I have come to realize that the “ordinary”
“silly” mistakes we make in life are the nuggets from which we build a monument
of wisdom, a reference point and a lesson archive… Mistakes are the ALERT
message to some of life’s biggest traps. So when you learn from them, you can
avoid the great FALL! For instance, have you ever ignored the rumbling thunder
outside only to stroll out smiling and run back panting and soaked? Have you
ever spilled over some coffee only to realize that you should have been paying
more attention to your WHITE SKIRT and not to the TIME LEFT! What lessons do we
learn from these everyday “silly mistakes”?: The consequences of not PAYING
ATTENTION to what is most essential! And in most cases, it’s a huge cost!
Imagine then, the case of one of my
most adorable cousins, (let me call her Emma for privacy sake), who had a very
important practical exam in Food and nutrition. I mean one of those crucial
exams that can sort of determine your fate for the next step! And after many
prayers and encouragement and Best wishes, we kept our fingers crossed for her
return in the evening. In fact, I had no doubt that she was going to make it.
She had pampered us with some very sumptuous recipes that got all of us giving
her business plans and ideas all year through. I mean she just had it! She
could stir at a leftover bowl of boiled potatoes in the kitchen and the next
minute, she comes treating us all to a VOILA! Meal of “Swiss Potato pie” or “sautéed
potato delight”… names she proudly announced before tasting began.
So, on the day of her practical exam
at twelve noon, when I heard mum unlocking the front door, I knew that we were
in for a bubbly unending expression of “Catering success!”.
“How..? What happened” I heard mum
ask, and then I heard a grumble in reply. Then mum giggled abruptly, the kind of
giggle that says you are too shocked to say anything. “With all the practice
and experience, how can this little thing slip your mind? How?”
My brother and I reechoed in unison “Why? What
happened”. By then, we were both towering over the couch in anxiety. And before
I could sit, mum hit me with the headlines: She deviated!
Then, we yelled again, “how?”.
It was simple. Emma had felt prepared
and had entered the exam hall confident of her victory. She had done everything
right: Apron, Utensils, Table setting and all. And when it came to the ballot,
she had picked “Banana Cake”. She
prepared her ingredients and weighed the amount of each one very carefully:
egg, butter, flour…everything! And she got the process right. Thirty minutes in
the oven! And the girl on her left signaled her, pointing on the right side;
She was pointing to the clock, most definitely, because they all knew by
instinct that the time was drawing close. Emma grinned confidently as she
tidied up, arranging all utensils in their rightful place. TIME UP! Each
candidate pulled out her ready baked cupcake, apple pie or whatever she had
been asked to bake. Emma pulled hers out too. It smelled great, and it all looked
perfect until she heard the Inspector query “Whose Banana pudding is this?”
Unbelievable!. She had been deceived
by the smell of the cake and her confidence in her skill. The “Essence” had tricked
her into thinking that she had all her ingredients in, only to realize that she
had baked “Banana Pie” without putting in the Banana!!!
Dear friends, what gives “Banana Pie”
its name, and its attribute is simply the Banana in the Pie! Its not the smell,
neither is it the size! You may be aiming for a life of success, but you may
not be putting in the ingredients of success! It may be that you are dressing
like “success”, “smelling like success” and acting like “success”, but you may
not be sowing ANY SEEDS that will bear the fruits of success. What do you spend
most of your time doing, watching, listening to? What has taken the biggest
space in your life recently? It is really subtle, the ways we are lured to
focus on EVERYTHING ELSE but what matters most! If we would consciously review what
we focus on daily, and the habits we nurture, we may begin to realize in what
ways we are aiming at and desiring to bake BANANA CAKES ( good lives, good careers,
successful relationships, and prosperity), without BANANAS ( the core ingredients) -
the character needed, the right state of mind, the humility and patience
required to make THINGS WORK right!
Let’s take a pause from blowing
kisses at ourselves in the mirror and getting overconfident with our education
and money and fame and ask “Am I being transformed by any of this?”, “Am i any
better than I was before? and most importantly: am I focusing on the core
substances required to make me succeed? Some breakthroughs may come your way
and everybody may be saying “you are blessed” but are you really building on a solid
foundation: of love, of the fear of God, of humility and hard work etc Or are
you just pursuing a semblance of success, just busy looking like you got it ALL
RIGHT. Because soon, life’s examination will take place and many may fail
woefully just by baking a nice pan of “Bananaless” Banana cakes!
And Ladies! Consulting online beauty
tips and designs can be helpful, finding the right clothes for our body shape is rewarding;
there is nothing wrong with BEAUTY, there is just everything missing when it
doesn’t come with character! What matters most is the core!
So,
Let’s get in THE INGREDIENTS!
Written By: Alice Blighton.
