Hello Beautiful people of Hive.
When I was little boy, I used to hunt and kill lizards, and rodents –there were lots of them where I lived with my cousins. It was a common sight for little boys to chase lizards, throw sticks or stones around the compound or in bushes. It was only when the hunt became too intense and wild that any concerned adult would caution or stop us.
I was the chief of hunters 😂. I knew every nook and cranny where we could finds lizards and rodents — and we occasionally bumped into snakes. I was almost bitten on one occasion but I was saved from the reptile fangs by a wood that shielded my legs.
The Lizard
I observed that lizards always nod their heads from time to time. One day while I was chasing a red head Agama, it climbed up the wall of our house to the roof in a bid to escape but somehow could not hang on tight. So it fell off and landed on it's belly. I thought it fainted, because it didn't move. But then, it lifted his head, nodded and crawled away into a nearby bush.
For whatever reason, I felt pity for the creature, and was, at the same time, awed by the “survival episode” I witnessed. 😂 So I went to my Dad, to ask the meaning of what I saw, and to know the fate of the lizard.
“Papa”, I asked
“What is it?” He retorted.
“Why does the lizard nod it's head?”
“Lizard hunter, are you just noticing it?” My asked, sarcastically.
“No… But something happened.”
“What happened?”
“I was chasing that red head lizard, it climed up to the roof but fell down. I thought it died or fainted, but it lifted it's head, nodded and crawled into that bush. Will it die?” I narrated.
“Hmm. Will it die?” My Dad, asked rhetorically, while taking a seat. “Why didn't you kill it?”
“I felt pity for it.” I answered, empathetically.
My Dad perused my countenance for a while, then said. “The lizard nods its head for self-compliment. You see no one likes the lizard because it has a ugly appearance. But there's nothing the lizard can do about it, so it has to compiment itself because nobody will. Also, falling off from a high wall and surviving is no little feat, the lizard has to, again, compliment itself whether or not any one else does.”
From that analogy, my Dad taught me important lessons:
- I may not be ugly as the lizard, but I must not depend on people's compliments. Compliments from people can make you feel good, but sometimes, they are flattered.
- I may not fall from the roof like the lizard, or pull off some great feats but I must learn to, like the lizard, celebrate my efforts and wins, no matter how little. Don't wait or depend on people's “congratulations”. Be the first to celebrate yourself.
- The lizard loves itself no matter how ugly it's skin. Self-love and self-acceptance first. Nobody should treat you better than you treat yourself—nobody can, and nobody might.
Shout out to you out there loving yourself. No one’s like you. You're amazing!
Pictures source: @pixabay.com