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 Bread. At least, that’s the product he sells. Today, I didn’t see him. I was wondering if he was okay. I prayed he was fine. But I also knew that illness wasn’t going to be out of place for him. On my way back, I noticed this new temporary shed. Two people shared an open but demarcated space. One sold ‘Risky Burger’, what we used to call Bread and Fried Eggs in Unilag. He also had a stack of Noodles, so I presume he sells that too. While the other person sold what looked like Beans.

Then I saw Mr. B approaching the shed on a bike! That was different. He highlighted from the bike and I saw him smile happily at the two co-owners of the space. The ‘Risky Burger’ seller collected some loaves of bread from Mr. B and the Beans seller collected some as well. I watched Mr. B sit comfortably, while some customers approached him to purchase some bread too. He seemed happy and more at ease. 

I smiled and immediately the words, innovation and collaboration jumped at me. Strategically networking and collaborating with people who need what you have (skills, products, or services) is always such a life and time saver!

What are you spending a lot of time, effort, and energy on? I hope Mr. B’s story will give you some sort of mental shift and perhaps nudge you in the right direction.

Love & Light,

TA