Cock And Bull

• The Parable of the Fern and the Bamboo

  Posted: April 12, 2010, 12:28 pm by Administrator

  The Parable of the Fern and the Bamboo
  - Author Unknown

  One day, I decided to quit. I wanted to quit my job, to quit my relationships, to quit my spirituality; I even wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God. “God”, I said. “Can you give me one good reason not to quit?”

  His answer surprised me. “Look around”, He said. “Do you see the fern and the bamboo?”

  “Yes”, I replied.

  “When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.”

  “In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.”

  “In the third year there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit.”

  “In the fourth year, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would not quit.”

  “Then. in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant. But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge they could not handle.” He said to me.

  “Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots? I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you! Don’t compare yourself to others. The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful. Your time will come,” God said to me. “You will rise high”.

  “How high should I rise?” I asked.

  “How high will the bamboo rise?” He asked in return.

  “As high as it can?” I questioned.

  “Yes.” He said, “Give me glory by rising as high as you can. And remember.. I will never leave you, nor forsake you. I will never give up on you. I will never, ever quit on you.”

• Under Construction

  Posted: April 12, 2010, 12:24 pm by Administrator

  In the last 2 years, there has been a sudden unprecedented real estate development in my neighborhood. Every few months, a new high rise residential building is being completed and immediately being occupied by eager apartment seekers. As a result, it is inevitable to notice the various construction sites that appear like huge scars on the smooth skin of the scenic landscape.

  In particular I noticed one huge site a few hundred metres from where I live. When work began on the site, all you could see were piles of red soil as the excavators dug deep underground in order to reach a suitable level from where to start the foundation. The soil would be carted away from the site in large trucks that disrupted the peace of the neighborhood by making loud noises while stirring clouds of dust from a ground that had already been baked in the hot February sun. When the excavation ended, construction materials were delivered and the construction work began.

  This site reminds me of the work that each one of us has to do in order to develop. And develop we must if we decide to move from where our parents, our teachers, or our religion leave us. I would say that they leave us at the ground level, with some green grass planted carefully in order to cover the dirt below, just as a construction site appears before work begins. And despite the nice appearance of the scenic view, we always know that we want something more, and that is when we decide to construct. And we visualize the skyscrapers that we would eventually want to put up; reaching all the way to the sky.

  But what really surprises many people – and it shouldn’t – is that when they eventually decide to get to work, they have to start by digging down instead of going up. If it is a new business, one has to invest money, time, and energy, without seeming to know where it is going. It would seem as if all these resources are being poured down a hole into the ground, which is not far from the truth if you consider that you are building a foundation. If it is building upon spirituality, one finds themselves in a most painful place where old beliefs have to be discarded and a completely new relationship with self and Creator has to be cultivated from scratch. This period of discomfort might take years to overcome and one wonders if they are not just wasting their time with this stuff? But as with a foundation that causes an eye sore to a formerly beautiful landscape and rocks the serenity of the neighborhood, it is necessary.

  Many people are tempted to give up when they notice that they are moving in the opposite direction from where they want to go. And they are right in telling themselves that they are going in the opposite direction, but which turns out to be the correct direction since a person has to go down in order to build a foundation. Giving up would be like abandoning a construction site when one realizes that the foundation is taking too long to complete.

  When I look at the construction in my neighborhood, it is still moving up slowly; one stone at a time. I know that in a few months, it will be complete and ready for occupation. By that time, it will rise up several floors into the air, the exteriors will have a colorful and exotic finish, the ground will be evened out with tarmac and beautiful patches of grass and flowers. And the thoughts of the excavators digging down and the huge volumes of soil that had to be discarded from the site, the careful effort of cementing one stone on top of another to put up the structure, and all the other work that was involved in the construction, will be memories to be cherished for a job well done.

• Insuring River Road

  Posted: April 7, 2010, 9:21 am by Administrator

  Last week, a friend took me to see his new office situated along River Road in Nairobi. If you are familiar with Nairobi, then you already know about the chequered business character of River Road. Apart from the abundance of tiny local music production houses and music stores that spew loud music out into the street all day, many of the videos produced in the city originate from this street. The street is also groaning from the weight of many small ‘exhibition’ stalls that mostly sell electronics, mobile communication equipment and clothes. All these businesses generate heavy human traffic that weaves between the perpetual traffic jams caused by various public transport vehicles as they maneuver in and out of the several upcountry bus stations that dot the length of the street. The many travelers lumbered with heavy bags on their hands and heads and babies on their backs add human traffic to the already congested side walks.

  From my friend’s office on the third floor of one of the newest building along River Road, I could still hear the urgently throbbing bass from a Congolese song played from one of the music stalls on the ground floor, in competition with a more laid back Reggae beat played from a location my ears couldn’t quite point out. This is despite the fact that the door to the office was closed. And as I checked out the impressive décor and brand new computers on each of the desks of the modestly sized room, I couldn’t help but instinctively peep out of the window to ascertain the security of the office from outside. As you might already know, River Road’s business resume does not exclude theft and burglary, and so precaution is always necessary. Fairly or unfairly, River Road is notoriously infamous for various uncouth ways of making money such as counterfeiting and the sale of pirated goods.

  My friend’s business is an Insurance Agency, and as we continued to chat, he told me that he wanted to venture into the River Road market. He believed that he could convince the small business owners to insure their merchandise and their families. But at a place where the term for making money is often ‘hustling’ rather than ‘business’, I could not hide my look of doubt about my friend’s judgment in business location. And even without asking, my friend clearly heard the question in my head; “Would anyone in River Road be interested in insurance?” And as it has been in many occasion, my friend answered my question with a story.

  He told me about a shoe factory owner who wanted to expand his business into Africa when Europeans first discovered the continent. And so the factory owner sent one of his best sales executives to have a look at the business potential for selling shoes in Africa. After a few months filled with the hardships of a place where Europe’s contemporary comforts were lacking, the sales executive returned to his boss and reported, “Do not bother. No one in Africa wears shoes.” However, the factory owner was not satisfied and he funded a second sales executive on a similar mission. After a few months of jungle hardships, the second sales executive returned to Europe and reported to his boss excitedly, “Please go ahead. No one has shoes in Africa!”

  And so my friend concluded that he was driven by the challenge to crack this market that most seem to disregard as below potential.

Blah blah blah

Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes