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| AI-generated image of a Rat and a Wire |
By Oluchi Omai
Once there was a rat who wanted to
break into a heavily secured kitchen. Its efforts failed, and every plan was
thwarted. The kitchen always had something to eat, but the level of security
far exceeded the rat's cunning.
One day, the rat conducted a thorough
check around the building and discovered that, in a bid to supply electricity
to the kitchen, the homeowner had burrowed a hole in the wall and passed
electrical wires into the kitchen. This discovery filled the rat with joy and
gave it a breath of relief. “Finally, there is a way into the kitchen,” it said
to itself.
The rat carefully dug through the
hole, widened it and made its way into the kitchen. This hole served multiple
purposes for the rat – a way in, a fire escape and a hideout.
The rat began to enjoy itself,
taking advantage of the abundance of food in the kitchen. The homeowner
couldn’t understand how the rat could access the well-secured kitchen, so he
made every effort to kill it. But the rat always escaped through the wire hole.
One day, after cleaning the kitchen, the homeowner got busy and couldn’t go to the market on time. The
kitchen was empty and void of anything the rat could eat. “This is
unbelievable,” the rat said to itself while waiting patiently in its hideout.
Suddenly, the rat tasted the
insulation coating the metal part of the wire and found it was not bad.
Luckily, there was no power supply at the time, so it relaxed and ate the
insulation, leaving the wire exposed. This did not bother the rat. It walked
away, concluding “nothing useful was going to come from the kitchen anymore.”
Soon, the homeowner returned and
decided to restock his kitchen. There was food everywhere, and the rat
could not resist. Hope brimmed again and, confident of the way into the
kitchen, it moved swiftly to its usual passage – the wire hole. This time, it
wasn’t business as usual – there was something different: the power was on and
the wire was now exposed.
The rat ventured confidently into
the hole but couldn’t get through to the other side, nor could it retreat. It
was trapped and got electrocuted. Its smell, days later, attracted the
homeowner, who simply removed and discarded it.
Lessons
- Many people are like this rat. When they face
challenges or delays, they feed on what should protect them.
- When they feel they are not getting enough from a
person or a place, they eat what should protect the relationship.
- Do not eat everything; if possible, do not hurt those
who protect you while pursuing your livelihood, and always make amends
where necessary.
- Seeds shouldn’t be eaten; they are meant to be sown.
You cannot eat your seeds and expect a harvest.
- Patience is a great virtue, but your attitude while
waiting is most important.
- Don’t be like the rat: ignore the insulator; it’s
keeping you from being hurt. This insulator can be the people around you
or other safe places. Don’t eat them, and you will continually have
access.
© Oluchi Omai
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