The author, Kailani Ismail
As typical of me, I enjoy engaging people especially strangers I come across. Early morning on May 14, 2021, around 8:40 am, I crossed path with a grown-up woman selling watermelons on a heavy heaped trail.
I activated her by greeting her nicely and initiated the marketing process:
Me: “Please, what is the cost of your slice watermelon”?
Watermelon Seller: GH¢2.00 per each slice.
Me: kindly give me two-slice but I’m having GH¢20.00 with me.
Watermelon Seller: I can’t change your denomination (money) and have you a balance.
Me: Then, give me one slice. Because I have GH¢2.00 with me.
Watermelon Seller: Okay!
Me: I’ve learnt that watermelon is good for us?
Watermelon Seller: Yes! It does a lot of good things. For instance:
1 When you eat it with the white inner surface, it’s good for your system and boost your immune system.
2 Blend it together with the back, the white inner surface, the fruit, the seeds and a slice of ginger. It gives stamina, endurance and accelerated performance (for men).
3 When you steam or boil the back only, it aids in metabolism, ensure smooth blood circulation and helps screens fever.
4 The back of the fruit is effective for pedicure and cleansing of the back foot.
5 The fruit itself helps to ensure frequent urination and cleanses the bladder.
Me: Wow, I can’t repay you immediately. I’m very much grateful, humbled and honored. God bless you mum.
Watermelon Seller: You welcome my son. Thanks for spending time with me.
Me: The pleasure is mine. You so kind and nice, mum. I’ve been freely educated by you. Thank you Mama.
I helped her upload her huge load and heap of watermelon trail on her head. Handed her hand bag rubber bucket to her. We bid farewell to one another and said Bye! Bye!
NB: Once she started sharing her wealth of wisdom and knowledge with me; I intermittently nodded, said really, that's nice and allowed her space to articulate eloquently. We had the chat in Twi (Akan Language).
Kindly take time to engage people you come across. Most importantly, buy something from them not out of necessity but out of need to buy for their daily survival and on compassionate grounds. Let’s help one another and foster the culture of selflessness, generosity and compassion.
As the poem goes:
No one is an Island Entire of Itself
We are all part of this Continent
Every Man’s Death diminishes me because
I’m part of Mankind
Never send to know for whom the Bell Tolls
It Tolls for all of us.
We should all strive to be each other’s keep and helpers. Just a simply hello or hi might make a sounding difference in a person’s life. We are not privy to the daily instantaneous battles we each are fighting, kindness and magnanimity is all we need from one another.
Let’s learn to allow others lean on us as we can also be given a shoulder to lean on in our trialing moments of the life we live now. A lot of people are dealing with things they cannot talk about.
For instance: heartbreaks or love issues, marital problems, loss of loved ones, violence, unemployment, financial troubles, depression, anxiety, uncertainty about what their purpose is?
Cheers, go out and be a hero to a beautiful soul and help bring happiness to that beautiful soul. God bless you as you go out to ease the affairs of others.
God bless you as you thinking of helping the next needy person close by. God bless you for being a kind and generous person to everyone with no need of their return of favor whatsoever. Let’s make the world a good place for each and every one of us. It starts with me and you.
Remember to buy out of compassion from our hardworking vendors and hawkers (especially the mothers/women), to help put a smile on such angelic beautiful faces to aid cater for their dependents.