By Enake -@Richnacks
The excitement that comes with wealth accumulation can be very
fulfilling. In our part of the world, it’s what makes a man live up to
his surname. It has a way of making even the most brilliant of men to go
numb. Those who own it are regarded as blessed; cursed are you if you
don’t have it. Your wife may divorce you. Your children would nurse the
shame of having your name in their data in school. You may not be
qualified for special blessings and prayers from your pastor. You may
even disown yourself. With money, you can bully anyone; after all you
have the best lawyers at your beck and call. You could even sponsor
publications in the media to attack anyone who thinks otherwise of your
character and values.
But is money the most important thing in the world? If the quest for financial buoyancy is this expedient to stay afloat, does it then mean that money is superior to every other thing in our life? Where then, is the thin-line between wealth creation and avarice? What is the essence of our existence? Sounds philosophical?
Now imagine age-long scenario. A professor stood before his class with some items in front of him. When the class began, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks about two inches in diameter.He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.So the professor picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar, he shook the jar lightly. The pebbles of course rolled into the open areas between the rocks.He asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. The sand filled up everything else. He asked again if the jar was full. The response from the students was in the affirmative.
The professor said, “Now I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.The rocks are the important things-your family, your partner, your health and your children. That is, the things you have that if everything else was lost, your life will still be full and steady. The pebbles are the other things that matter- your Job, your house, your car, your chieftaincy title, etc. The sand represents everything else- the small stuff or the little things.
“If you put the sand into the jar first” he continued “there is no room for the rocks or the pebbles. The same goes for your life.Look around you and you will see the craze for wealth at its peak. As the respect and influence of money on our lives soars, we see almost everybody doing almost everything to get this scarce commodity. Couples are not left out, those who are smart engage in the dawn-to-dusk business of making this money. Most of this couples go all out-husband and wife, working in different establishments, leaving their children in the hands of their maid who may even be too young to know the pros and cons of bringing up a child.
I feel like jumping out of my skin when I remember those couples who both leave the house in the morning and return at night, leaving their children to take care of themselves when they (children) return from school, on the premise that they are big enough to take care of themselves. I remember my years of growing up, when I had run to mostly my mum for clarifications on issues my friends had told me in school, I remember those years when I had to report my friends, elder brothers and sisters to my mother on per second billing to obtain justice. I remember how my father had to hold me close to his chest so I can feel the love of my father. Need I mention the strokes I received when I eat outside my house or collect gifts from friends or strangers without submitting it to my mum first? Or any other misbehavior of such?
Little wonder my neighbor’s children’s noise during the day is comparable to that of the famous fuel subsidy protest that swept across the control in Gani Fawehimi Freedom Square in Ojota area of Lagos in January 2012 – even though they (children) are not in a protest in this case. These kids have no form of check on their excesses not to talk of a form of correction to keep their moral, spiritual and attitudinal life in check. They simply grope in the dark and would end up accepting whatever comes their way. After all, nobody told them what was right or wrong.
So I wonder what amount of wealth will justify my failure, as a father, to appropriately take care of my children in all ramifications of life as much as humanly possible. It’ll be quite understandable if a single parent (a widow or widower) go all out to make ends meet for the children since almost nothing can be done without money on this earthen surface.
I think it’s better for a man to be childless than bringing to this world, a child whose financial burden he cannot shoulder – just as no amount of wealth can fill the vacuum of emotional neglect his greed for wealth will have on them. Just like the professor said, “Take care of the rocks first. That is, the things that really matters.” The rest will still fall into place at the right time if you play your card well. It’s my pray that the wealth I will ever acquire at the detriment of my family, my partner, my children, my health or any other thing of such importance don’t come. Life is far beyond the transitory soothe of material acquisition.
By Richard Enake
for more, visit: http://obajeun.com/brainblogger-whats-lifes-most-valuable-resource-by-enake-richnacks/
But is money the most important thing in the world? If the quest for financial buoyancy is this expedient to stay afloat, does it then mean that money is superior to every other thing in our life? Where then, is the thin-line between wealth creation and avarice? What is the essence of our existence? Sounds philosophical?
Now imagine age-long scenario. A professor stood before his class with some items in front of him. When the class began, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks about two inches in diameter.He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.So the professor picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar, he shook the jar lightly. The pebbles of course rolled into the open areas between the rocks.He asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. The sand filled up everything else. He asked again if the jar was full. The response from the students was in the affirmative.
The professor said, “Now I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.The rocks are the important things-your family, your partner, your health and your children. That is, the things you have that if everything else was lost, your life will still be full and steady. The pebbles are the other things that matter- your Job, your house, your car, your chieftaincy title, etc. The sand represents everything else- the small stuff or the little things.
“If you put the sand into the jar first” he continued “there is no room for the rocks or the pebbles. The same goes for your life.Look around you and you will see the craze for wealth at its peak. As the respect and influence of money on our lives soars, we see almost everybody doing almost everything to get this scarce commodity. Couples are not left out, those who are smart engage in the dawn-to-dusk business of making this money. Most of this couples go all out-husband and wife, working in different establishments, leaving their children in the hands of their maid who may even be too young to know the pros and cons of bringing up a child.
I feel like jumping out of my skin when I remember those couples who both leave the house in the morning and return at night, leaving their children to take care of themselves when they (children) return from school, on the premise that they are big enough to take care of themselves. I remember my years of growing up, when I had run to mostly my mum for clarifications on issues my friends had told me in school, I remember those years when I had to report my friends, elder brothers and sisters to my mother on per second billing to obtain justice. I remember how my father had to hold me close to his chest so I can feel the love of my father. Need I mention the strokes I received when I eat outside my house or collect gifts from friends or strangers without submitting it to my mum first? Or any other misbehavior of such?
Little wonder my neighbor’s children’s noise during the day is comparable to that of the famous fuel subsidy protest that swept across the control in Gani Fawehimi Freedom Square in Ojota area of Lagos in January 2012 – even though they (children) are not in a protest in this case. These kids have no form of check on their excesses not to talk of a form of correction to keep their moral, spiritual and attitudinal life in check. They simply grope in the dark and would end up accepting whatever comes their way. After all, nobody told them what was right or wrong.
So I wonder what amount of wealth will justify my failure, as a father, to appropriately take care of my children in all ramifications of life as much as humanly possible. It’ll be quite understandable if a single parent (a widow or widower) go all out to make ends meet for the children since almost nothing can be done without money on this earthen surface.
I think it’s better for a man to be childless than bringing to this world, a child whose financial burden he cannot shoulder – just as no amount of wealth can fill the vacuum of emotional neglect his greed for wealth will have on them. Just like the professor said, “Take care of the rocks first. That is, the things that really matters.” The rest will still fall into place at the right time if you play your card well. It’s my pray that the wealth I will ever acquire at the detriment of my family, my partner, my children, my health or any other thing of such importance don’t come. Life is far beyond the transitory soothe of material acquisition.
By Richard Enake
for more, visit: http://obajeun.com/brainblogger-whats-lifes-most-valuable-resource-by-enake-richnacks/
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Highly inspirational. keep it going brother
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