Champions League

The U.E.F.A have consistently conducted the champions league since 1955, they have succeeded not only in improving the quality of football appreciation worldwide, not even in the entertainment they provide to all football lovers albeit sometimes life threatening, but also in generating economic wealth for governments. It is considerably the most watched sporting event in world history generating an average of 100 million viewers. However, I do not wish to concern myself with the UEFA, I want to bring to your notice another sport, if one might call it that , where the top players are referred to as the champions league.

It is called the race of life, and the players here who have and can master the rules of the game and apply them are referred to as champions.
According to the oxford dictionary, a champion is a person who has surpassed all rivals in a sporting contest, and like I mentioned earlier this particular sport is called the race of life.
Now, in this sport, recruitment is not done annually but daily, per second for that matter. A lot of people participate, about 6 billion actually but only a handful emerge as champions, and I’ll tell you why. It is because they possess certain qualities that every sports man must possess. Let us consider some of these qualities.

1. Skill: oh yes, this people are a set of creative and innovative kind of people. They are incredibly smart, knowledgeable in the affairs of life and always looking to improve their skills by seeking for wisdom.

2. Strength: one of the strongest tools of any sportsman is his strength, the field is not a place for sissies, neither is the track, these champions have a peculiar kind of strength though, they rely not just on natural ability but on the supernatural capacity of a divine God. They understand the phrase ‘the horse is prepared for battle, but deliverance is of the Lord.

3. Passion: to take away passion from a player is to take away the life from the game. Passion is always the reason why we go that extra mile. These champions understand passion, they stand for what they believe in and they believe in what they stand for.

4. Focus: the ultimate focus of any player is to score the goal, hit the target or cross the finish line. Again my champions know this too well, that is why they can’t afford distractions, they won’t allow the fleeting pleasures of life to keep them from finishing well.

5. Team spirit: The peculiarity of this sport, is that it is a race where everyone runs for the finishing line, but only the true champions carry others along. A true champion never enjoys any victory without people by his side!

My name is Tochi Eze, I am a champion and I want you to join my champions league!

HAKUNA MATATA( our problem free philosophy)

Let’s face it, Problems are not just a part of our living, they are a birth right! We are a set of problematic people, born into a problematic world and in a problematic era for that matter. Oh yes, we inherit some of these problems, create quite an amount for ourselves, and then bequeath a good portion of the problem legacy to our children.

By the way, a problem is a situation that poses to be difficult, it may threaten to be harmful or just plain inconvenient, whichever the case is, we don’t want them, but we are stuck with them.

Still speaking on problems, we should understand that although they come in different packages, the content is generally the same, for instance, it could be an annoying boss, child, friend, job, car, health condition, finances, the list is endless, basically if you don’t like it but your stuck with it, then it’s a problem.
Why do we have problems? Oh that’s easy, problems are the platforms that propel us to our desired height of victory. We need to look beyond the situation that challenges us, and see the opportunity that lies therein, for instance, if darkness wasn’t a problem, Thomas Edison wouldn’t have had the need to invent the light bulb.
Now I don’t have a problem with problems, there is just no point, we are stuck here, with everything around us rigging of problems needing to be solved and if you have noticed, I have been speaking in general terms, meaning there is NO exclusion. We all are involved and affected. I have a far bigger contention which is…
How do we deal with problems? That’s easy too. We deal with problems by philosophy, oh yes, philosophy. My recent discovery…Problems respond to philosophy. Please don’t get confused just yet, I’ll explain myself.
I don’t mean the philosophy that studies the nature of knowledge, reality and existence, I’m referring to the philosophy that deals with the system of thought or thought process of a particular set of people, example the natural law philosophers and so on.
Back to my point, there are several philosophies( system of thought) that we can use to deal, handle and manage our problems. Some of them are

• Fear- that’s right, just go ahead, hide, retreat, cower back in shame, but you know what, this philosophy attracts problems big time and for a longer period too.

• Anger- according to oxford dictionary, it is a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure and hostility. Sure, anger is a good way to handle your problems, especially if you want to end up like Adolph Hitler, who channeled his anger from a drunk and abusive father, the untimely death of his mother and his rejection in the German school of art, to acquiring and accumulating military prowess that almost destroyed world peace.

• Habits-yes, habits always solved the problem, right? I mean, you get into a bad relationship or things don’t work out as planned, and we fall into drugs, just to get your mind off things, except that when your minds gets back from the trip, guess who’s waiting? Mr. Problem.

• Inhumanity, yes just like Idi amin, take out your problems on people by being cruel and inhumane, but remember, you may not last as long as he did and it definitely doesn’t make you a problem solver.

• Hakuna matata-this as you may suspect is my best philosophy. The Swahili coined phrase simply means no worries. Unfortunately few people understand and employ this tactic, myself inclusive. A life without problems is not attainable, but a life without worries is.

The worry free mind doesn’t deny the existence of the problem, rather it looks at it with the eyes of hope, not with the resignation of impending defeat but with the realization that Life is too short and time is too costly to waste both worrying about a problem that at best has a solution somewhere and at worst, was not designed to drown you.

So you decide, what’s your problem free philosophy???

Effects of Pain killers

Pain, an unpleasant sensory experience, has been described to be the most common reason for medical consultation, it is a major symptom in medical conditions and can significantly interfere with a persons quality of life.

Whether it’s a headache, a sprained ankle, or a burn from kitchen work, science has taught man that he does not need to condone pain, hence the advent of pain killers, right? Well, wrong!
Let me tell you something about pain, it is usually but not always the symptom of a bigger and often more complex medical condition. So you see, science in all its research, theory and experiment can only come up with a temporary relief, never a lasting cure. how ever lets not get into that argument.
My point is that your local aspirin, whether its ibrupofen, buscopan or good old panadol, can at best offer you a temporary relief, example, you can stop the headache but does it stop the malaria?
I will share with you certain features of these our so called pain killers that we all should know.

1. It serves as a distraction. Oh yes, it takes your mind off the main problem at hand, never really giving you the opportunity for a proper diagnosis and procuring a lasting relief.

2. It gives the problem or condition room to grow, because if you are not killing bacteria, then it’s spreading in you.

3. It always wears off eventually, again, emphasis is placed on the temporary nature of relief it proffers. The pain always comes back because the source is still there.

4. Last but not least, too much of it, like an overdose for instance, goes straight to your kidney and kills( guess who?)

Now, enough of this medical gibberish. The point I am trying to make or emphasize is on the pain killers we employ to tackle emotional, psychological and even spiritual hurts.
Just in case you fall into the pain killer group, I’m not too sure the brand you employ, whether it is alcohol, sex, bad habits, lies amongst others, the simple truth is that it never takes away the problem.
Getting drunk to escape an emotional turmoil doesn’t solve anything, eventually you become sober and reality sets in, sleeping with that man is not going to solve the communication problem between the two of you, and lying does not make you more believable or acceptable.
Now, like I mentioned earlier, these so called pain killers, no matter the brand you employ do not solve the problem, at best they only proffer a temporary relief, allow the problems to get compounded, make you addicted and then eventually, they kill you!

Living with Rats!!!

From my experience (in this area which is quite vast), rodents are presumably the most annoying set of crawling creatures in the whole wide world, and that includes the World Wide Web.

I mean, they visit un-invited, barge into your privacy, and stay even though they are not welcome. I’m not even talking about their nuisance value, destructive by nature, slimy and boy, are they stinkers.
The worst of these breed in my view, are the Rats.
Now rats, (am guessing), are the no.1 household nuisance, virus and enemy of most houses in Lagos, Nigeria, and contrary to what people think, it doesn’t matter where you live; be it in the suburbs or the slums, they are everywhere.
At this point, I’m sure you are wondering what the point of this write up is? Well, follow me closely.

QUESTIONS;

1. Where do rats come from?

2. Shouldn’t they have a community of their own?

3. Why do we have to condone them?

Not being a zoologist and all, I can’t answer the first two, but the answer to the third question is a definite NO. Nobody has to and should condone a rat.
You know what is even more annoying than these rats? The people who share the same features with them, yes- the people-rats!

Their features again;

1. they visit un-invited

2. they barge into your privacy

3. they stay even when they are not welcome.

Can you place a name or a face?

4. they constitute a nuisance

5. destructive by nature: all they want to do is use up all your stuff, take up all you’ve got, and remain a liability.

For clarifications, I am not a nasty person, nor am I harsh; I’m only trying to be blunt and educative.
Back to the lesson, I want to share with you four reasons why you shouldn’t condone rats and people-rats.
• In condoning a rat or a people-rat, you leave yourself and your environment dirty and polluted. The saying that bad company corrupts good manners is still true. If you leave them around you long enough, it’s only a matter of time before you start to conform to the environment, and we do not want anything to sabotage our excellent spirit.
• If you condone a rat or a people-rat, you are giving a definite license to destruction.-their gossiping and lies can destroy your relationships, your state of mind and even your homes.
• If you condone a rat or a people-rat, be prepared to stink! Yup, real rats stink, dead or alive, and if you keep up with these people of such poor character traits like lack of integrity, morals or ethics, people may pick up their scent, and attribute it to you.
• If you condone a rat or people –rat, it’s only a matter of time before your health starts deteriorating. You can lose your peace of mind from their too much nagging, lose your self esteem from their criticizing and you can even lose some weight because they will literally feed off you.

So you see why you shouldn’t condone a rat, and a people-rat. You owe it to yourself, you owe it to your environment and you owe it to the eco-system!

THE MAN WITHOUT A MASK.

If you have ever attended or in the least bit watched a masquerade ball, then you will agree with me that it is quite an interest to the eye. It generates a certain kind of excitement or mystery of not being able to tell who is behind that mask, However, If you come right down to it, that is all there is to it…the Entertainment! It proffers no logic at all, I mean, why would anyone take the pains of attending a dinner, getting a beautiful dress or suit, getting your hair and make up all done, only to cover it up in a mask…it’s simply beyond me to understand this great fashion mystery that have spanned centuries. We might as well just wear rags then cover our faces so people don’t recognize us. The simple but truthful fact is that people who need to wear masks are often people with something to hide, and that includes zorro!

Life on the other hand is one big masquerade ball, and we are all in default attendance. It provides the perfect platform because no one really knows what is in the heart and mind of the person standing next to him. We wine and dine with people of questionable character and morals, we live amongst thieves and fraudsters, sometimes we even marry them and start families with them, all the while, without the slightest inclination as to their true identity.
A Man can wear a mask for entertainment, but nothing beats the disguise of a man who pretends.
Pretense is the ability to portray yourself as something that you are not , it is the highest form of deceit and has existed as long as time.
However un-justifiable these pretenders are, there is a worse a lot, for to wear a mask to deceive others, I can understand is simply wickedness but to deceive oneself… that is sickening, a symptom of a mental deficiency that is rummaging our society today.
A lot of us have been scarred by the harsh experiences of life and if only we will take of our masks we will soon recognize one or two of our scars on the body of our contemporizes and friends.
Now, like I said earlier, life, here on earth, is one big event, a masquerade ball with an enormous attendance. Who then is the man that will dare to be different, to be distinct and peculiar? Who will dare attend the ball without a mask?? I’ll tell you a little about him…

• He is a Man with a good strength of character, he will not cheapen himself by gaining from others through deceit, more so he will not cheat himself by self deceit.

• He is a Man with a strong sense of confidence, he refuses to be vulnerable to people, he is not ashamed of the scars he obtained in his journey of life, and he is not afraid of what people will think when they see his scars.

• He is a Man who is Identity Conscious, he knows his strengths and weaknesses, yet he wants to be seen and accepted for who he truly is.

Do you dare to be this Man??? Then take away your mask of pretense and give the world the honor of knowing the real you!