Friday, December 20, 2013

THE CURRENCY SYSTEM

The mystery of time continues to surprise and indeed overwhelm me. Someone once said time is the currency of life.  Back in middle school, we were taught about the ‘currency system’ and how it works. Depending on whatever currency is in operation wherever you live, your access to that currency gives you a right to make certain demands and they are automatically met, as long as you can match that demand with the appropriate currency and the adequate amount. In some cases, you have to spend physical currency – notes, coins etc. and in some, you do the barter thing, where you exchange something for something else, more like a case of ‘scratch my back; I scratch your back’. In the final analysis, it all boils down to satisfaction. You spend whatever currency you have to get a form of satisfaction. You smile at a guy and he becomes interested in talking to you. You help an old lady cross the road and she appreciates you and says a word of prayer for you. You work for a specified period and you receive salary or wages. The currency system itself is what drives life and the currency of life itself is time. Whatever you get out of life is determined by the amount of time you are willing to spend.

The stages in life today have greatly evolved and continue to change form. A child is born; he passes through the infant stage, then the toddler stage, then the young child/preteen stage, teenage stage, the adolescent stage and then becomes a full adult. Soon, depending on the person’s perspective, he gets married or not, lives on and all things being equal, grows old and dies. End of story. All through this life process, time remains the currency that determines what is gotten out of life.

Sometimes, I try to reflect on which part of my life has been my favourite so far. Of the periods I can clearly remember, I try to make a choice between my later childhood, teenage stage, adolescence, adult stage or the stage I presently am – as a husband and a father with responsibilities to my immediate family; as a businessperson and my responsibilities to my clients and society in general or as an employer and my responsibilities to my staff and other colleagues, to mention but a few. I realize that in the short period of my existence, I have always had to make use of this currency called time. Now, the question of whether I spent my currency wisely or not is for me to answer. Now, which would be the favourite part of my life so far?

That question brings mixed feelings of all sorts. If I decided that I preferred a particular period of my life, wouldn’t that imply that I despise the other periods of my life and by extension, the people I had the opportunity of associating with in those periods? If I decided that I love all the periods of my life equally, wouldn’t that downplay the tough moments in those periods and the regrettable experiences or actions I had cause to be a part of during those periods? I therefore choose to take the middle ground and say every part of my life so far has been a mixture of ups and downs, good and bad, nice and scary – the best of both worlds. I guess that is the way the Creator planned it to be, all in a bid to ensure we grow right and become what we are supposed to become. Have you ever thought for a minute why the beautiful rose grows in the midst of thorns or why the nice looking tongue is surrounded by a set of sharp teeth? That’s how life is supposed to be!

A recent experience gave me a reason to smile and sigh. I discovered Hellofood. Today, as a married man, I hardly visit the kitchen for anything at all. Yeah, feel free to call me ‘traditional’. In fact, even in my days as a bachelor or a ‘free guy’ as some like to call it, the kitchen had always been my least favourite part of the house. I hardly have the time or patience to prepare my own food or even wait while food is being prepared (ask my wife. Lol). Now, this is not because I hate food or don’t like eating but because I hardly have that luxury of time. However, I don’t feel different or strange because I know there are hundreds of thousands and indeed millions of similar people in Nigeria, especially in the commercial cities like Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt etc. We love good food and we want to eat but we don’t have the time!

Now, imagine you could simply pick up your phone or make a few mouse clicks to request for whatever type of food you want, selecting the exact restaurant you want the meal ordered from and within minutes, you have your food right where you are – be it at home or in the office. And wait for it, all these at an affordable cost! Now, that’s what’s up, if you ask me! That’s outsourcing at the highest order. Hellofood has come to solve our time and food problems, taking the burden of thinking of what, where and how to eat off our shoulders and allowing us concentrate on the more important things and indeed spending our currency of time wisely in life. Check out their website and get literally blown away. 

So that’s it, folks. Let’s call this a Christmas Special. I wish you all a Merry Christmas! I hope to see you again before the New Year! Ciao!