RAZOR EFFECT

Hi there!

How are you doing this fine day? I hope you're fine and if you aren't, I pray that God heals whatever ails you. 

Welcome to the second quarter of 2024, like play like play 3 months don go, and to today's gist. 

Very randomly one day last week, I looked at my left foot and saw a scar beneath my second largest toe. For about a second I wondered why it was there and then I remembered how I came about the scar.... 

In January 2020, I decided to go to make-up school to train professionally. Because the entire studio had rugs, we had to remove our shoes by the door when we got in each day. Almost three weeks into the training, this girl comes in to begin her own training. She came, had the first day of training and was taught how to shape eyebrows with a razor blade. She practiced that for a bit then had to leave before closing time because she had something to attend to. 

A little while later, my boss sent me to pick something from his table and as I got close to the table, I felt pain in my left leg. I looked down and saw blood! This girl finished with her razor, threw it on the ground, without even bothering to put it back in those paper packets they come in, and left. The rug was a dark grey colour so it masked the blade and I didn't see it until it cut me, also because I wasn't expecting anyone to throw razor to the floor after using it! Thankfully, we also had a 'one use' razor policy and she hadn't injured herself when practicing with the razor so I knew that there was no STD related issue to worry about. 

I came really close to panicking, we cleaned the injury at work then I was, of course, allowed to leave early. I went home and showed my mum and we decided that I was going to get a tetanus shot to prevent infection.  

And so it began!

When I got to the hospital to take the shot, the nurse who gave me the shot decided that it would be really beneficial for me to be put on a 'tetanus for life' plan: I'd have to take 5 strategically placed shots then never have to take tetanus shots again for the rest of my life. 

I took my last shot in August 2022. 

As I sat last week, looking at the scar which admittedly blends really well with my skin that you'd have to look closely to notice (no ask me wetin make me dey examine my toes that evening), I realized 2 things that I decided I was going to gist you about. 

The first thing is the ripple effects that our seemingly insignificant actions have: this girl dropped her razor on the floor, something that maybe happened as a result of a subconscious habit of throwing trash any and everywhere, in January 2020, and I was finally done with the after-effects of her action in 2022. And as I thought about it, I wondered how many little actions of mine have had such ripple effects, whether good or bad, on people, this served as a needed reminder to mind my actions so that the ripple effects of my actions would be pleasant, to me and to all who will have to encounter the aftermath of my actions. I know without doubt, that it won't be easy, there are times and will be times when my natural inclination would be to lash back out, and it is in those moments that I will have to be intentional about my actions. 

The second realization came when I remembered that that girl never came back to the studio after that day, at least not till I left; she didn't continue her training again and it stands to reason that she probably has no idea that she caused me to have an injury by her carelessness. I wondered, again, how many people's lives I have affected and altered without even knowing that I did so. And as much as I'd like the opposite to be true, I know that if a tally were to be made, I will find that I have done a lot of both positive and negative alterations to people's lives. And as I thought again about this, I realized that it is time I decide to do and be better. 

We hear time and again that our behavior affects people's lives but I'm not sure it really sinks into our consciousness just how much difference our littlest of actions make. The thing is you may never know the effect you have on people especially when it happens to people with whom your paths cross for the shortest time; these people will take the effects of your interaction with them forever and you may never get a chance for a do over. So rather than wait for a chance to repair the damage you have caused, it will be better to not have caused the damage at all in the first place! 

So I decided last week that I will be more mindful about my interaction with people and my behaviour, whether or not I think people will be affected, because even the smallest things may have ripple effects in the lives of others that I may never know about, and I'm enjoining you to do same.

I pray that God will help us to live more intentional lives. 

NLS HOT GIST: I realized very recently that the vendors, of all kinds, in this place do not really have the fear of God like that in their hearts; they arbitrarily spike the prices of any and everything as e worry dem for body knowing that we will definitely still buy seeing as we do not have another option, especially the food vendors, you can buy something at 800 today and go tomorrow and hear 1000 or 1200 sef! They hike the prices as e dey sweet dem and na we dey bear the brunt. As opposed to buying things at a subsidized rate, we buy things here at an inflated rate, more than what people outside pay for the very same things! Na God go help us. 

That's that about that as far as that is concerned, see you next week!

Love, 

Achenyo. 

PS. We're in the second quarter, how far those your 2024 goals wey you write for January?