According to her one cannot afford to just exist and take for granted the things that happen around him or her. She said it is not enough to just see things happen but where possible to observe how they happen and at what times they occur.
“It is one thing to notice them; it is also another thing to actually pay them attention. Over time I have come to realise that since I started being more conscious of my environment, I have become a lot more alert with other things that concern me.”
Literarily all the decisions we take are influenced by events that happen around us. On some occasions coincidences may occur and cause things to go in certain ways and turn them around completely.
Being observant is more than just noticing the little things that go on in your immediate environment. In such situations as face the society today, we need to pay a lot more attention to everything around us.
Juliana Ibidapo, a business woman in Woodin fabrics, narrates her experience. “My friend and customer gave me a description to her house. At some point when I got lost I called her to ask what landmark there was around her place, she said she didn’t know. I asked what colour the wall of her neighbour’s house was, she said he didn’t know. Seeming irritated by my questions, she said ‘I don’t bother to look out for all those things. I just drive in and out of the house.”
Ibidapo said for someone who has been in the neighbourhood for at least a year and a half, “I thought it was quite odd that she didn’t think it necessary to pay attention to such basic things. If it were an emergency, what would one do? I couldn’t believe it and wondered if it was a gimmick for me not to collect the money she owed me. But thinking deeply I see that many people are really not aware of their surroundings.”
Andrew Esiebo, an artist, said this not the way to go in life. According to the award winning photographer, “It is important for us to be sensitive to what exists around where we find ourselves. This sensitivity could yield inspiration in artistic creations and development. These sensitivities definitely help in awaken ours social consciousness as artists and even as human beings regardless of our disciplines.
“For instance many of my stories and project has come up as a result of paying attention to details around me which many people would easily ignore.”
Being observant is more than just your environment; but also your health, says Mrs. Janet Igho, a grandmother and retired teacher. “Many people have died from illness that could have been prevented or some have paid a lot for something that could have been very well nipped in the bud if it had been paid a little more attention. It saves the person involved and also others around him. But today’s generation tends to leave a lot to the last minute. Sometimes they are lucky to save the situation other times they are not.”
She said, “When I start on my grand children about being observant and ‘opening’ their eyes, I hear them say, ‘there she goes again…, grandma we know you said it before’.
Her twenty year-old granddaughter Ese who was shopping with her at the Utako Market couldn’t hold back her laughter as she said, “When I younger, I was very shy and used to walk with my head down looking at my shadow or my feet. One day she said, ‘If you keep looking down like that the whole world is going to pass you by and you’ll never know it.’ She later explained to me why I needed to look straight ahead with my shoulders high rather than drooping every time I walked. I remember we had rehearsals on the right walking posture a lady should have.”
The 74 year-old advised that being observant of our environment gives us more opportunities to help others. “You will know, understand and appreciate them better and know how best to be of use to them.”
She adds that, “With the crisis around one cannot afford to live in oblivion. If you used to take your environment for granted it is not too late to begin paying attention to it. You never know whose life you may save or what critical situation you may avert.”
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