I love meeting new people, that way I learn one more thing or revise my opinions. A few days ago, I got onto this Matatu and sat near the back. After waiting a whole twenty minutes, a light skinned gentleman with thick rimmed glasses sat beside me; boiled maize in one hand, backpack in the other. We didn’t exchange pleasantries, yet. I was staring outside the window at my fellow citizens go about their evening activities when the vehicle started. Being a cold evening, I started shutting the window. Coincidentally the gentleman beside me was just about to ask me to shut it since it was too windy, that’s how our twenty minute conversation started.
“In addition to the cold, CBD idlers are amazingly talented at snatching phones,” he added. I agreed with him and gave my story of how mine was snatched a few years back. Nothing unites two people like having experienced the same thing. We kept at the small talk for a while until he offered me part of his supper, the ‘Chemsha.’ I respectfully declined the offer, telling him I had already had dinner.
I wish I took the offer, because this started the ‘healthy eating’ conversation. “Yes Sir, I love my greens… Ohh yes I adore sweet potatoes. I knoooow! Boiled maize is so yummy…” Hahaha you should have seen me, chanting praise to healthy eating when I in fact had 150 grammes of chocolate in my bag! The gentleman, let’s call him Isaac, went further to lament on current generation eating habits; our idea of lunch is the KFC Streetwise deal, or Bhajia at Memphis. When was the last time you ate a veggie salad anyway?
Meeting and interacting with Isaac made me reflect on current behaviorism and always seeking the quick way to a solution. My generation is notorious for ‘fast schemes.’ Are you broke? Here is a way to make 100 Dollars a day! Are you hungry? Instead of the whole chopping, frying, serving and later doing dishes, why don’t you grab some fast food or snacks? Assignment overdue? Just copy and paste an essay you found online, word for word. The list goes on and on. We have all become slaves to time, thinking the quicker the better.
What we all forget is that patience is a virtue we should have. The capacity to accept or tolerate delays, problems, or suffering is vital. Take your time to analyse situations and make wise decisions out of them. It is easy to feel like you are in a stagnant place while everyone else is progressing. Remember that is their timing, yours is way different and so is the next’s. Take your time, and while at it, use it wisely. Use time for things that build you, things that aid your growth. The beauty of watching projects grow is heart-warming, and the end results are even better!
Isaac’s stop was before mine, and as he was preparing to alight, he showed me five remaining rows of maize and said, “Five is my lucky number, have this” and left. I took it, and munched away, the conversation still fresh in my mind.
