Few days ago, as
I was on my way to my everyday business in the morning, I saw two grown men arguing in public.
One had bashed the other’s car, but mildly. The argument was intense. In the
course of the squabble I overheard the victim say to the accused, “the bottom line is that you are going to
repair my car.” I have heard the term bottom line being used in financial
or business world. I have heard it being used in church. I have heard people
use it in every day interaction. You too may have heard it. But something
struck my curious mind to think about the term bottom line in another context.
With that statement from the victim still fresh on my mind, I thought about the
term in a bigger context- LIFE.
My thoughts became
vivid in my hands. The numerous questions provoked by my inquisitive mind came
at a lick in front of my eyes begging for answers. What is my bottom line as I
go to work? As I ponder over events in my life, what is my bottom line? You can
think about this for a second. What is the minimum compromise that you can
accept from others? What is the most important element that defines your life
that you cannot trade for anything? What fraction of space in your life can you
give up for anything or anybody? What is the minimum emotional access to your
life that you can give to others? To what extent are you willing to give up the
mind of your own just to be validated by others? What is the minimum excuse
that you can give for leading a life of validation (where you want to be
accepted by everybody, so you cannot live without others approval)? What is the
minimum level of pity that you can accept from others? As you think about those
challenges you face every day, what is your bottom line? It is my submission
that a life that is devoid of bottom line is not worth living. Underneath my
field of vision lies my bottom line. Where is your bottom line?
Recently, public
discussions were dominated (perhaps still dominate) by the unfortunate incident
(death toll arising from the Nigerian Immigration Service aptitude test) that
happened on 15th March 2014 across the country. Many people have
expressed their views. Perhaps the outcry is ongoing. The families of the
victims (whether dead or injured) are still licking the wounds caused by the
heartrending incident. To put the incident into another context (the bottom
line context), which may be unpopular and unappealing to some people. What if
all the applicants had a defined bottom line? What if they had the minimum
level of compromise they would endure for anything (be it aptitude test)? What
if they had all valued their lives that they would not trade life for anything?
What if the pregnant women had defined the most important elements in their
lives (which could be their babies) that they would not trade for anything?
What if every applicant had defined the minimum condition anyone could subject
them to (whether or not employment was involved)? What if they had realized the
power of choice in their hands? What if they had normalized the tempo of their
extreme anxiety to get a federal government job? Would there have been a
stampede?
It is often popular
among people to take short-cuts. Majority of the public have taken the
shortcut, which is the outcry that government has failed; hence deliberately
isolating the areas we failed as individuals. The loopholes in the outcry are
easily noticeable. In a few weeks the dust raised by the ugly incident will
have settled and business-as-usual syndrome will continue to take over our
sense of reasoning.
Think for a second about
the questions you face on a daily basis and the choices you make therein: What
cloth should I wear? What food should I eat? How much should I save from my
income? How much am I going to spend? The list continues. As you ask those
questions, you should be able to ask what your bottom line is, and where your
bottom line is. It would be interesting to ask those two questions because
there are many events in life that can cause a shift in reality of life. There
are many reasons we are confronted with the challenges we face. It is the power
of choice that we have in our hands that can guide the answers we give to those
two questions. Every life comes with a purpose. Every life has a bottom line. A
life that is devoid of bottom line is not worth living. Underneath my field of
vision lies my bottom line. What is your bottom? Where is your bottom line?
