IT HAS NO MARKET VALUE…

#BackToSchool series...
I use to tell my friends this story for some time now. The moral of the story has created a huge impression on me. 

An explorer travelled to the Amazon rainforest. He came upon a tribe living in the bowels of the forest who had little or no contact with the world out there.

With the aid of his guide who doubled as a translator he commandeered a boat manned by the indigenes in search of whatever took him there in the first place. 

As they sailed down the river, they heard the sound of an airplane. One of the tribesmen pointed out a tiny plane in the sky as it flew towards its destination. 

The adventurer trying to play a game on the native who saw the plane, spoke through the aid of his translator…

“Do you know it is possible to talk to someone at such a far distance?”

The native smiled at the explorer and said something to his colleagues which made them laugh. They looked at the adventurer as they pityingly smiled.

The adventurer was smart enough to understand that they were making jest of him.

“He said you are suffering from a mild form of the water fever disease…” his translator explained. 

Let’s examine this case. Do you know that if called to swear in defense of their claim both will admit that they are right on the money?

The indigene will swear on his mother’s grave that the adventurer is wrong and vice versa.

But you wouldn’t need a soothsayer to tell you how wrong the native man is.

Of course he is subjectively right (on account of his limited exposure) and his level of knowledge pales in comparison to the adventurer’s. Therefore he is wrong.

The adventurer on account of his exposure was better informed. His range of experience outweighs that of the local indigene whose knowledge about life and the world is limited to the shores of his village.

The brunt of this write up can be summed up in a word – EXPERIENCE.

Companies crave it. The society seek it from you before putting its responsibilities on your shoulder. 

We can view experience as the collection of knowledge or skill one gains over time.

Sometimes, people value evaluated experience to the unevaluated. But in its true form, it has no market value. It can never be purchased. People pay dearly to procure its services.

So in life, we can never have students without teachers, nor can they be children without parents. There is a reason you are born into a family till you come of age.

As a matter of fact, the family is an environment set up for you with the purpose of preparing you for life. It is an avenue where you are backed by an experienced couple (parents) till you are strong like a kite to take to the skies. 

We can then conclude that you were never a product of chance. Nor by the roll of a dice. Children don’t fall from tree either. The family was never a stab in the dark.

The reason why the family is set up this way isn’t rocket science. In life, you need a guide and a mentor. Someone to show you the path like a GPS coordinate or a compass. You are not meant to experience life like animals who spend little time with their young ones before they are released into the wild.

Your guides have seen it all. They have been there before. They have leaved the life and walked the path. They are like path finders or trail blazers. Their instructions and advice keep you on the path. Their hour count on earth exceeds that of a seasoned pilot.

Your guide are your parents, teachers, priests, pastors, and people in the position of authority. But of special importance is the parents.

The family was never tagged the smallest unit of the society by chance. The home is your first point of socialization. It is akin to learning the ropes of a trade before you venture in. It is where your journey of a thousand mile starts from. 

Their experience guides you. It comes in form of advice, rebuke in all its varieties. But its purpose and aim is given. With time and if you stick to it you will see the light at the end of the tunnel.

In a nutshell, the difference between the native dude and the adventurer can only be measured in their level of exposure to the world so also the difference between you and your parents.