.

When the two travelers covered about 80% of the entire distance, the first traveler runned out of provisions. His fellow started criticizing him for having given part of his limited provisions to someone he barely knows snd might never meet again. But he told his fellow, 'I did not give my food to the stranger because I hope he will pay me back some time to come. I did so because it gives me a sense of peace and purposeful achievement as a human'. On the fifth day,they came across a river which they must cross in order to continue. They must pay a fare in the form of belongings before they can cross over. Meanwhile, they both do not have enough possession to cover the cost charged by the service providers. The river is the only thing preventing them from reaching their destination. Just when all hopes seems gone; when they were just about deciding to return to their source region, something interesting happened.

There was another traveler who was about to cross the same river. He noticed how disturbed the disappointed travelers were. So he offered to pay their fare after hearing their sad story. When they crossed over to the other side of the river, he offered to pay for them to use chariot so they can reach their destination with much ease since they are out of provisions. He further offered them 3 pieces of gold each to use to get what they might need at their destination. The second traveler was marveled at the degree of kindness shown by the fourth traveler. He decided to ask the kind man for the motive behind his good deeds, and he replied with a soft and genteel voice saying... 'my parents taught me to share what I have with others and I will never lack. But I don't really do it for that any more than I do for the peace and fulfillment it brings to my soul'. They thanked the kind traveler and continued their traveling but this time, using a chariot pulled by two horses.

They arrived after four hours ride, at then end of a journey which would have lasted for about 10 to 12 hours on foot. On their arrival, the second traveler called the first and told him that he have learnt a lot from the act of kindness and is beginning to understand what a great bearing it has on love; the center of life. He told him about how his life will change from that day on. He also mentioned how kind he is going to try to be generous for the rest of his life. And he also said he will make it a point to spread the gospel of kindness hoping to have the same gratifying effect on many human families as much as he can reach with his messages.

Moral Lesson:

Givers never lack.

Givers are happier people.

Kindness is a virtue worth dying for.

Kindness is the symbol of love.

Love is the center of life.

If you have benefited from this message, please do share with a special someone now.

@dzidefodepoet

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POVERTY IS NOT A DISHONOR (a short story)

POVERTY IS NOT A DISHONOR

There are three good friends called Lazy, Folly and Extravagance respectively. They live on a beautiful land with natural endowments like fertile soil and forest, minerals and intellectual ideas. But because of their own conditioning, they do not seem happy with their current state of affairs. These three modest friends who invariably considered themselves as poor people, once engaged in a long debate about 'poverty'. They all disagreed on the subject as each one of them hold a separate belief about what exactly poverty means. 

Many people believe, that the thin line of distinction between poor people and rich people is decision and action. One of them believes, 'not all fingers are equal, so not all men can be sa me in terms of wealth possession. So it's okay to be poor'. He concludes. His name is Lazy. Another believes that, 'success comes to those who are patient enough to wait for the right turn of events. So thus, it's okay to not be wealthy at the moment because time will surely tell'. His name is Folly. The last one believes that 'when money comes, it must be spent to make way for even more to be made daily. So it's not a bad thing to spend what you have while you still can'. He is called Extravagance.

As the argument continued, another friend of theirs, showed up. He is called Poverty! After hearing the basis of their locked argument, he said... 'I don't think it's wrong to not be fortunate enough to have what others have sometimes. What I however do understand is that, so many factors are responsible for why some people are poor while others are rich. But then, if you don't mind, I have a friend called Affluence, I bet his answer will blow your mind if we go to see him'. They agreed to his smart suggestion and went all the way to see Affluence who lives in the Silicon Hills.

At Silicon Hills, they were marveled at the sight of the site they visiting. They were looking in reality, what they have been dreaming of, all their lives. When they finally met Affluence, he introduced himself to them... 'My name is Affluence, but many people call me Riches. I am practically, the dramatic desire of most people alive and dead. Yes, I am probably the most chased entity in the history of men. You are welcome to my humble abode. Please what can I offer you? After the treat, the four visitors were convinced their questions will really be answered. But to their surprise, Affluence also referred them to Wisdom, Harkwork and Commitment who finally answered their question.

According to Affluence, 'being rich or poor can only stem from one’s own actions and inactions. But I believe Wisdom, Hardwork and Commitment have the right answer you seek my brothers'. Luckily enough, those three fellows also live in the Silicon Hills, right where Affluence lives. The three grey heads has it all to say in three simple lines.

Wisdom says, ‘You need divine intelligence to create and manage wealth. Absence of it invites poverty’.

Hardwork says, ‘You need to act your arts so as to materialize your plans. Absence of it invites poverty’.

Commitment says, ‘You need to be there for your dreams; for them to become realities.  Absence of it invites poverty’.

Before Commitment says his last word, Affluence cuts in... 'Yes, these are what I call the laws of success. They worked for me over the years and they'll work for you as they did for many others I’ve known for long. I therefore recommend them to you my humble friends.' Said Affluence.

The four fellows; Folly, Extravagance, Lazy and Poverty thanked Affluence and his grey-headed friends before leaving the Hills for their village. They were overwhelmed by the lesson they have learnt from the answers giving by the grey heads in Silicon Hills. They went ahead to apply the rules and started attracting fortunes of wealth in due times. Nothing is preventing me from applying these laws.

MORAL LESSON

Poverty; the state of lack, is not a dishonor in itself, unless it’s borne out of sheer laziness, extravaganza and foolishness.

@dzidefodepoet

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Stop Mob Justice Now

Where is the Justice we claim as a country? Where is the Law and Order that makes things work for the stability we crave? I have enough reasons to believe we are the forces against our very own progress as a nation. Yes, we are the architects of our success or otherwise. I can deeply smell a cat and I pity in pain, the fishes that are close by. 

Sometimes, the best way to disagree with things is to be silent on them. But most often than not, there is the demand of our voices so some records can be set straight. We must be courageous to speak for what is write and to condemn what is wrong and trust me, we can. We can change the world for the better just by putting our voices across on matters that really matter and to people that needs to know whatever may. 

In the wake of the recent rather in-gratifying phenomenon involving one salient military officer, in a gold mining community in the Central Region of Ghana called Denkyira-Obuase it's only right to join the grey heads as they break and share cola nuts in search of answers. In times like this, times when a whole country is drown in grief, normal activities suffer. We crave for answers to the questions on our minds. Questions like; Is mob justice justifiable? Does it not happen often? Does it receives same attention? Or is this attention subjected to the fact that the victim is a security agent? Answers to these questions are what will drive us to further questions in the same light. 

This mob kind of justice is nothing far from tyranny which is the sure guarantor of chaos and disruption of forward-aimed efforts in any organized human system. Instant justice is not a characteristic of a very good democracy. How does it help our judicial and security system? What does the law say about mob justice? The act has been quiet common in our system for decades and it seems to me as though it's rising to become a conventional practice. Must we allow it to soar to the next level or should we crush it and trash it? 

Many people will agree with me that the current case of Capt. Mahama in Denkyira received the level of attention it did because of it involving a security personnel. Yes, that is true, very true because it happens always and trust me, to innocent people. Even on the same day and a day after that, there were similar incidences across the nation but only that of the soldier caught the attention of the media. Can I ask this question? How come media attention seem so expensive? 

Come to think of this, even if a person is proven to be a thief or guilty of any crime, such a person still has fundamental human rights, a prerogative not even the constitution can deny him. But the situation where individuals take the law personal and administer justice in barbarous means as they deem fit to 'their' law-breakers is not acceptable. The country need a law on the subject if there aren't one already. 

We dwell and play part in a system that is comprehensive and based on universal values, believes and practices that every person has fundamental human rights and so are protected by law. What will probably be more honorable than delivering apprehended criminals to the appropriate agency to do its work? We need a better socialization tool to breed a generation safe from mediocrity. 

It happens everyday under many different circumstances but the justice system seems to see nothing wrong with the culprits. Instead, such people become the ultimate beneficiaries of the protection the law supposed to be offering every citizen including foreigners. 

How can this be justified? In a democracy such as ours which fastly crossing borders? I am praying this will ignite the flame that will grow to burn in us such attitudes of cruelty and lawlessness. I pray same will cause our leaders to use their working apparatuses to straighten the bends misleading our communities. 

I am equally guilty as a citizen because it will take not only the actions of the bad nuts to ruin the heap but also the inactions of the good ones will contribute to the complete conquer. What I am trying to say is that, you and me might not be involved directly in this wicked act but we are guilty for not doing anything to stop it. Everyone can do something to stop this kind of indescribable behaviors from repeating themselves again in our world.

To the family of the deceased, I extend my deepest condolences. 

If you have read this and believe we must put an end to this, join the campaign by sharing the post...... Let it reach the next person before anything else. Don't forget to use the tags below.... 

#StopMobJustice
#RespectTheLaws
#SaveInnocentLives

Benefit of Letting Go...

Someone asked me these... What do you do when you think you've lost it all? How do you manage the hurt and the pain deep within? How do you cross that road and make things work out for you? Well, my reply is that many people just find it too difficult to let go when the feeling goes deep. They chose to cling to the past and it ceases not to amaze and kill them every now and then.

But then, letting go all gives more space for your desires to be let in. Consider your heart as a basket that you send to the market to collect stuffs. Each item you place inside takes up space which can never be made available until that item is no more inside. The heart also create space to take up what it is fed and each and every item that is kept in your heart takes up space that can only be made available when such items are removed.

So in order for you to kill your pains and heal your wounds, you must create space for the pleasant something you are desiring. Create space to accommodate your heart desires by letting go of the things that make you cry, the things that make you lose yourself for no good reason and the things that pose threat to your survival.
TBC

See You on Your Way Up the Ladder

What if tell you it is never going to be too late for you to bake your bread? What if I tell you it's never too late to start whatever it is that you must in order to set your woods ablaze? And what if I tell you that it's not a contest, not a drama and not comic but rather, reality; what we live alive? Will you be discouraged if I tell you it's not easy even for those you envy? Will you be willing to take a pause and rescind some decisions if I tell you not all that glitters are gold? And will you not nag, but sigh, will you not frown, but smile if I tell you about how many must fail even at the hundredths attempt because of obvious reasons?

Well, I am not telling you all that to make you lose hope in your rope because you have power in you, more than anyone can estimate. Listen to that silent vibration deep in you, it is called zeal and it is your call to be that which you have always pictured. You have the desire, let such be your urge and turn that into the surge that will merge your edges for the better. Nothing good doing is ever too late to be done and that means now is the right time if you still can. Do not let what the society says be your driving force, not everyone believe in miracles. While dreams may forever remain rhetoric, let your reality go beyond the physic.

For as many nos as you have received, attach ten times more yeses in your heart and put that into work no matter how small and trust me, your story will be glorious. It is but what your mind conceive, your heart believe and your hand works at that you can really achieve. Ask for guidance if you need knowledge, be diligent in all your dealings, be optimistic in all your doings and you shall attract good will to your coffers.

Nothing good doing is ever too late to do. So be ready to mend that heart you have broken, repair the frame you have damaged and heal the hurts you have inflicted. Do not let simple things like 'thank you', 'please I am sorry' and 'forgive me' depart from your mouth because they easily heals the wounds we cause others. Until you have become the figure in your dreams, they will remain but only dreams. See you on your climb up the ladder.

Simon K. Amu
©2017

The Power of Self Rediscovery

There's so much power in the self in you that, it will take just reckoning such power to unleash your potentials. You're the first to believe in you, the second to encourage you and the last to do the opposite. This is because you know yourself better than anyone can because you are powerful beyond measure. A deeply deeper look into your inner being is key to knowing who you're, what you are made of as well as what you can or not achieve. Do not let the current spate of academic discordant, economic breakdowns, social disequilibrium and the spiritual misleadings bring you down. Your fight is not against the world, it is against the inner you. Trust me, too many people see the world in a way 'it aught to be' instead of facing it just the way it is. Such is a contributing factor to the gross misgivings we cannot fully account for. But if you can pause in life, sigh for a while and look into the deeper you, your potentials can be unleashed.

The saying; whatever your mind can conceive, your heart must believe for your hands to achieve is my daily therapy. The therapy that keep my blood boiling to do something new everyday and to live everyday as though it is my last. It's the same reason why I refuse to settle for the average and accept other people's definition of whom I am and can or not become. I know I am powerful beyond contending because there's only one of my kind in this existence, in those past and the ones to come; how wonderful. The disregard for the power of focus keeps us away from reaching our goals. It's focus that will reveal what's in the subconscious mind and allow the mind to see its beauty and strength above all. Until the mind receives confirmation of ideality, the heart will never be prepared to believe what it exudes. The heart won't get connected to the physique for a common cause unless it believes what it feels. Now, you can tell me about why you need to discover and rediscover your true being, your true persona.

The specialty you have can never be harnessed to metamorphose you into the unlimited entity you can become, unless it is identified. You need not the two eyes in their sockets to see and understand yourself, you rather need the third and inward looking eye that only you can visualize. Knowing yourself; your sums, your products, your quotients and your differences makes you the most powerful person you can ever be. It in the first place tells you exactly where to place yourself in the world/market. It tells you when to go extra than you can and propels you to achieve the odd just like that. That is the secrete of the successful people you know, they first learned to understand themselves and then went on to understand others and landed on how to be an efficient factor in their lives. They try to solve problems, thinking international but yet acting local in the true sense. They begin in many ways, meet several drawbacks, persist in the absence of motivation only to make it to where they never planned to.

These are not things to do to be rich or something like that. They are things to be done to break odds and become more than your dreams. To be at peace, to be comforted and to be truly happy, you need to rediscover yourself in its strict sense.