Okechu was a secondary school science teacher in rural Nigeria. Sometimes, situations would demand he take some work home. At other times, in the process of preparing for practical lessons the following day, he would collect various teaching materials, to enable him to first do the experiments himself, to ensure that when he presented them to his class, he would have thorough knowledge of what he was teaching. Okechu had a son by the name Emeka. Though young, he was very curious about what his father was doing. Sometimes he would try to emulate his father’s actions and the results would often fascinate him.
One day, Emeka took a glass of water and some table salt as he had seen his father do. He poured the salt into water and he stirred continually. He loved the way the salt grains would dissolve into the water but as he continued adding more salt, it got to a point where the water could no longer dissolve any more salt. This got him perplexed. When he couldn’t find an answer, he went to his father and explained the situation. Okechu then explained to his son thus: Water (or indeed, any solvent), can only dissolve a certain amount of salt (or soluble). It reaches a certain point where no more salt can dissolve. This point in scientific terms is called SATURATION POINT. A simple scientific explanation is when the molecules of salt outnumber the molecules of water. The only way to change this situation is adding more water (or solvent.) Emeka nodded and sped off to try out another experiment.
Though the scenario above is scientific, it contains a very big lesson that we can apply in life. Many of us may not be aware of this but as human beings, we sometimes reach this saturation point either at work, in our family life, religious life or even socially. At this point one feels tired, exhausted and the things that used to excite them no longer excite them. Everything feels plain and “tasteless.” You struggle to do even basic house chores. When you go to work, school, family/social gatherings or place of worship, you feel tired and bored before the specific event has reached halfway. This is the human saturation point. It is also a crossroad and the decisions one makes at this point, determine what their future will be like. One has to decide whether to do a regeneration or self renewal or just sit back and let circumstances lead you to whatever direction they will. The sad and shocking fact is that a huge percentage of those working have hit this point in life but instead of looking on the inside, they are blaming everybody and everything around them. They blame their spouses, children, bosses, teachers, relatives or the economy, not knowing that they’ve hit the saturation point and it’s time for a big change. Many people fear change because of the discomfort, challenges and sometimes costs that may be associated with change, but one has to chose between the short momentary pain of change or, living a bland and tasteless life in mediocrity. It is important to note that a cocoon that has been giving us comfort, peace and security can end up being our deathtrap if we stay longer than we should. Let us all therefore, take a moment out and assess our current situation in life. The resultant conclusion will give us a clear sense of which direction to go. Allow me to conclude with a simple analogy: The very egg shell that gave a chick shelter, food and protection, becomes a death trap after 21 days if it delays in hatching. To read more posts by Mwangi, click HERE
