DUCKS QUACK, EAGLES SOAR.

Hey.
I read this, which was posted to one of the WhatsApp groups I belong to, and I was really inspired by the story.
I guess this means a lifestyle change.

Enjoy!


DUCKS QUACK, EAGLES SOAR.

I was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing I noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for me.

He handed me a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wasu, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.'

Taken aback, I read the card. It said: Wasu's Mission Statement:
 To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.

This blew me away, especially when I noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!

As he slid behind the wheel, Wasu said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.'

I said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.'

Wasu smiled and said, 'No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, lassi, water and orange juice.'

Almost stuttering, I said, 'I'll take a Lassi.'

Handing me my drink, Wasu said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have The Hindu, Times of India, ET and India Today.'

As we were pulling away, Wasu handed me another laminated card, 'These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio.'

And as if that weren't enough, Wasu told me that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for me.

Then he advised me of the best route to my destination for that time of day. He also let me know that he'd be happy to chat and tell me about some of the sights or, if I preferred, to leave me with my own thoughts.

I was amazed and asked him, 'Tell me, Wasu, have you always served customers like this?'

Wasu smiled into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always. In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard about the power of choice one day.'

'Power of choice is that you can be a duck or an eagle.'

'If you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself.

'Don't be a duck. Stop complaining. Be an eagle.' Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.'

'That hit me right,' said Wasu.

'It is about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were
 unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.'

'I take it that has paid off for you,' I said.

'It sure has,' Wasu replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on it.'

Wasu made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.

 A great Thought...

"You don't die if you fall into water, you die only if you don't swim."

Joy in the little...

“The small things of life were often so much bigger than the great things . . . the trivial pleasure like cooking, one's home, little poems especially sad ones, solitary walks, funny things seen and overheard.” 
― Barbara Pym. 

Life too short to wait for the big bang which will make you happy. Over time, a lot of the so called little things have spiced up my life:

• Fresh bread
• The aroma of rain
• Natural spices
• Shower gel/Body wash
• Fried plantain
• Making lists
• Rom Coms
• Miniatures
• The smell of a new book
• The sky the morning after a heavy downpour
• Shea butter
• Toblerone
• Curly, squiggly handwriting
• Mascara
• Cursive
• Coca-Cola
• Early morning coffee
• Danish tinned cookies
• My bookcase
• Cooking
• Reading
• Tea cups
• Long cold showers on hot days
• Vanilla ice cream
• Bear hugs
• Bougainvillea hedges
• Eternity moment/Eternity night
• Doodling
• Cold floors
• My hot water bottle
• Maryland chocolate chip cookies
• Babies
• People's friend

What makes you happy?

Juxtaposing unconsciously?

I was thinking about stem cell research and all the hullabaloo plus theological dust it has raised, while cutting an 'agric' frozen chicken into pieces, tut tutting over the very soft bones, and comparing it with a local chicken.

Then the juxtaposition quietly gave me a tap on the side of my head.

And I started thinking about church thanksgivings. 

My judgement in this time of no electricity....

There has been no electricity supply since Saturday morning.
As I'm wearing my last ironed shirt this morning (that's my size; the devil sat on my shoulder sometime back, and told me my bigger shirts will size me so I should iron them), maybe it's time to review this dress code policy. If there's no electricity tomorrow, it seems my jeans and T-shirt code of dressing in my past will resurrect again.
The end.

Focus...

"To live through an impossible situation, you do not need the reflexes of a Grand Prix driver, the muscles of a Hercules, the mind of an Einstein. You simply need to know what to do".
                                         Anthony Greenbank.

I found this quote in a textbook on neonatal emergencies, which I recently bought. And the last part of the quote made a lot of sense.
Many times, we flounder, going round the same issue, expending so much energy in trying to solve issues, which we eventually cannot solve, because we find it difficult to focus.
In this present day mix of Generation X & Millennials how easy is it to focus? Or, how easy is it NOT to?

Mischief redefined.

                             Marriage /'marɪdʒ/
Noun or verb; depending on how you view it.

From the perspective of the typical Nigerian mother :- Solution to all problems of a single Nigerian female. Problems which include, and are not limited to, paying bills, dealing with workmen, barrenness, poor appetite, weeping all night because of loneliness. 
P.S. Most of the above problems happen to be from the overactive imaginations of worried mamas.

From the perspective of the young married woman:- Having a fully grown male as both your lover and your first born child.

                             Spinster /'spɪnstə/
Adjective.

A state a lot of women powerfully reject for their daughters, even those who are still in the cradle.

                                 Pain /peɪn/
Adjective most definitely.

Sensation felt after throwing a French fry straight from hot oil into the mouth.

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES, AND EVERYTHING ELSE IN-BETWEEN.

In today's culture of consumerism, success is measured in terms of what you have, against what you do not have but may have soon, and what you do not have and may never have.
To be seen as a successful family, you must:-

• Have organised, at least, one owanbeish party
• Live in a highbrow area of town
• You and your spouse must each have, at least, a car (not moto)
• Have wardrobes filled with designer clothes and accessories
• Be able to afford having your children in very expensive schools (even if they learn next to nothing)
• Maintain household staff.

But the question is, can we no longer measure success in terms of contentment and happiness?

We have become a set of people who now reach for things way beyond us. Not because we need them, but because we want to be part of the 'It' set.
Our family values have been damaged and somewhat forgotten in the rat race, trying to keep up with societal expectations. Children recognise their parents but do not know them. Parents are aware that their DNAs are in their children but, apart from knowing for sure that they named their kids, there is a disconnect between the children and their parents. We are slowly, but surely killing ourselves with work to be able to afford luxuries we cannot enjoy.
Somehow, we have forgotten that life is not like what is depicted in glamour magazines. Rather it is a continual struggle to make our lives and the lives of those around us better, not necessarily materially. And in seeking what we cannot afford, we neglect those who we are supposed to love and care for. Every family cannot be the same. We are all different and unique, and our uniqueness is necessary to spice up the drabness of our lives.

Unfortunately, we are now a Stepford community.

P.S. Say a prayer for the Orekoya children who were kidnapped on 8th April, 2015. We can only hope that they are safe.