Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Stress

The biggest threat to health today is neither cancer nor AIDS and its no exaggeration to say that people are being assaulted by it. Stress is defined as any physical, chemical or emotional factor that cause bodily or mental tension. Whether young or old chronic stress can take a heavy toll on your health. When you feel stressed your heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugar rises, hormones are released. If the stress becomes persistent all parts of the body's stress apparatus the brain, heart, lungs, vessels and muscles become chronically over or under activated which may produce physical or psychological damage over time. The list of illness in which stress may play a role is alarmingly long ranging from heart disease, stroke, immune disorder, cancer, musculoskeletal disorders, diabetes to name just a few.

One important truth is that stress is a fact of modern living that can not be avoided entirely. Thus a mild degree of stress can sometimes be beneficial as its observed that feeling mildly stressed when carrying out a project or assignment often compels us to do a good job and to work energetically.
Stress becomes a problem and produces is negative effects when it becomes overwhelming or poorly managed. Of particular concern is the unhealthy way in which many YOUTHS try to cope with stress as their desire to escape from stress they take routes such as alcohol, drug abuse, truancy, sexual promiscuity, aggression, delinquent and violence which often leads into problems more overwhelming than those they were trying to escape.
Since stress is normal, we have to control it but lets see some of the major causes of stress in todays world, they range from financial stress, educational stress, marital stress, relationship stress, work/job stress, to parenting stress.
The following are helpful on how to reduce stress they include:
giving your body sufficient rest each day,
maintaining a reasonable healthy diet,
avoid over eating,
engage in proper regular exercise,
when worried speak to a friend (who listens) about it,
setting realistic goals to avoid being a perfectionist,
set aside time for yourself,
be organized with a balanced reasonable schedule,
know your physical and emotional limitation,
make wise decision on spending,
cultivate good virtues like patience and mildness,
since stress is a modern day part of life it then must be managed effectively.

As a microbiologist by profession (i know u would be wondering) i believe stress is a human characteristics which has shown that man a complex being made up of cells, tissues, organs and systems can be worn out and must also be repaired.
I believe stress to have the acronym of
S- stop
T- think
R- relax
E- evaluate
S- situations
S- solve them
No matter what you do in life, or what you are faced with, never forget that in Christ Jesus, you will be too blessed to be stressed.

GSM: a friend or a foe

Some years ago, mobile phone was misnomer, because phones were bigger than shoe boxes and cost thousands of dollars.

Today, there are some 1.35 billion mobile phones. In some countries more than half of the population own them and there are mobile phones than fixed phone lines.
There are more mobile phones in use today than as there are Television and Personal Computers combined. This shows that mobile phones are not just a technological marvel but has become a social phenomenon.
The booming sales of mobile phones are a boom to many businesses which makes the mobile phone market is the largest electronic segment ever which explains that more money is spent on mobile phones now than on any other electronic device in the past. Worldwide, mobile phones generate billions yearly for telecommunication companies.
The mobile phone has also created a new language in the short message service(sms) facility. These are written words that users use at a relatively little expense, to type and send brief messages to each other. SMS devotes us an abbreviated form of language that combines letters and numbers to make word sounds. Despite its inconvenience of composing and typing a message, each month about 30 billion messages are exchanged worldwide.
A British study showed that 42% of youths between ages 15 and 26 use sms to flirt, 20% use it to ask a person out on a date, and 13% have used it to end relationships.
Social communicators worry that the mangled spelling and syntax used in sms messages is harming the literacy skills of young one's, others disagree that the sms phenomenon is spurring the revival of writing in a new generation. It is a whole new opportunity to develop a whole new style of language, with combination of text messaging(sms) and the internet means young people are doing a lot more writing and they have to be fluent and articulate enough to pick up the style and master the in-words and code of the genre.
While mobile phones are a useful tools both for socializing and for conducting business with the advent of the internet on the mobile phone. To many these device may sometimes seem like a fetter than a friend, the pressure people feel to respond to mobile phone call no matter where they are or what they are doing is creating a culture of interruptions.
More than just creating annoying intrusions, these ubiquitous device have the potential to become a public enemy. Study shows that using a mobile phone while driving is as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol.
Controversy still linger on as whether the radio frequencies emitted from mobile phones and the base stations that relay the signals can cause cancer in humans because hundreds of millions of people are these devices even if only a small percentage were to develop health problems that would translate into a major health risk. Therefore dozens of indepth scientific studies have investigated the effect of mobile phones radiation on living tissue.
Though dogged by controvery, the mobile phone is having a profound impact both economically and socially. Like its electronic cousins- the television and the personal computer- the mobile phone has the potential to be either a useful slave or a demanding master.
The power to determine whether it becomes a FRIEND or a FOE is literally in the hand of the user.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

joke

I once heard of two pastors invited for a conference and heard them do a collabo on Bible study essential before a group meeting and this is what ensued:

Pastor A: ‘’ in order to effectively instruct the masses, it is incumbent upon us that we, in a most articulate fashion, rightly disseminate the word of truth. In order to avoid the presence of psychological processing and theoretical reasoning, which only capitulates to philosophical conclusiveness and charismatic overview of the divine holy writ, which in the end, ultimately leads to spiritual interposition and the characteristic nullification in the Christian life…’’

Then Pastor B replied: ‘’ in other words, if we don’t go to Bible study, we will be too smart to know how dumb we really are’’!

Why do we always celebrate death???

Death is the end of life, for anything that is on earth. it is sometimes difficult to bear because of the loss and at the same time reminds us of the short existence of life. A man was said to die is gain and what he said may have been well taken out of contest or simply misinterpreted. This leaves me to wonder why people always celebrate death, especially in Africa and Nigeria in particular.
Nothing is ever heard of so and so until their death, when they die, drums are rolled out, parties are organized and we begin to hear their praises being sung of how good, kind, benevolent, godly and all other befitting attributes and virtues. Even their condolence registers or note books are filled with words that can motivate the living , yet all these are done for the dead. No matter what these people may have done or didn’t do upon their death, they become esteemed hero’s or even legends.
I am against doing these things, emphatically NO
Sometimes I wonder if praising the dead is a path way to another world for the dead, or simply put why do we always do the right things, with right motives and reason at the wrong time.
If someone is good and has appraisable qualities and virtues, why not tell them NOW that they are still alive to motivate them. Why wait till they kick the bucket. If someone is doing wrong also why not correct them now in love, why wait till their demise and wished you had told them this or that.
Many people today carry with them burdens of things or words they never did or said to the people they cared about and may never have the opportunity again because death came calling sooner than expected.
Lets change our attitudes and mindset, the dead is dead and gone, nothing we can do to change that, but we also have those that are alive and living, why not celebrate the living.
Don’t reserve those praises for a condolence, tribute or eulogy. Tell them today while you still have the chance and see what difference it will make in their lives. Lets choose to celebrate the living more than we do the dead.

LIFE NA WAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You may be perplexed by my exclamation but when you are done reading this piece you may just do same. How easy do we forget some vital issues and never seem to forget trivial ones? How possible is it to develop oneself daily, when all one does is watch season movies, browse social networking sites and chat, or loaf doing nothing? How everyone wants to be great but never wants to go through the process to become it? How nothing ever seems to be getting better, if it ever did, it still ends up worse? How we can forget people’s birthdays but never forget the wrongs they did to us many years ago? How we always love to have people around us that we think we are better than, so we feel superior? How we all, myself inclusive complain about Nigeria when the problem of Nigeria is NIGERIANS? How we now wish we could be Goodluck Jonathan or Barack Obama, but fail to see that both worked diligently to get to where they are now and it never happened by chance? How we hardly remember the Bible or pray until we get into life threatening situations? How many times we expect people to do things for us that we could have done for ourselves? How we grow old daily, but hardly ever grow up? How we expect life to be a bed of roses, but who plant the roses? How we never fail to praise people when they are dead, when we never did when they were living? How we love to tell stories about great achievers and never plan how others will tell our stories as great achievers? How we live life as though it owes us something, oblivious that it only responds to what we demand? How time flies and inadvertently we have made little or no progress in five years? How we set out to do great things most times and end up doing little or nothing? How we always wished we were somebody else? How we never fail to miss an episode of super story, while our own life story is far from being super? How we don’t mind being in debt, for us to appear rich to the public? How we always wish we could turn back the hands of time, when presently we are just idling away making no good use of the present? How we always have poor/bad sound in church but in other events sounds are superb? How Bad things happen to good people? How I am now so short of words? Life indeed na wah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Contentment

There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.

GREED: a strong wish to continually get MORE of something, excessive desire to acquire or possess MORE (especially material wealth) than one needs and deserve. It is also an habit of reprehensible acquisitiveness.
Human needs are insatiable, but I like the words of the Indian reformer Mahatma Ghandi “ there is enough to satisfy a man’s need but not his greed’’. The story above shows a typical human nature, today everyone wants MORE. Like Oliver Twist asked for more, we don’t mind twisting things in order to get more.
I have realized that the fall of man is not only attributed to disobedience alone but to greed also because they were not satisfied with who they were and wanted to be more like God and we know what ensued.
But why can’t we just be CONTENT?
What shall it profit you if you gain the whole world?
My dear reader, incline your heart to wisdom and shun covetousness (greed) no matter what level or form it represents, even God has warned in his commandment that we should not covet, as a man who hates covetousness shall prolong his days.
But I find it appalling, today from the least to the least person to the greatest everyone is given to covetousness, which often results in oppression, violence, shedding of innocent blood, and through covetousness with feigned words people are making merchandise of others and even the work of God.
Greed is a spirit, that manifest in the deeds of the flesh.
Let’s have a RE-THINK and cultivate the habit of CONTENTMENT.
Let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have, for your life does not consist nor comprise of the ABUNDANCE of the things that you own.
So heed to my creed and let go of your greed.


Tuesday, August 17, 2010

CHOICE

this is just an excerpt from my lastest writing, it is from my unpublished book titled "CHOICE".


Life is based on choices. This is an intricate part of existence. It is the mother of freedom and the core purpose of destiny. One is never free from the choice he makes or will make because your choice may not only affect you but even those around you.
Generally it is regarded from many circles, even religious as a decider of the future. Even God the Supreme Being made man and gave man the ability to choose. The most important unique factor that differentiates man from all other creatures on earth is the ability for man to systematically and articulately think of reasons and considerations over the shortest period of time to make a choice. You may be wondering it’s what we all know about, but I like to stress here that the very plan you have for each day and throughout that day beings with a choice.
Humans are always making a choice for at least 10 times in one minute. The fact that you are reading this book or that you are doing what you are doing now is a choice.
Choice varies as one may sometimes make good ones or bad ones which we popularly refer to as mistakes or errors. Choice are the seeds of decision and decision contribute to your life mission and vision.
The purpose of making choice is to do the right thing but we are being made aware today that there is big difference between doing the right thing and doing things right. In the scripture it is said that the ……being at the right place at the right time……..is an expression of choice.
According to the Oxford Advanced learner’s dictionary a choice is the act of choosing between two or more possibilities and to choose is to decide what you want out of what is available. It may amaze you to know that everything in life is pivotal to choice. All attribute of man and even what sum up a man’s life style is based on choice.
Permit me to mention here that one thing common to all irrespective of their status, age, race, nationality is the option of a choice. You either make it or you don’t and when you don’t it’s also a choice in disguise.
History reveals the stories of great men and women who have change lives and improve the world through their inventions or discoveries, but there is a common factor among all these people which is the choice factor. A decision they made despite opposition they had a choice to become what they eventually became. Choice gives action to what so ever it is you have chosen. You cannot make a choice without a corresponding action.
People haven often said that a man is responsible for his choice because where you are today is as a result of choice you made yesterday. Change, people say is the most dynamic and constant thing in life but let me tell you that every change that ever happened under the sun is as a result of choice. Man is never free from the consequences of making wrong choices which are mistakes [meaning this was something you ought to take that you miss].
In conclusion my best advice to anyone is to believe in yourself ,make wise choices, learn from people, but lean on God and you would have made the best choice ever in life....
excerpt from the book "CHOICE" written by OSAGIE ALEX

Friday, August 13, 2010

Nigeria

The economy is being deregulated,
yet nothing seems to be regulated,
policies are being made that end up increasing inflation,
the populace are faced with starvation,
many believe there is only one option we have to fight corruption,
but who will help us as we are faced with destruction,
our constitution has become top govt official discussion,
officials that claim they want to fight corruption yet they have other options
embezzling public funds in the name of NGO & trust funds,
a mouse cannot fight a mouse in the same house,
so we need a cat to chase them out,
we prayed God to help us
then came EFCC, now we see that corruption is not from the only from the grass root but it has deep root with top officials
pls EFCC scrutinize and penalize,
else this nation may never be harmonized but totally jeopardized.
The problem of Nigeria is still Nigerians.

experience

EXPERIENCE


When it comes to experience, we all experience more than we understand. Experience enables you to recognize the mistake when you make it again.
Lets face it- too much happens to us in life for us to be able to understand all of it. No matter how how smart we are our understanding will never catch up with our experience. So you must make the most of what you can understand and at the end of each day you should ask yourself ’ what have I learned today?’
Our attitude towards unplanned and unpleasant experiences determine our growth. Life is full of unforeseen detours. Consequences happen which seem to completely cut across our plans. But we should learn how to turn DETOURS INTO DELIGHTS . Treat them as special excursions and learning tours. Don’t fight them or you will never learn their purpose. Enjoy the moments and pretty soon you will be back on track again, probably wiser and stronger because of your little detour.
Lack of experience is costly. Our greatest ignorance is not of what we have yet to learn, but how little we really know. The ignorance of the young is a direct result of not having known enough consequences. You cant avoid making mistakes but you can limit them, grow through them and not keep making the same ones.
Also, truth be told experience is costly, you cannot gain experience without paying a price. You have to hope that the price is not greater than the value of the experience. And sometimes you cannot judge what the price will be until after you have gained the experience.
Furthermore, not learning from experience is more costly. It is tragic to pay the price for experience and not learn the lesson. But that is what happens when an experience is negative. We want to run away from it and say ‘ I will never do that again’. No, don’t run away from your experience, instead evaluate and learn from them. Remember evaluated experience lifts you above the crowd. People who make it a practice to reflect on their experiences and learn from them are rare.
The school of life offers many difficult courses. Some we sign up for, others we find ourselves taking unexpectedly. All can teach us valuable lessons, but only if we desire to learn and are willing to reflect on these lessons.
Contrary to what you may have heard, experience is not the best teacher- evaluated experience is the best teacher. Everybody has some kind of experience but what you do with your experience is what matters. Learn to reflect and evaluate your experience.
To win in life, you must learn to turn your experience into wisdom. So slow down, wisdom is gleaned over time, not overnight. Then drill down, the treasure is there but you have to dig for it. Finally, get down. Yes get down on your knees and talk to God, because… the Lord gives wisdom…(Proverb 2:6)

What value do we give God in our lives lets all reconsider?

Consider this?
Have you ever wondered why its only in a church service that an hour seems so long but when watching football or a season movie its not enough.
Its only in church that every call is important that we must answer but in a business meeting the phone can ring for all we care.
Its only in church that we avoid the front seat but in other functions we strive to seat in front.
Its only in church that we feign Love to one another but outside we express ourselves plainly.
Its only in church when we pledge a thousand (N1000) we feel we have done a great thing but in other occasion we are ashamed to be noticed we are pledging for less than ten thousand
Also its only when reading the bible that a page seems too voluminous but a novel of over 200 pages is not.
And its only in the church that your twenty naira (N20) seems to have value but in the market it doesnt.
What value do we give God in our lives lets all reconsider?

have you thought about it?

To look diligently means to oversee, supervise and correct. Each day you must learn to monitor, direct, correct and oversee your heart and what goes on in there.
You can’t blame your bad attitude, resentment and unforgiveness on others, you are responsible! When somebody offends you, it is up to you whether or not you let bitterness take root.
You can’t control what other people do, but it’s the ‘’inside’’ part- the part you can control- that God holds accountable for. You get to decide whether or not irritation turns into anger, anger into resentment, and resentment into retaliation.
The reason weeds take over a garden is because the gardener doesn’t pull them up fast enough. When a garden is choked with weed you can’t say, ‘’ I don’t know how it happened’’. When you are looking diligently you will see them moving in.
When you are faced with hurtful, offensive situation, refuse to let a wrong attitude take root and produce bad fruit. Instead ask God to help you replace those destructive thoughts with mercy and forgiveness towards the people who hurt you.
Prov 4:23 ‘’ above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

punctuality

Punctuality
This is the quality or habit of adhering to an appointed time. Punctuality is about being where you are suppose to be, as promised, without exception, without excuse, every time and all the time.
Reasons why I believe that punctuality is of indescribably great importance are;
Being punctual gives you the right –the positioning- to expect and demand that others treat your time with utmost respect. You cannot reasonably hope to have others treat your time with respect if you show little or no respect for theirs. Recently in Nigeria the Acting President shut out three of his new ministers for coming late to a meeting. Punctuality provides personal power. If you are not punctual you have no leverage, no moral authority, but the punctual person gains the advantage over everybody.
A person who cannot keep appointments on time cannot be trusted, fundamental dishonesty expresses itself in many ways and not being punctual is one of them. People who cannot be punctual cannot be trusted.
There is a link between respects for others time and respect for others opinions, property, rights, other kinds of agreements and contracts. A person reveals a great deal about himself by his punctuality or lack of punctuality
If you are not a punctual person, others you wish to positively influence, negatively judge you.
In conclusion there could only be three reasons why you would be late: (1) if you choose to be late,
(2) extreme circumstance (emergency) and (3) if you are dead.