Knowledge From Living.

The idea that humans, especially strangers, will nine out of ten times reciprocate the energy you give them is one of the lessons life has taught me. At various points in our lives, we may be dealing with situations that spiral out of control and most times, the emotions that accompany such situations are transferred to the objects or people around us. A person who is angry can easily transfer aggression when dealing with others and others in turn may automatically put up a corresponding response.

I have often been told that I consistently appear happy. Many people have also inquired about the secret behind my positive demeanor. Maybe it's because I have puffy cheeks or maybe it's because deep down, I'm a truly happy soul. Either way, it shows in the way I relate with people.

I'll take the experience I had yesterday as an example. I, alongside some of my colleagues, had to visit my alma mater to request for certain documents we weren't given we didn't get before graduation. We all agreed to leave our respective houses before 10am so we would arrive by 10am. A few minutes past 9, I reached out to one of my colleagues who said she had already arrived and had been there since 8am. I was bewildered because she didn't stick to the plan and didn't think to notify anything of us. Be that as it may, I took it as a good thing because she was going to pave the way for the rest of us to follow. Or not.

I continuously practised how to approach and appeal to the school officials, who have a record of prolonging or outrightly turning down similar appeals, and throughout my mental rehearsal, I didn't foresee the situation turning in our favour.

I arrived just before 10a.m and from the moment I reached the gate, I wore a bright smile. Although I wasn't exactly elated that morning, I was outwarding projecting happiness. The first set of people who welcomed me, the security men, were so happy to see me and seeing that these weren't people I often interacted with as a student, I was surprised.

I went ahead and met up with the rest of my colleagues who arrived earlier. I asked if they had made any progress and they said no. While still trying to get information from them, another school official who I couldn't recognize, walked up to me, asked how I've been and then proceeded to ask what brought me to school. I told her my dilemma and she gave me proper guidance.

I thanked the lady for the guidance before following her instructions. Less than 30 minutes after my arrival, my documents, alongside the documents of my other colleagues, were ready and required just one final touch, our principal's signature.

While waiting for the principal to arrive (which didn't happen), I went in to say hello to the vice principal and she too was very happy to see me. After answering a series of questions as to what brought me to school and how urgently I needed the documents, the vice principal agreed to sign in place of the principal and that was how I was able to get not just one but three of my official documents.

This story probably would have turned out differently if I walked into my alma mater looking all grumpy or if I refused to happily greet and connect with all my former teachers and school administrators, all of whom were very willing to help me.

The simple lesson behind this story is that when people are approached with kindness, openness and positive energy, they will be willing to respond in kind. The way we show up in the world shapes our interactions and relationships deeply. Also, the small acts of warmth and respect often come back to us in one way or another.

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LIEBE 🤍