Who Am I
A SEED is a very tiny package of something big. Take for example an Orchid seed. An Orchid seed is so minute and very light that it floats of like powder. And there is as much variety in this quintessence of dust as there is in the flowers that issue from it.
One of the smallest seeds that package within it the massive grandeur living thing is the giant sequoia tree seed. This tree grows over 300 feet high and its diameter is about thirty six feet. Its roots cover three to four acres. It lives over 3000 years, which is a period of 30 centuries. And the most wonderful thing about this tree is that its two-foot-thick bark is seasoned with tannin that fends off insects, and its porous, fibrous texture makes it almost as flame-retardant as asbestos.
Now if I may ask you to tell me about sequoia tree seed right now, what will you tell exactly? Will you tell me just what I told you about the tree instead? Would it make sense if I tell you now that a product packaged inside a seed is absolutely not what you need to know if you want to know about the seed? The third sentence on the first paragraph highlights some crucial information about an orchid tree seed. Let’s hack back to it: There is as much variety in this quintessence of dust as there is in the flowers that issue from it. If you were an orchid seed or any seed for that matter, detailed information of that variety inside you is exactly the information required by one to get to know who you are. Now let’s get to know who you are.
Humans have advanced capabilities. They can invent, create, and like many seeds they can produce. They also come in types, categories and standings. For instance, in our world today we have the Asian people, the Africans, Indians, Europeans, etc. And each race is arbitrated differently by society and due to racism as well. For instance, Asians, in especially Chinese people, are usually known to be techno intellectual, very smart and yet very dodgy at the same time. Africans (and I am one) are often arbitrated as the intrepid and the approximate race. In the business world, the myth is Africans (blacks) cannot manage money. Indians are seen to be people who wend their way where the money is - they are business ambitious. And the Europeans are, well, viewed to be polite, autonomous and isolated.
However, your individual identity is not determined by your race, color or cultural background or society's perception about each race. Remember, perceptions are based on limited experience, information, sources, and certainly the media. They may be partially true or be untrue at all.
There are some seeds known to refuse to sprout until at least half inch or more of rain has fallen. And there are some which seem to know the direction the water comes from, and if it rains down from above they will sprout, but if it is being soaked up from below, they will not sprout. This is differences are what truly labels the identity of these two types of seeds. Let’s see how.
Remember that kid C we spoke about on blogger’s letter? Let’s give her the name of Charlotte. From the two scenarios below Charlotte will make different decisions that each defines her own identity and determines who she is. Please read the dialogues.
Scenario 1
Charlotte sees her three friends accosting her, namely, Nancy, Kiki and Pinks. She’s standing by the exit in their school’s cafeteria. She smiles at them as they stop in front of her.
“Hey C, did you see Reece’s freestyle cycling at the park yesterday?” Nancy asks in a greeting.
“Yeah, and it was incredible. Will I ever get to ride like that myself?” Charlotte wonders.
Kiki starts. “Well nobody can. Unless if …”
“They take Mimi!” Pinks exclaims as she opens her hand to show Charlotte a small sachet of dope they call Mimi. It’s the dope Charlotte and her friends distribute from their secret suppliers to make extra cash.
“You gotta be kidding me,” Charlotte utters.
“Didn’t we tell you,” says Kiki eyeing at both Nancy and Pinks. “We all started taking it about two weeks ago.” Nancy and Pinks nod their heads to confirm Kiki’s statement is true.
“What?!” Charlotte frowns in disbelief. “Didn’t we agree to not use that thing and only sell it in the Black Market?”
“Change of an agreement,” blurts Nancy.
“Oh come on. Don’t you ever ask yourself why all of a sudden we’ve become the nerds like you, coming to class everyday and finishing our homeworks?” says Pinks.
“And don’t you wonder why Reece won that cycling competition against you yesterday,” Nancy adds asking. “Mimi gives you wings.”
“So no more Redbul,” Pinks says with a jest.
“’Cause people on Mimi be like Reece,” Kiki adds.
“But drugs are not good for us?” Charlotte argues.
“The same way that they’re not good for our customers?” Kiki asks and Charlotte feels cornered as she folds her arms and sighs.
“C’mon, don’t you wanna win against Reece the next time you play?” Nancy says.
“I do but…”
“Then take Mimi home with you and make use of her,” Pinks shoves the sachet in her hand.
“You’ll take her right?” asks Nancy looking right through her eyes.
“Well,” Charlotte says weakly as she looks down at the sachet in her hand. “I-I’ll think about it.”
“Much better,” Pinks smirks.
“’Cause when you think about it you’ll wanna do something about it,” Kiki concludes.
“And I think I know what it will be,” says Nancy as she turns round and lead them both out of the cafeteria.
Scenario 2
Charlotte sees her three friends accosting her, namely, Nancy, Kiki and Pinks. She’s standing by the exit in their school’s cafeteria. She smiles at them as they stop in front of her.
“Hey C, did you see Reece’s freestyle cycling at the park yesterday?” Nancy asks in a greeting.
“Yeah, and it was incredible. Will I ever get to ride like that myself?” Charlotte wonders.
Kiki starts. “Well nobody can. Unless if …”
“They take Mimi!” Pinks exclaims as she opens her hand to show Charlotte a small sachet of dope they call Mimi. It’s the dope Charlotte and her friends distribute from their secret suppliers to make extra cash.
“You gotta be kidding me,” Charlotte utters.
“Didn’t we tell you,” says Kiki eyeing at both Nancy and Pinks. “We all started taking it about two weeks ago.” Nancy and Pinks nod their heads to confirm Kiki’s statement is true.
“What?!” Charlotte frowns in disbelief. “Didn’t we agree to not use that thing and only sell it in the Black Market?”
“Change of an agreement,” blurts Nancy.
“Oh come on. Don’t you ever ask yourself why all of a sudden we’ve become the nerds like you, coming to class everyday and finishing our homeworks?” says Pinks.
“And don’t you wonder why Reece won that cycling competition against you yesterday,” Nancy adds asking. “Mimi gives you wings.”
“So no more Redbul,” Pinks says with a jest.
“’Cause people on Mimi be like Reece,” Kiki adds.
“But drugs are not good for us?” Charlotte argues.
“The same way that they’re not good for our customers?” Kiki asks and Charlotte feels cornered as she folds her arms and sighs.
“C’mon, don’t you wanna win against Reece the next time you play?” Nancy says.
“I do but…”
“Then take Mimi home with you and make use of her,” Pinks shoves the sachet in her hand.
Charlotte looks down at the sachet in her hand and for a moment she thinks about her decision. Making up her mind, she gives the sachet back to Pinks. “We gotta stop accepting more supply from Zoe and her gang,” she says.
“What? Are you crazy?” Nancy frowns at her. “Hooking up with Zoe was like signing a lifetime contract.”
“Then show me the contract with a clause that says so and our signatures on it!” Charlotte looks her in the eyes.
“You don’t know what you’re doing Charlotte,” Pinks warns.
“I wasn’t smart enough to accept that kind of life in the first place. Don’t you think it’s the smartest thing that we all quit right now?”
“Charlotte what are you saying?” Nancy asks her.
“I’m not saying. I’m simply quitting,” says Charlotte she turns round and exits the cafeteria alone, leaving the other two girls standing and gaping at her.
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
That is a well known quote from the famed entrepreneur and motivational speaker, Jim Rohn. Charlotte’s destiny has everything to do with what she has in scenario 2 but hasn’t in scenario 1, as Jim Rohn said it well, it’s an identity. Character is an identity, and that’s what the two types of the reactive seeds mentioned above have. Knowing a product packaged inside a seed, knowing the size of a seed or the life span of a product inside a seed tells you nothing, nothing at all about the seed. That information won’t help in knowing how to water a seed in a way that it will sprout and grow its product successfully.
Knowing the color of your own skin, your country of origin, your language or your customs based your culture won’t define your identity because your identity is not what you are. How many sequoia trees do we have on earth that are over 300 feet tall and almost 3000 years old? Numerous, isn’t, all of which are both sequoia trees that over 300 feet tall and almost 3000 years old. Again, how many Europeans do we have on earth and who speak English? Millions, all of whom are both Europeans and who speak English.
Charlotte’s decision, in the two scenarios, defines her character. And that character will become her destiny. If you were in her shoes, what will be your identity?
In scenario 2 Charlotte proves her identity to be nothing. Not nothing as an emptiness and a void. It’s just nothing that anyone can label out for her. But it is something that only she can determine.
Remember, 4 roads, 1 right path, 3 wrong paths=3 mistakes=3 U-turns. You have a choice.
…to be continued.