THE HOLLY AND THE IVY.

                                                  

The Holly and the Ivy is one of my favourite Christmas carols. But I have always wondered why the song started with both plants but ended with the Holly being the superior of the two trees.

The holly is an ornamental tree that is believed to bring good luck and repel evil. It is one tree that remains evergreen even when the cold fingers of winter has withered and shriveled the souls of its surrounding woody cronies; this ability makes it symbolically linked to life and hope. The plant is also associated with exuberance and enthusiasm. In Roman culture it represented good wishes. In summary, the Holly is a plant with a cheerful disposition.

The Holly’s thorny nature also makes it protective in the sense that it is used to make hedges to keep people safe from predatory elements.

On the other hand there is a type of Ivy called the poison ivy. This plant causes a lot of blisters and irritation on people who come in contact with it. Sometimes, the anaphylactic reaction it causes can snuff out a life. The fume it releases when it is burnt is toxic to the lungs. Approaching this plant requires a lot of caution because it is dangerous.

As amazing as it might sound, human beings are likened to trees a lot of times in the pages of life. Jesus was called the Tree of life, David; the famous Hebrew king said that a good man is like a tree planted by the side of a river. He also said that the growth of this dude’s life is akin to that of the cedars of Lebanon and his existence abounds like a flourishing palm tree.

The holly person is jolly, makes people see beyond the winter of life, and helps to insulate people in the warmth of his conviviality. Everyone finds a friend in the holly buddy; he is a Barnabas (son of encouragement) to everyone. He prepares a spread of joy amongst colleagues, dishes out a feast of geniality like Santa Claus giving a toy to an indigent kid. The holly individual helps us forget the frosty attitude of the elements and makes us look towards the hope of spring. With him we feel we are sitting before the comforting heat released by the laughter of crackling logs in a fireplace while the world outside is filled with the howls of nature’s frustration. The holly person is a defense from pain. He heals because he injects us with the serum of roaring mirth and a merry heart doeth good like medicine. The holly nature is sweet.

Unlike the holly dude, a poison ivy person is sour, dour, abrasive and nasty. No one wants to be around this guy. In his wake, is other folks’ shattered self esteem, blistered self confidence, and scratched feelings. God help you if you are around this person on his bad day, you will nearly be choked with the deadly fumes of bitterness. This person is has a noxious effect on a spouse, children, colleagues, neighbors, friends, name it. It is lethal to have him around. He pours cold water on the bonfire of your vivacity. Poison ivies do not feel good except put someone down or backstab another. It is in their nature to cause a world of hurt. People usually cry around them. They rain down snow on others parade, don’t give bonus or even worse still, withhold salaries during Christmas. They are selfish; all they care about is me, myself, I and mine. The poison ivy person is mean!

As much as hampers and all the thrills of Christmas are so cool, please don’t let’s get it twisted and forget the reason for the season. The main gift of Christmas was a human being, the Christ. When he was born, the angels declared that following his birth was goodwill and peace towards men.  We are supposed to be the true gifts of the season.

Truth is if you are not known for peace and goodwill, you have no business celebrating this season, blot it out of your calendar in an awful hurry. Jesus was friendly, it was recorded that he went about doing good.

Considering the differences in these two plants, it is not a surprise that the holly is the king amongst all the trees in the wood. Little wonder too that it is associated with the Christ. IF YOU WANT TO BE A KING AMONGST MEN THEN YOU HAVE TO BE A HOLLY!!!  That is when you will initiate angels to continually sing this refrain to men, “GLORY BE TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST AND ON EARTH, PEACE AND GOODWILL TOWARDS MEN”!!!

Be a holly buddy this yuletide period; stand out as the tallest tree in the forest of humanity. Make someone’s Christmas wonderful and unforgettable.

So, the question is if we are living trees, what kind of tree are you?

ARE YOU A HOLLY OR A POISON IVY?

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!

THE GOLDEN APPLES OF HESPERIDES.

Greek mythology has it that the eleventh task Hercules had to perform was to get some golden apples from a garden guarded by a 100 headed dragon and some nymphs called the Hesperides.  Now this was one job that was even too much for the strong man so he had to get the help of Atlas in exchange for helping the titan carry the world for a while.

Life is full of herculean tasks and the absolute truth is that we cannot handle most of them on our own. Hercules was a demigod yet he needed the help of a god. All his machismo, wits, muscles, guts could not help him out this time so he needed higher power.

From the genesis of creation, we were not made to function without help, which is why the Elohim said from the beginning that it was not good for man to be alone.
 
The power of partnership is exponentially powerful! Yes I know we live in a world where people hurt one another and try to swindle them out of what is theirs but that is not new. Atlas tried the same thing on Hercules but that does not negate the benefits of team work. In the days of yore when the tag team aspect of the WWE was still rocking, seeing one or two fights in this category would have shed more light on the advantages of pairing power.  “One shall chase a thousand and two shall chase ten thousand” says the good book. When two people make up their minds about something g on earth even the heavens move for them.

Firstly we need a higher power, without God, we can do absolutely nothing. We need God like a sail needs the wind to fly. Our lives are empty without Him, on our own we can’t do zip. It is delusion of grandeur to think we are self sufficient.

Secondly we need our life partners (husbands and wives); this is one area of partnership that is not maximized in our day. We even sometimes look down on our partners thinking they are a burden (men are more to blame in this regard) but this is usually to our detriment. Thing is, the first idea about team work that God had about man was in the form of marriage. The benefits of this great institution can never be over emphasized.  It just boils down to making sure you hitch your cart to the right horse that is someone you agree with (check out my post GENESIS, MAGIC AND THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING). Being alone on the matrimonial bed on a frosty night would rob you of the warmth of companionship when the harsh cold realities of living seep into the soul.

The third thing is we need people. In the chronicles of the Hebrew kings, there is a story of a widow who got into a financial ditch with her children and the revelation a seer gave her was that she should borrow vessels.Of course it should be noted that her borrowing was to develop an assets base and not to fritter it away on liabilities. We need people’s vessels, that is, their ideas, time, experience, expertise, money, name it! Most of the things that move life are based on other people’s books, past movies, technical knowhow, the works. The financial gurus of the world know they need other people’s money (this is one of the reasons the real estate market in Nigeria is exploding, OPM). On the terrain of warfare, we all need someone’s input in fighting back to back with us, so that our rear is covered while we face the issues before. We need the covering fire of friends to keep the heads of our adversaries down when we go for the big prizes.

We are sunk in the race of life without the input of others. God wanted to make man and asked for the input of His Companions. He said “Let Us make man”. Jesus needed the disciples and the women that helped his ministry, Paul had Silas, Batman had Robin, Superman had Lois Lane, Asterix had Obelisk, Bill gates had Steve Ballmer, Starsky had Hutch, Dempsey had Makepeace.The fantasy universe impresses this on us with great teams like the “Avengers, Justice League, X-men, Teen Titans, Legion of the Superheroes, etc. Life is basically team work and we should never forget this.
On the other hand like I mentioned earlier, on the road of working hand in hand with others there are also pit falls which can be avoided if we are sharp. Therefore we need to be wise, look hard and well before leaping so we don’t get burnt. Hercules had enough gumption to get the best from Atlas without being hoodwinked. Fire has great potential for good but it could be destructive; we cannot do without it! In the same vein, we cannot do without others. It is just that caution is needed!

Like Hercules, if you are stuck on the quest for some golden apples in some area of life, then it’s time to change your strategy! Seek for Help! The only time that it was recorded that Atlas moved from his comfort zone (better still comfortless zone) and made some progress in life by doing the seemingly impossible was when someone else helped him carry his burden. WE ALL NEED BURDEN CARRIERS! Even Jesus needed one. If Simon the Cyrene had not carried his cross, the road to the heights of Golgotha would have been more arduous.

Having this truth in mind would help us appreciate God, our spouses, friends and other people more. For example, if you have a business, you would not think that you are the benefactor of your workers and without your outfit they cannot take care of themselves or their families. The actual fact is that it is a mutually benefiting relationship. My people have a saying that if the right hand washes the left, the left hand would equally wash the right.

The trail of life is littered with the skeletal remains of people who tried to do it all alone. Life has no place and patience for lone rangers and one man gangs.

TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE FOR THEY HAVE A BETTER REWARD FOR THEIR LABOUR………..