IS YOUR NOSE UGLY?

‘Never mind if your nose is ugly as long as you can breathe through it’ (DRC)

You can easily hide your bald head, your bad eye, your colored or scattered teeth, but it may be very difficult for you to hide your ugly nose. An ugly nose is always very easy to notice when people glance at your face because it occupies a very strategic position (central). Except in some special cases, people generally believe that the shape of your nose determines how beautiful your face looks or how beautiful you are.

However, our ancestors believe that the shape or structure of someone’s nose is not essential in life as long as the person can breathe freely through the nose. Just as every creature on earth do not serve only one purpose, so also are the organs of our body. There is no part of your body that has only one function. For example, your head is the upper part of your body that serves as a frame in which your hair, ears, eyes, nose and lips are properly fixed. It also serves as a container of the brain. But as significant as human head is, it can never ever do without a nose. Imagine a head with blocked nostrils…I’m sure you can only find such in the coffin or mortuary.

So, apart from facial beautification, your nose may be used for other beautiful purposes in life. Instead of you to concentrate on its ugly structure, it is better for you to appreciate the invaluable gift of respiration. There are many people with beautiful noses who struggle to breathe in hospitals today. No matter how beautiful your nose is, it can never guarantee life. Instead of complaining about your ugly nose or considering surgery, it is better for you to focus on what you can do with the beautiful breathe of life that you have got from the ugly nose. If you can’t change your nose, you can definitely do something that can change the lives of many people.

Also, your ugly nose may be any form of deformity or obvious abnormality in your body (i.e. not exactly your nose). Your body structure does not determine your success in life. The most beautiful or handsome people are not usually the most successful businessmen, powerful leaders or outstanding people in their career. Even in most cases, the genuinely beautiful people are not the ones that wear the crown in several beauty pageants.

Whatever you divert your attention on is what will attract other people’s attention to you. If your weakness or shortcoming is what bothers you most in life, you will definitely attract people who will see you as a weak and disable person. Focus on your strength and your center of attraction, showcase your selling point and project it beyond every measure. If you are not proud of yourself, no one will be proud of you; your family won’t, your friend won’t and your society may not even recognize you.

Show the world what you want them to see in you, feed them thoroughly with it every day until they get engrossed and obsessed with it. If you ignore your bald head, the bad eye, colored teeth, bad leg, bad breath, skin color, flat chest, shapeless buttocks, boyish manhood, etc…no one will focus on it.

Remember, it doesn’t matter if your nose is ugly as long as you can breathe through it.

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WHERE IS YOUR STICK?

‘A stick which is far away cannot kill a snake’ (Uganda)

Have you ever attempted to kill a snake that is about to sting you with its deadly poison? Have you? Ok, imagine how you would feel if the stick you wanted to use to kill the snake is hidden underneath your pillow at home, would you still kill the snake with that same stick? No way! No snake will be patient or silly enough to wait for you to run home in order to fetch the stick that you would use to kill it. If you must kill a snake, you need to have a stick with you.

Also in life, you can never acquire a property with the money you wish or dream to get and you can’t fulfill a dream by just dreaming about it. You need to work out your dreams.

The hope or belief you have in buying a car, house or anything cannot only work out something reasonable for you until it pushes you to get the money that is required to purchase the thing. If you don’t want to be disappointed in life, it is better for you to always move with your stick. So, whenever you encounter any snake, instead of you to run, you would not but kill the snake.

Your stick in life symbolizes many things. It may be the knowledge that you acquired from school, the wise saying of the elders, your wealth of experience, talent, creativity, money, integrity, good will, reputation, honesty, fame or commitment in life.  You may end up being stung by the snakes of life if you don’t have any of these sticks (as mentioned above) glued to your hand.

So, where is your stick? Do you have anyone at all or is it hidden somewhere under your pillow at home? In whatever you do or wherever you go in life, always consider taking your stick along with you. Remember, a stick which is far away cannot kill a snake. May you not be killed by the snakes of life.

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HE WHO COMES LAST…

‘Whoever comes last drinks muddy water’ (Kenya, Uganda)

Have you ever been to the river very early in the morning? You would observe that the water you fetch from the river is usually cool and clean at the early hours of the day. Have you ever asked why? There is no magic involved, it is natural.

You can only get the best out of the river when its peace is not being disturbed by many people. Any water you fetch when a lot of activities (i.e. swimming, washing, fishing, bathing, etc.) are already taking place in the river can never be clean, it would definitely be muddy. So, our ancestors believe that he who comes last to the river to drink water usually drinks muddy water.

Also, you can only get the best out of the river of life when it is at peace and not being disturbed by many people. It is always good for you to achieve the best things you could achieve while you are young. During your youthful days, it is good to invest the best of your energy, resources and time on the things you want to achieve in life and avoid every distractions that may come your way.

Instead of you to wait for other people to do something that you would imitate, it is better for you to do something that is worthy of imitating. If you don’t explore your ideas when other people are still thinking of what to do and how to do it, you may end up doing what other people have already taken some time to do. No matter what you think today, there are several other people somewhere in the world who also think and plan almost the same thing with you. The difference between you and others is your ability to act fast. If you don’t do something positive with what you have now, another person may take the glory.

As from today, always endeavor to get the best from life when the day is still young. May you not end up drinking muddy water in life!

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DON’T SWALLOW NOW!

‘Don’t be in a hurry to swallow when chewing is pleasant’ (Malawi- Nyanja)

The next thing that happens after chewing pleasantly is for the throat to swallow the chewed substance. No matter how long you spend chewing any food substance, it will eventually end up being swallowed; but it takes only a patient person to enjoy chewing for long without considering to quickly swallow whatever is being chewed.

Our ancestors believe that it is only a greedy person that is usually in a hurry to swallow when chewing is pleasant. Instead of a greedy man to enjoy every bite of whatever he consumes, he is usually conscious of consuming plenty food. Once any food substance is being swallowed; even if you regurgitate or vomit it, you can never reverse its natural taste.

Also in life, we are not expected to be too hurry to swallow the important and valuable things that nature has put in our mouth to chew. Whatever that is pleasant for you to do to yourself and other people should not be swallowed quickly; don’t just put it to an end by your foolishness or recklessness, enjoy every moment that you spend in doing it.

Someone who is rich, comfortable and happy can also be compared with the person who chews pleasantly. If you allow your riches or happiness to overwhelm you, you may be tempted to quickly swallow whatever that you chew now. Remember, if you are so much in hurry to swallow whatever you chew pleasantly today, you may not have anything else to chew or you may not find anything as pleasant as what you have greedily swallowed.

Life is too short for anyone to be in hurry to kill himself/herself; one day, we will all die anyway. So, why not relax and continue chewing until nature practically has its way. Don’t swallow your life now when there are still many things to chew. At times, your hope to chew for long may be the only breakthrough for you to live peacefully and comfortably. May you not be in hurry to swallow your natural goodies in life.

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LIVING ON THE GROUND

‘A man on the ground cannot fall’.  (South Africa-Azania)

It is only a man who has risen above the ground level that has the tendency to fall. So, if you are in any position that is not too raised above the surface of the ground, it will be very difficult for you to fall on the ground.

Being on the ground does not only mean sleeping on the ground, sitting on the ground or connecting to the ground; we can also view it from another perspective. Our ancestors see someone who is on the ground as someone who is practically humble, complacent and always satisfied with whatever he/she possesses.

Humility is not the ability to intentionally present yourself as someone who you are not. It does not require you to disguise and hide your true status. Humility is not the personal struggle to consciously or forcefully equate yourself with everybody; it is the natural ability of anybody to see whoever he/she is and whatever he/she has got as NOTHING.

Any man who believes that he has nothing (no matter the quantity of his possessions) can never kill himself when he is dispossessed of any of his possessions. You can’t kill yourself over nothing. Also, any woman who sees all her academic qualifications, career credibility and numerous achievements as nothing can never be afraid of falling or fumbling. You can’t lose whatever you do not have.

You can’t pretend to be humble; you can never fly in the sky and claim to be sleeping on the ground. It takes a proper understanding of life and oneself to remain living on the ground. Remember, the ground is the foundation of the earth, so, if you keep being rooted to the foundation, you can never fall, fail or fumble in life.

Don't start your day without a word from the ancestors...remember, a word is enough for the wise. Follow @our_ancestors on twitter, email: wordsofourancestors@gmail.com. or call 08180458852. May your days be plenty!

DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU GO?

‘The stream knows where to flow’ (Tanzania-Kuria)

Have you ever taken your time to observe how the stream flows? Oh, so you have not. You can take some clues from the pictures above. The stream is usually focused, it doesn’t look confused or destabilized, and it follows wherever it has to follow without compromising the standard.

If many of us could choose to live our lives like the stream, life would be interesting and very comfortable for us. There are a lot of people who are confused and ignorant of their purpose in life. These amazing set of people are the ones who are usually found in different places doing different things at anytime. Most of them cannot easily tell you what they do exactly; they go anywhere and end up discovering that they have been nowhere.

Before you embark on any journey in life, you are expected to know a lot about where you are going, what to do when you get there, when to get there and how to behave when you get there. If you choose to travel to anywhere, you will end up arriving at nowhere. Ensure that you know whatever that you wish to do or wherever that you wish to go before making any decision to move forward. Don’t do any business because many other people are making profit from it, don’t go into any relationship because a lot of your mates are getting hooked up, don’t travel to any country because many people are doing so, don’t choose a career because it is in vogue, don’t quit a relationship because of a sudden change in the character of your partner and don’t just quit a job/business because it is not currently lucrative…how much do you know about what you do? You need to know where your stream flows before you can make any decision about how to move forward in life.

Take time to study what you do or whatever you wish to do and be patient enough to observe how it could work for you. From your study, draft out a comprehensive progressive plan on what you wish to do and ensure that you follow it honestly till you are successful. Whenever you are confused while making some vital decisions in your life; remember, the stream knows where to flow. May you know the right path to follow in life!

Don't start your day without a word from the ancestors...remember, a word is enough for the wise. Follow @our_ancestors on twitter, email: wordsofourancestors@gmail.com. or call 08180458852. May your days be plenty!

FLAYING AN ELEPHANT

‘The knife for flaying an elephant does not need to be a big one, as long as it is sharp’

(Niger, Nigeria- Hausa)

If you don’t know, you can learn this today; it is not easy to flay an elephant. Yes! The elephant is not just any animal that anyone can find, pursue, beat or whip in the forest. Never mistake an elephant for a dog or goat that you can smash or hit with anything. If you must flay an elephant, your knife has to be sharp, I mean very sharp.

Also, there are many things/people that can represent an elephant in our lives today. Your children, spouse, close friends, academics, career, business, job or project may be your elephant in life. You don’t need a big brain to deal with them but a very sharp one.

The way you discipline your kids determine who they will eventually grow up to become in future. Children are not only disciplined by the way you beat, rebuke or criticize them; the values and morals that you instill into them after every whipping, rebuke or criticism go a long way in transforming their future. Don’t beat a child for no reason and never assume that your child knows that what he/she did is wrong, you need to convince the child about the moral or ethical implications of his/her actions. There are no small kids anymore, their thoughts, desires, expectations and projections in life are as big as an elephant. So, you need to be very careful when you deal with them. Every corrupt, immoral or hostile society in the world today is a product of indiscipline.

Your spouse, siblings, parents or close friends could also be the elephant that you need to flay before you become successful in life. Don’t assume that you know more than them and don’t ever disregard them for any reason. No matter how influential or successful you are, remember that you might not have gone as far as you are today without their little contributions and support. Don’t rebuke, condemn or criticize them because of some flimsy excuses and never assume that you know more than them. You can never be great in life if you don’t consider your spouse, siblings, close friends or parents as an elephant that has to be flayed with a very sharp knife (i.e. wisdom, intelligence and respect)

Your academics, career, business, job or projects are also the elephants that you need to smartly flay in life. If you are not very careful about the way you flay any of these elephants, you may end up being injured or disappointed in life. You need a very sharp brain, focused mind and unrelenting determination to pursue and flay your elephants. You don’t need to know many things in order to become a successful person in life (success is not determined by the big brains, it is by the sharp ones), you only need to know the right things.

As from today, don’t be tempted to flay the elephants of your life with a big knife, (a big knife doesn’t have any harmful effect on an elephant, it may even be too big for you to carry) you need a very sharp knife to do the magic.

Always consider the words of the ancestors...remember, a word is enough for the wise. Sign up with us for a weekly feed. Follow @our_ancestors on twitter, email: wordsofourancestors@gmail.com. or call 08180458852. May your days be plenty!

SLEEPING AWAY

‘Sleep and indolence are not cousins of a good harvest’

Sleep is good because it is required to maintain and sustain a healthy body, but it becomes a problem when it is attached with indolence. An indolent farmer is a lazy farmer and a lazy farmer is not just any farmer who sleeps or a farmer who enjoys sleeping; he is the man who sleeps when he is supposed to be working in the farm.

Our ancestors usually believe that sleep and indolence do not make a good harvest. Any farmer who expects a bountiful harvest is not expected to spend most of his time sleeping. Yes, there is always a right time to sleep. No man can cheat nature; when nature calls, you can’t but obey.

Sleep is expected to come as a result of the extensive energy exerted into wok, so when you are tired after doing a strenuous work, you need to sleep in order to relax your nerves. A man who wishes to be great, effective and relevant in life ought not to choose sleep as his hobby. If you want to achieve what other people fail to achieve, you need to do what other people usually fail to do. A farmer that expects the biggest harvest needs to know that he has to spend more time in planning and working towards the harvest than many other farmers. Until you have accomplished your principal goals in life, you are not expected to sleep and work like every other person, then expect an outstanding result.

Genuinely great people are not those who sleep over their goals and ideas in life, they are the few ones whose goals and ideas cannot make them to sleep easily. Whatever you cannot sacrifice some sleep to plan or do in life is not really worth having. People who often plan while others are sleeping and work while others are slumbering usually achieve greater things while others are still sleeping. If you think, plan and work ahead of your competitors or colleagues, you will eventually have enough time to sleep and even achieve more things while you are asleep.

Don’t be lazy; lazy people joke with their future, they exchange the comfort that is reserved for their old age with the hard work designed for today. So, instead of them to relax and enjoy the fruits of their labor at old age, they end up laboring for the mistakes they made in their youthful days. If you want to live a fulfilled life, you need to control the way you sleep and avoid being indolent. May you never sleep away in life!

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MANY OR MUCH?

‘He who is afraid of doing many things always does little’

There is a very thin line between doing too much things and doing too many things. The word ‘much’ is an indicator of something done in excess or beyond normal control, while the word ‘many’ is usually used to indicate things that are more than one, countable, measurable and quantifiable.  If you are not careful, you may misrepresent doing many things for doing much things.

Our ancestors believe that it is better for one to be afraid of doing too much things (i.e. doing something in excess) than for one to be afraid of doing many things. Anyone who is afraid of doing many things in life usually ends up doing little things.

It is always good for you to be afraid of doing too much things but it only becomes a problem if you are afraid of doing anything, something or many things. If you are afraid of doing too much things, it means you have the ability to control yourself, it also gives you the opportunity to be responsible or accountable for everything you do. It is only the person who is afraid of drinking too much of alcohol, eating too much of food, drinking too much of water, reading too much of books, speaking too much, loving people/someone too much and doing anything in excess that is worthy to be called a responsible man/woman. At times, the only sure way to stay out of trouble is to avoid doing something beyond control. You need to be afraid of doing too much things, not too many things.

The number of goals you set for yourself in life and the problems you plan to solve determine your achievements. If you are afraid of doing many things or solving many problems, you can never achieve many things in life. Keep sowing seeds, keep solving more problems, keep doing the things that you enjoy doing and ensure that you do them properly; one day you will definitely find yourself in the world of multiple blessings.

If you always find yourself doing one thing repeatedly, you need to be careful because you may end up doing it in excess. Also, whenever you discover that you are doing many things that you cannot account for or things that are more than what you can easily administer, it means that you are doing too much things. Remember, he who is afraid of doing many things always does little. Don’t be afraid of doing many things in life but be careful of doing too much things.

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NOT BY YOUR DREAMS!

‘We live by hope, but a reed never becomes an Iroko tree by dreaming’

Have you ever seen a reed or an Iroko tree? Do you know what any of them actually looks like? A reed is a tall, slender-leaved plant of the grass family that grows in water or on marshy ground. Iroko, on the other hand is a large tree from the west coast of tropical Africa. It is one of the woods sometimes referred to as African Teak, although it is unrelated to the teak family. The color of Iroko wood is initially yellow but darkens to a richer brown over time.

Our ancestors believe that a reed can never grow to become an Iroko tree by dreaming or just aspiring to be one. It takes more than a dream for a reed to transform itself to being an Iroko tree. No matter how you want to see it, a reed is a reed and an Iroko remains an Iroko.

Also in life, it would be almost practically impossible for anyone to become great or ultimately successful by just dreaming. Fine, it is good to dream, but dream alone is not enough to make someone achieve his/her goals in life. There are a lot of people who dream big today; in fact, almost everyone that you see around you have one dream or another but it takes only those who decide to wake from their dreams and live to act their dreams that finally become whoever they dream to become in life.

There are many poor people in the world today who dream to become very rich but refuse to take the steps that would change their poor status. Many of them still talk, think and act like the poor. It is not enough to dream big; if you really want to become big in life, you need to start talking, thinking and acting like a big person. Poor people get attracted to poor people, lazy people get easily attracted to lazy people, bad people are most likely attracted to people who are worse than them and the people with low self esteem find it very easy to mingle with one another. Do you want to know why?  It is simple; there is a natural force that repels every man from people who do not belong to his class or level of reasoning. Until you break loose from your shell and start living your dream, you may never be the person you dream to become in life. A poor man who has many rich people as his friend can never be seen by other poor people as a poor man.

A reed that dreams to be like an Iroko tree will never grow in the midst of other reeds (if it does, it will only end up being a big reed), it takes the reed that grows in the neighborhood of the mighty Iroko to start growing like the Iroko. As from today, start talking, thinking, acting, studying and relating with the people you dream to become in life. You can never be exactly like another person but you can be yourself and live your dream. Remember, we live by hope, but a reed never becomes an Iroko tree by dreaming. May you never lavish in your dreams in life.

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NOT BY MUSCLES!

‘Sinews and big muscles do not make a farmer’

Sinews are pieces of tough fibrous tissue uniting muscles to bones or bones to bones. Literarily, sinews and muscles are both often used to represent the source of vitality, strength, power or vigor.

Our ancestors believe that sinews and big muscles alone do not make a farmer. A farmer that depends only on his strength or power may not finally reap the best crops. It is not only the energy that a farmer exerts into planting seeds that determines a bountiful harvest.  At times, natural disaster, pests or some unforeseen circumstances may affect the growth of the seeds and eventually hinder a bountiful harvest. So, it takes experience, wisdom, determination, commitment and discipline to make a successful farmer.

Also in life, we do not become a successful man or woman because of our physical strength or power.  At times, it takes more than power to be on top of others. There are many strong people today who work relentlessly and tirelessly for money, yet they cannot afford enough money to feed themselves or cater for their family. Majority of the people in our society today who focus their attention on building their physical strength and power are the ones who work as slaves in the empire of the wise ones who plan and commit themselves to being on top of others.

Physical strength is usually subjective to spiritual strength. If the source of your power is physical, you may not be constantly effective. No matter how successful you are in whatever you do, remember, someday, strength may fail you. Any source of success that is based on physical strength or what the eyes can see is usually temporal; it takes only a supernatural force to continually prepare and propel you for greatness.

If your strength is on your certificate, degree, money, cars, property, job, business, family, benefactor or whatever/whoever you can see, you are not worthy to be called a strong man or woman. There are many lost, stolen or burnt certificates, money, cars, property, businesses, relationships, failed jobs and inconsistent benefactors. You are not yet a strong man if whatever/whoever you depend on is perishable.

Instead of focusing on your certificate or degree, it is better to focus on the skills or knowledge that you have acquired. Instead of depending or focusing your attention on the money, cars or property that you have today, it is better for you to be concerned about how to use them to solve people’s problems. Instead of you to rely on what you get from your job or the business that you do, it is better for you to be committed to rendering qualitative services to your clients and customers. When your job or business fails you, it is only your wisdom, knowledge, commitment, discipline and the good things that you did to people who patronized you that will sustain you, not the job title or qualification. Instead of you to depend on your family or benefactor for strength, it is better for you to see yourself as an entity whose attachment with other entities may be a necessity but not an essentiality. If your family fails you, it is only the strong belief that you have in yourself, the courage, experience and wisdom you have acquired in life that will sustain you.

Always remember that sinews and muscles don’t make a farmer...it takes more than your physical strength to make you a successful person.

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