Inventive tolerance!

Let me tell you a story of how i almost became fatherless. A very long time ago, my father decided to go on to subsistence farming while his friend went into civil service. His friend got to save up some amounts of money to buy few machines with which he used as leverage for cultivating some plots of land that he acquired. My father who was so set in his ways could not see the advantages resident in the ideas and the belief systems of other people. He decided to stick to his guns and go with the old system of farming. His method was not wrong but he would rather advocate for Animal rights than use a Donkey to plough his farm. In so doing, innovation passed him by. He just refused to take advantage of leverages. He did all the work alone. He was busy growing, hauling, harvesting, processing and storing on hectares of land. As he continued; to his old age; he was tired and aging. Yet he stayed in denial. He let innovation passed him by. He could not see the importance of justifiably using the advantages of science and technology to his greater good. He went into self exploitation. He sold his Organic produce at the lowest possible rate because he could not stand the guilt that may come from selling higher than the market price.

I know you want to know what happened to him. Did he go bankrupt? Was he able to pull it through with his beliefs? Well, after several years of rigidity? A day came when my father was very ill. Somehow he could not work on his farm. However, the life of his farm depended on him. He had to force himself to the field. While he was pushing his limits to get things going; he fell so badly. He was working alone. I heard his groan from afar. I ran out of the barn. Little boy who could hardly carry himself; I cried: "Papa! What happened to you?" Poor me; i had to lift his arm here and there before i realized that he was too heavy for me to carry. I was the only one around on the farm that day. In the barn was this old hunting whistle. I blew it and his friend heard from afar. He ran to our aid. His friend helped him to the Hospital. He drove him down in the Tractor, which my father had vowed never to use for farming. Since he usually criticized the conventional system of farming. Somehow, we had no money to pay for his hospital bills. This civil servant friend whom my father had crucified for practicing conventional farming paid from his own farming income.
Some people are like my father who believes in alternative farming system. They won't take other conflicting ideas and examine them critically and seek to pick the good side in opposing paradigms. The only closer look they give to things is to judge with their nose raised against something strange, something new, or something different from what they used to.
It takes tolerance to embrace opposing perspectives. It takes maturity to give a cursory look; to see the difference and still love the people who will never agree with us. I am still learning too. It is hard. But until we get there; we have not fulfilled the law of Christ that commanded us to love our neighbor like ourselves. We have not embrace the discipline of tolerance. Until we do that. We cannot reach a level of intelligence in our innovation experiences with which we can see innovation ahead and take advantage of it. Instead of crucifying something why not let’s take a pause, take a deep breath; look closer for whatever good lies in this “weird idea” rather than trash can or write it off? Why not recycle it. Although, this story is an analogy of how ideas were never scrutinized long enough. It was not an exact story of my life but I hope you’ve learnt from it?

Excerpts from my book: “Innovation edge”

Let me tell you a story. In a little town of plantings, blossom a Mushroom. A Butterfly came by to see it and then an Ant and a Bee. Each was asking the Mushroom one question. Same question from different beings at different time. The new Mushroom was puzzled. “Young plant, how are you going to make it amidst big trees? How are you ever going to survive amidst competition?” they’d asked. So, he answered the same way every time: “All I need is a chance”. He’d say. But the Bee stung it. The Ant beat at it. Even the Butterfly sucked its tiny body sap. They all said it was impossible for the Mushroom to make it in the jungle. No way! No chance! It was the wilting point for the Mushroom. It was its withering state. Somehow, there was a dark cloud. The weather changed. There were tiny droplets from the big trees. Change has come. Change will always happen, come what may. The rain fell. The Ant ran into hiding. The Butterfly flew away. And the Bee; It buzzed off. Only the Mushroom remained. The Mushroom bloom and survived as a result of the rain. It got picked up to the Palace after the rain. It was cooked by the King’s chef. It was served on chinaware. The king and his noblemen ate some tasty Mushroom soup.
Destiny does not depend on size. You don’t have to be very big. Sometimes, size simply doesn’t count as such. Small is also beautiful. Greatness doesn’t cry for chances. It creates its own chances... It lays hold of whatever nature brings its way…twisting its own self, changing its own self and flexibly maximizing the opportunities surrounding it to reach its destiny. Rather than whining and complaining, greatness takes initiative to grow. Being small, weak or poor is no excuse at all. If you don’t have a weak mind, if you don’t have a small mind; if you don’t have a poverty-stricken mind; you will reach over the top. You will reach your goal.

I need to ask you what you are doing with that breathes of your nostrils. What are you doing with the gift of life? That is a chance you’ve got to make a mark! That is an opportunity to live a life of meaning. That is a privilege to live to the fullest. Although we were born yesterday; but we can definitely make a mark today. We have a chance to live in such a way that today doesn’t slip off from our hands. We have the privilege to make it count. What is the moral of the story of the young Mushroom? They are more. But one of them is this: “God will send the rain. But are you ready to grow?”
One of the things that life will never give to you is: your growth. One of the things people hardly give on a platter is opportunity. You’ve got to find these two for yourself. You’ve got to create an environment that will foster your growth. Sometimes you have to look for it in order to find it. You’ve got to search longer and deeper enough for you to see it…that’s an adventure which may take a life time for some of us. Truth be told, people love growth. Even the animals smell the greens for greener pastures. Everybody revolves around greatness. Everyone wants to be associated with progress and progressive causes. Noble people want to eat some Mushroom soup at the Palace square. Laudable visions don’t lack people. Success is only sweet, it is not cheap. There is a price to pay in guise of stings from the Bees and bites from the Ants of our society.
As I was rushing to work from work; I scribbled these lines on my phone as a note: success is “bleeding”. Sometimes you’ve got to bleed! Jesus Christ bled on the cross for you and me. He shed his precious blood to save you and me. He was showing us the truest way to victory, success and greatness. They lie in sacrifices. Jesus demonstrated it to us all that sacrifice is the only key to triumph. The route to the top is through the blood. The art of bleeding is the art of leading. The blood we shed today is the ladder to the top tomorrow. They are no longer lymphoid tissue or our raw red blood cell… The blood is the art of believing, giving and living... Faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the key with which we can maximize our lives. Once you’ve known Him, then you need to move on to diligence and consistency. That is the secret.