By Debbie Olujobi
When it rains, it really pours. Lately it seems people are getting it from all sides when it comes to trouble. There is no life that is trouble free but the worldwide recession certainly paints a gloomy picture of the new reality. I am all for hope and I certainly exercise my faith  in speaking things that aren’t as though they are but there are times I feel like a balloon that is loosing air and getting smaller daily.

It doesn’t help that most people feel the same and I wonder how long we can wait for the much needed respite that will bring the economic boom back. Comparing one’s self with the Jones’s these days means exchanging lamentations and comparing notes on who owes more or who needs more. If i had to choose a colour to describe the world in its present state I would have to go with grey. Its not black or white, its dull and listless; no colour or zest.

One of the basic trainings one acquires as a girl child in africa is the art of haggling. Haggling means negotiating prices down by all means necessary. It could be considered bullying as it involves quite a bit of coercion and even disparaging goods on sale just to get the seller to drop the price.

At times it is begging and persuading the seller to sell for even less than cost just to get a bargain. It is a tradition that is as old as time in this part of the world and both buyers and sellers take it seriously. Being a descendant of 3 generations of successful traders I am a seasoned haggler, I have actually taken the skill to an art form and I am known for it.

Lately however, I have had to restrain myself from haggling when I sense the desperation that people are feeling from the hardship that is actually taken a harder toll on those at the bottom rung of the ladder. Times are hard for the rich but it is desperate for the already poor.

The voice of my conscience seems to get loudest when I am in the market and it is obvious that getting a good deal for myself by haggling is taking food from the mouths of those who are already hungry.

“The Rich also cry” was a popular telenovela in the 90s and it revolved around a rich mexican family that had its share of heartbreak and was suffering just like the poor in their society. Their problems were mostly emotional and social but the new world order has added the financial plague to everyone’s woes.

There is a solid argument that the rich were mostly affected as they had the most lose but I say that is relative. Ted Turner losing 13billion is painful, he was very depressed understandably, but he gets by on another 2billion. Compare his loss to that of an old man robbed of his 200000 Naira gratuity(less than $2000), who gives up hope and is dead within days and you begin to understand that the rich may be crying but the poor cant even cry; the poor are dying in body and spirit.

It is not my sole intention to depress everyone but I feel a strong urge in my spirit to wake compassion in as many people as possible. I will be the first to complain about the times of economic hardship we have been experiencing for the past 2-3 years.

People have lost fortunes big and small. The last assessment confirmed that I have only been earning 40-50% of my pre  recession income and I wont lie and say I like it. Like most people I am also finding that my expenditures are doubling; it seems it is more expensive to live in a recession than in the time of boom.

Its a catch 22 that we are being called to give when we don’t have a lot; that we have to stretch and struggle to survive so how do we help others? Both very valid stances but I have always believed that cultivating an attitude of gratitude is the best way to find peace and even joy in any situation.

It is not impossible that some readers may be muttering “thankful for what” and who could blame them? We are all feeling the pinch. The good book says in all things we should give thanks and surely we must realise that means we give thanks in times of harvest and famine.

There are no small miracles and drawing breath absolutely free of charge is one of such things; the dead can not. A wise woman who had suffered the loss of a loved one once told me she survived by finding something to thank God for everyday; she believes that attitude took her out of despair to peace. Being thankful meant she was able to give of herself and her substance even she was almost running on empty. Being grateful and giving thanks is the catalyst to compassion.

A grateful heart will see that even though she couldn’t buy the choicest cut of meat at the market, any meat, any food is a blessing to be thankful for. In fact, the good health to even have an appetite for food is a blessing. I don’t know how long this cloud will hang over us and I join my faith with others and pray that it is soon.

In the interim, we need to look beyond our own desperation and frustrations and reach out to others; giving of ourselves and our depleted substances. Except for grace it could be worse; whatever the situation; for that I give thanks..