Something happened to me recently and I was supposed to write about it some days ago but I kept postponing it.
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See, what happened to me is not as important as the lesson I got from it.
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I had gone into the kitchen to get some hot water to bathe. I prefer boiling water in a big pot because I feel kettles are too small.
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So, as I tried to open the pot to scoop some hot water, it was only slightly open when the steam from the pot hit my fingers and I withdrew my hands in pain.
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I nursed my burning fingers as I felt a throbbing pain. I looked at my hands expecting to see some blisters but lo, there was no scar to prove that I was injured and in serious pain.
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For days, my fingers were in pain but there was no scar. Nothing at all.
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I didn't mention it to anyone at home because how do I start explaining my pain when they might not be able to understand because they could not see any evidence?
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This made me realise how many people are going those stuff but we don't know about it. The fact that you can't see any 'evidence' does not mean that that person is not going through some difficulty.
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See, fine suits and designer gowns are covering a lot of things. If people open their mouth to tell you what they're going through, believe me, you will be shocked!
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The fact that she comes to work smiling everyday does not mean she's not going through some rough times.
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Some pain do not leave physical evidence but they hurt a lot.
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This is one of the reasons I have issues with people that open their mouth wide and vomit all sort of degrading and hurtful words on people.
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You don't know if the person had a burnt finger and your words were just like salt to increase the pain.
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Depression does not show on the face.
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I have heard of people who stayed up all night laughing with friends, only to commit suicide in their rooms at the break of dawn.
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The worst type of pain is emotional pain because it can be hard to explain and so, many people just shut up about it.
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My fingers looked perfectly fine but it hurt a lot. Many people look perfectly fine but they are hurting a lot.
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So resist the urge to speak without thinking. Filter your words before they leave your mouth.
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'You are the salt of the earth' does not apply here. Please, keep your salt.
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I don't know if I've explained this well but I'll try my best.
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Since you don't know what people are going through, try your best to be polite and nice.
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No, don't try. BE POLITE AND NICE.
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Resist the urge to catch fun at someone's expense.
"Your stretch marks can wire the whole of Lagos"
"NOSEilla Firefox! You want to breathe in all the oxygen"
"Who will want to marry you now? You've fat and full everywhere. The man will wonder if he's marrying his mother"
"You poor pass church rat. Pity this your shoe na, e go soon swear for you."
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All these 👆 nonsense should stop. Many times, these people will laugh with you when you say it JUST TO COVER UP THEIR EMBARRASSMENT but behind close doors, those words come back to hunt them.
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Tell me, can she remould her nose? Same you will crucify Michael Jackson for doing plastic surgery. What's the colour of your confusion?😒
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I don't know if I've driven the point home but the summary of this epistle is that the same way HIV does not show on face is the same way some problems don't show on the face.
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Don't be the reason someone is pushed to commit suicide.
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A lot of pain and storms are being covered by fine cloth. You don't have to understand it, you just have to be nice.
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Treat people as you would love to be treated.
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I rest my case.
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