EDEN

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Path

Image credit: Unsplash.com Hey, You! I learned one big life lesson this week in what may seem like a random coincidence during my usual daily walks. Now, let me get straight to it. This day, I had decided to include a different and longer route to my plan because it was a Saturday plus I had very little physical activity the day before so I felt, why not do more kilometers today? Sounds like a good plan right? Until I started feeling slight pain in my left hip. So I told myself to slow down. Then I got to a junction on my new route - I was familiar with the road but never really walked through the path in recent times. I kept looking around and marveled at how much had changed in the area in the last 2 years. There were lots of buildings and ongoing construction projects. I smiled and reaffirmed the fact that a lot can indeed happen in a year. Anyways, I remembered that there was a shortcut that would link me faster to my street as opposed to taking another route that seemed longer

Drown Out the Noise

Image credit: iStock Hey, you! Sometime last week, during my walk, I had my headphones plugged into my ears as I sang along to one of my all-time favourite songs, ‘Breathe’ by the Nigerian gospel artiste Dunsin Oyekan, on my playlist. As I turned to the corner of the road, I dragged in quickly and deeply the fresh air that rushed towards my body while I smiled and spread my arms as I sank my soul into the lyrics. Suddenly as I approached a particular spot, the atmosphere started to change. It had gotten warmer and noisy. No, it wasn’t an episode of what may seem perfect as the introduction of a natural disaster scene in a movie. This one in the current reality contributes to what would become a climate disaster - the loud, vibrating engine and exhaust pipes of the gigantic generator for a corporate firm building. I frowned in disappointment as I looked at the building and then the generator as if my frown could tell the owners that they were being irresponsible and inconsiderate to

A Place Called Waiting

This piece was written a while back but it somehow never got to the blog. Today, while meditating, I remembered this piece as I reminisced on what seemed like a lonely, sad and hopeful period, and how maturely and proudly I managed those times. I am indeed proud of my emotional and mental growth - it has been a journey! If this is your first time here, welcome to Eden. I hope you too will find strength in my vulnerability - don’t rush it but be intentional about it. Enjoy the read and feel free to drop a comment for me😉 _______________________________________ Image credit: Google Walking down the lonely dark path of ‘Waiting Avenue’. You can almost hear the trembling sounds of footsteps - only that, the wind was your company on this journey. Down this road, even with the bubbling vibes and noise around, everywhere still feels like a deserted ground. You look around but see no one. You feel pity for your tired feet. They are swollen from the long walk that seems unending. You wonde

Random Act of Kindness

Google Image Hey Fam! It's been an interesting couple of months and if you have been catching up with me on my socials , you will find this blog post mindful. Oh yes, that has always been my go-to word and it was a no-brainer that it had to be the title of my recently published children's book, I am Mindful . Some weeks ago, I was at a supermarket and saw a friend and colleague. While at the checkout point, I noticed he had items that would normally or usually would not be associated with him. This was mainly because he is very big on healthy eating and lifestyle - I mean he is buff and so you would typically not expect him to buy a loaf of white bread and fizzy drinks. Out of curiosity, I asked who the items were for as I knew he couldn’t be so hungry that he would buy a very big loaf of bread and some extras. He then mentioned it was for a boy who had walked up to him, calling him “Daddy”. One thing I like a lot about this particular friend is that he is not one to do th

New Year, New You?

Welcome to 2022, yay! So, what are you most thankful for? For me, I am most thankful and happy to be alive doing the things that I love and being with the people that I care deeply about. You know, it’s ironic how it takes a moment of actual silence and reflection to begin to realize just how good the season that you may have been grumbling and unhappy about was indeed for you. This was my scenario and it took a flash for me to remember and appreciate how the year started and how I have grown and changed so much by the end of the year. My top 3 most exciting moments of 2021 were; 1. Turning 30. 2. Holding the hard printed copy of my new children picture book – ' I am Mindful', which will be available to the public for purchase from February 2022. 3. Overcoming anxiety and self-doubt. To be completely honest and vulnerable to you, this is still a work in progress. I still find myself doubting and nervous sometimes, but now, I am more open to talking about it

The Walking Muse

Originally written: 19/4/2021 I saw something that made me smile today. One of the interesting parts of my daily walk or jog is that I see people, I connect with people, be it through a nod, smile, wave, or just observing, you know. There used to be this man, he was a huge and somewhat big man. The first thing I noticed about him was how his shirt always stayed above his belly. So, this man wakes up very early and carries on his head a large wooden tray of bread. Then he would walk from wherever he was coming from to a particular area and around, hawking. Now, if I calculate his walk from the point I meet him to the point he drops off his bread, it’s usually about 3kilometers. He reminded me of the typical ‘hardworking’ Nigerian. The ones who maybe made us tweak the term ‘hardworking’ because in this part of the world, ‘hard work is synonymous to some serious strength and physical jobs, which is also very synonymous to suffering. Back to this man let me call him Mr. B - B for

Broken Pieces

Originally written: 11/4/2021 Many times, people treat others based on how they have been treated and how they know best. Sadly, these people who may have been broken or damaged don’t even realize it. Then, the people they care about or who care about them sometimes don’t see beyond the surface scratch - they don’t see the deep cracks behind their eyes. Other times, these people also are not aware completely of who they are and allow themselves see or search for validation through the eyes of broken pieces. Imagine standing and looking at yourself through the reflection of a broken mirror, yes, that’s somewhat close to the feeling. This is not intended to be a long post, neither is it a story rather it is the stories of so many people still living in disguise but deeply broken, and for those who see themselves from the eyes of broken pieces. For the broken, I hope that you are able to put the pieces together. For those who reach and seek helplessly, I hope that somehow, you get

Garri Water

(Originally written 21/4/2021) This post is about my 'Nana'. This is me wanting to pick up the sweet name some people (children especially) call their Grandmothers. I like it. It sounds fancy. LOL! Anyways, before I get to the part that has to do with my Nana, something serious happened to me. In fact, I am weak and as I write, I am in what I hope is the last phase of this obstacle. I am purging. I must have gone to the bathroom at least 4 times. The good thing is, it’s not even such a lot like that. It’s just the part of the rumbling stomach and lack of sleep that I hate the most. You are laughing at me. But you know it’s not funny. I knew what I ate. In fact, all the things that I mixed together in this small stomach of mine. Gosh! The stomach really hurts. Not like hurt like piercing hurt but you know what I mean. Stop pretending like you have never experienced this too. I need to go to work. Then I remembered Garri water. Now, this is the part my Nana comes in.

My covid-19 vaccination experience

Image Source: Google So, I know the first question on your mind if you are a Nigerian is, how seamless was the process? This question is mainly because of the engraved suffering – ‘hard work’ mode in our institutions’ processes DNA! Trust me, I get it. And that was why my friends and I got to the centre at 4:30am. Oh, let me rephrase that, one of my friends, Debo, whose house was closer to the centre got there at 4.30am. Of course, he wasn’t attended to – they told him, no one would be attended to until 8am. Then, I got there some minutes before 5am. I thought I could use my smile and charm to soften the heart of the man my friend had met, to at least give us tally numbers. We were the first people at the centre and had wanted to just get the tally numbers, go for our jog and come back. Anyways, my charm did not work. We were asked to stand outside the primary health centre’s gate until 8am. Then, we thought to ourselves, we can’t leave this place without a number. Luckily my