BUSY BEE...

Ada was brooding again as she started out on her way home. After dashing out of the house early to get to the centre in order to complete some deadline tasks, after the early morning drizzle falling on her new hair do, after having to trek for about 20 minutes in order to save some transport cash, she couldn't achieve what she had come to do. "The firewall wouldn't allow you to log in from our network" was the message she got. To start her week on this very disappointing note wasn't what she had anticipated. She felt unhappy and frustrated. "ICT can be such a bitch sometimes," she groaned.

She was still pondering her ill luck today when, out of the corner of her eyes, she saw someone stretch out a fast-food pack to a homeless lady sitting on the steps of the Pentecostal church near the centre. The homeless lady smiled a thank you to her helper and her helper nodded and continued on her way.

Ada looked up just in time to take stock of the retreating figure of the kind helper who had just bought a meal for the homeless lady. She wore a faded blazer to keep out the cold, and a loose fitting pair of trousers. Her hair looked unkempt under the hat she was wearing, and her shoes looked quite worn out. Her brisk steps suggested that she was hurrying to somewhere. Ada wondered where that could be. Her next shift maybe?

As Ada watched the lady cross the busy road, she felt a pang of guilt wash over her. She hadn't even noticed the homeless lady when she passed by the church earlier, let alone think about giving her something. But someone who was also obviously in a hurry and by the looks of her, didn't have much, had spared some of her money and time to bless this homeless lady. Ada also vividly remembered the day she had met a homeless man by the bus stop and as she was about to give the man some money, the bus she'd been waiting for came and she quickly dashed into the bus without giving the man the money. She thought again of how ironic it was that some days after that incident, she misplaced the particular note she wanted to give that homeless man at the bus stop that day.

"I have to stop this hurry-hurry lifestyle of mine." Ada thought. "How much has all these hurry-hurry and worry-worry benefited me sef? I really have to start paying more attention to the things and people around me." She looked again across the road to the very ordinary looking lady who was still walking briskly to wherever it is she was going- the lady who had just unknowingly taught her a few lessons that morning- and silently muttered "God bless you."