Strength from Pressure

"If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?

- Jeremiah 12:5 NIV

Humanity's pursuit for happiness and fulfillment predisposes it to almost always wanting to embrace pressures with negative feelings. We believe these negative attitudes are spun because no one feels comfortable under the heat for a long time, nevertheless I think most importantly it is so because the strength and blessings produced from the phenomenon of pressure is underestimated. 

We pause to ponder just for a while human existence without pressure. Before you discount your contribution to life and forsake your diligence on the campaign ticket of 'More Pressure,No More Work' consider the numerous application of pressure for daily living: -- inflating tires -- playing musical "wind" instruments -- drinking through straws -- flushing toilets -- watering lawns with hose or sprinkler -- drawing water from wells -- blowing up balloons -- operating barometers -- maintaining body shape, especially around the abdomen -- breathing And the list goes on unending (funny as it may be yet it even takes pressure to force things out of our water closets).

These are only application to inanimate things you may think.But just for a minute perceive its implication for human life in the automobile industry, the music industry, manufacturing, sanitation , environment, science and technology, fashion and interior decorations and ultimately the health industry. Million amounts of money are spent on diseases implied to obesity which could be reduced with inducing a bit more pressure on our bodies.

The lesson for today is not just to look at these obvious facts but to look a bit more deeper and examine pressure in essence as a reproductive force. Nobody can reproduce and increase without an application of pressure! A man is as potent as the amount of pressure he can contain in his spongy tissues. Precious as babies may be yet they are born at neck-breaking pressures of mothers (Physically pushing in our part of the world).

It is said that, one of the most obvious symptoms of mental impropriety is doing the same thing obviously the same way and expecting different results. I have met many people desiring success and dreaming great things and yet operating at levels they have operated in for years which has no promise of success. The honest truth is that nothing gets done without doing, and new things are done requiring of us new skills, strength, understanding and attitudes which are at best adapted to through a form of pressure.

We must learn to appreciate that the productive endeavors we even find pursuit-fulfilling has a direct demand on our talent, resources and abilities. The bigger and more prospering these ventures become the more obvious it becomes that it needs more time, refined skills, clearer comprehension and ultimately in-depth strategy. These qualities are not inherited, they are choices to adaptation reproduced out of pressure. Harnessed pressure always produces much more beneficial results than a relaxed, no diligent approach. We know a thing is as flaccid and weak as much as the pressure it lacks!

This blog is not in anyway advocating stress, but what we are advocating is that, be strengthen as you go through the mill, stand the heat, hold on although you may be stretched beyond imaginable. Turgidity is enjoying the endurance, enjoying the pain because of the gain (Body builder and exercising people know this truth).

Your dreams are possible, your goals can be achieved, destiny can be fulfilled if only you can bear the pressure it takes to make those dreams firm enough for reproduction, multiplication and progress. Don't despise pressure but be strengthen by it because whatever does not kill you will certainly make you stronger!

The Theme of Life

A Life Theme is the idea or motivation that drives you throughout your life. It is the answer that you are always “searching” for. Basically, it is your quest for the “meaning of life”. - Catherine Pratt

Each individual's life theme is a yearning to understand the central theme of Life. We may all have heard the popular saying of King Solomon of Ancient Israel- "There is time for everything". A careful look into realities all around us confirms the truth of: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

There is no true representation of the world than the set of statements above. These statements put the whole life of a person in a spectrum of ironies (Consider each of the 14 strand of statements carefully with emphasis on highlighted words). Life is a cycle of complex-woven strands of ironies!

It is highly important at this point to suggest that, life's essence is not to fight the ironies but to optimize your existence in the midst of these ironies. We share this message because many people spend fruitful year fighting against the natural course of life. They may even end up setting as their life theme a journey against the very course of the time. You could decide, for example, to pursue as your life theme a life of physical immortality on earth. It really sounds noble but it would have been much fruitful to set out on a journey of making the best out of the life you have now and perhaps attain immortality allegorically because nobody will live on earth forever! Is this in anyway suggesting that we should not understand the ironies of life and should by thus approve on mediocrities? Should we follow the flow?

This question is exactly what we explore in this blog.The twin fold message we share today is to help you appreciate the truth of the ironies in life and then to help you maximize your life in such harsh realities. Consider the three things shared below as a means of optimizing your life in a life of ironies.

1. Know the Truth: We will certainly examine the question of 'What is Truth' in future blogs but let us for now say that know the facts, get to know the prevailing opportunities and threats in each strand of life's complex without prejudice as much as possible. This is to challenge you to feed your mind, spirit and body objectively enough. This opens one up to adapt to the changing times without being subdued by it. Adapt and do the most productive thing in each layer of the irony spectrum by knowing and understanding the TRUTH concerning that particular time.
2. Walk with Sincere People: One of the greatest threats to any person in this ironical world is to assume that what is happening to him/her is far above what could ever happen to anyone. Have friends and loved ones who will share with you their own ironies and with whom you can also share. Read from the vast collections of biographies and autobiographies of people you respect and love. Give yourself the opportunity to discover other sincere stories and you will realize that, you are not worse off after all. You will save yourself the blood pressure and frustration and know that there is so much hope for recovery and progress. You gain wealth of experience from Sincere People which will help you to live an optimum life irrespective of your own time.
3. Define a Fulfilling Life Theme: Whatever endeavor anybody has chosen for him/her self as a life theme is the most important tool in his/her journey through life. Such convictions determine values, perceptions and even culture and character. Engage yourself and determine for yourself a reason for life but remember to let such a theme connect with God your Source, with Humanity your friends, and to joy, peace, happiness and fulfillment your essence.

We will discuss in our next blog, Building Strength out of pressure but before then determine to be all that God destined you to be. Have no excuse to fail in life but have a reason to be a fulfilled being.

The Influence of External Factors

It only takes courage to breakaway from the romantic ideals of life and to accept that the tides of pressure are real in the journey of life. The lessons does not end at the utopian junction anyway! We take a look at how this whole influences are spun in our blog today.

The process of turgidity is made possible because each cell is made of semi-permeable membranes and the fact that there are differences in concentration between the environment which reacts on the cell and the cell content.

Without any reference to technicalities, this means to say that, cells, systems and structures are made such that it interacts with its environments outside of itself by giving and receiving from it. Nothing is more true than the noble statement of 'HUMAN BEING CAN INFLUENCE AND BE INFLUENCED'. The whole world of education, fashion, media and even the sciences and technology have huge influence on society and are greatly influenced by individuals as well. It is very important to drive this point of a world of crossed-influences without any sense of over emphasis. 

This is a key point necessary for every individual to understand and appreciate that he/she is being influenced by factors not directly within his/her fold of control nonetheless it is also worth sharing that he/she is greatly influencing the world around him/her. Acknowledging this complex of social influence actually gives one no ground to breed attitudes of 'Idontcarism', as my people call it (Don't bother looking it up, check apathy instead).

I come from the part of the world where dependency defines our culture (At least what I have grown to know), where no one has a sense of responsibility to anything but demands a sense of duty to them. We give up our strength to make the difference and keep blaming others as  though we are victims.

The essence of this message is to tell the story of a group of people who decided to settle on an island because they felt nothing mattered to them and also they thought their lives were of no merit to the land they lived on. It was not long before they realized their movement to the islands had led to rapid extinction of native island species either from their hunting, habitat destruction, or introduced species. They still lived unconcerned with no regards of their actions until a phenomenon called global warming which caused the sea level to rise  caught and drowned all of them. Their story although fictional is an example of the many who live without regards of their lives to the whole world's bigger picture.

We usually say, NO HUMAN BEING IS AN ISLAND but I say IF EVEN ANY ONE OF US WERE, WE ARE SURE TO BE AFFECTED BY HIM/HER AND ALSO TO HAVE AN EFFECT ON HIM/HER. 

Until we consider the next lesson by examining the paradoxical nature of life in our next blog, consider such things as have been shared and remember YOUR LIFE COUNTS!

The Principle of Turgidity

"Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant"- Poet Horace

Today we seek to draw intense developmental lessons from the fundamental law of osmosis and 'turgor pressure' in cells life. This law states that, (Kindly Save yourself the worry of technical words!) "Turgor Pressure or turgidity is the main pressure of the cell contents against the cell wall, determined by the water content of the vacuole, resulting from osmotic pressure, i.e. the hydrostatic pressure produced by a solution in a space divided by a semipermeable membrane due to a differential in the concentration of solute... In terms of plant water potential, turgor pressure is usually expressed as the pressure component (Ψ_p). This force gives the plant rigidity, and keeps it erect."- Wikipedia

There are five key lessons to learn for a lifetime which are embedded in this phenomenon of Turgidity, They are:

1. Universalism of Pressure
2. The influence of External environment
3. The paradox of 'Ironies as the theme of life'
4. Strength from Pressure
5. The Theories of Plasmolysis

These abiding nuggets of truth when gleamed changes perception and continually builds a leader on. We shall consider the first lesson in this blog and subsequent blogs will be dedicated to the rest of the lessons.

UNIVERSALISM OF PRESSURE

Every living thing is fundamentally made up of a cell, and thus what is true of a single cell to a large essence is true for a complex structure of cells, i.e.. the human being. As True as it may be, every single minute of human existence is pressure defined, from the pressure of a mother that pushes the baby forth, through the pressure of the baby adapting to its new life, to the pressure of being educated and then the pressure of matured living and even pressure at the point of death. Pressure is not a curse, it is the way of life! The earlier one adapts to this truth of life determines how well he/she benefits by strategic decisions that harnesses the strength of daily pressures.

In what part of your life are you struggling to accept that all things work together for your good? In what circumstances are you failing to recognize there are times of storms and fires? How much growth have you resisted in your life by finding a quick fix and escaping the pressure?

Think through such, until we share our next blog on 'The influence of External environment' and remember even babies with supposedly very little to manage encounter some level of pressure, if you doubt, check it out!