The honeybee looks for nectar in flowers, irrespective of the surroundings of the flowers. So, whether in a garden or a landfill, the honeybee focuses on nectar. On the other hand, the housefly looks for waste and dead tissues. If it makes it into a palace, it makes the waste area its home, ignoring all the splendours.
These two insects teach us something: most times, our environment is not always the problem but our mindsets. If we become like the honeybee, we will keep looking for nectar (opportunities) even in all places. But if we act like the housefly, even in abundance of opportunities, we see none.
Indeed, the greatest victory happens when a person wins over his/her mindset.
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Comment #1: My Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe, may I enrich this your conversation by saying we can have another interesting perspective i.e. view both insects as co-equal legends. Yes, they are both economically important in agriculture and the environment.
The honeybee ? for pollination and the housefly for recycling. Did you know that without houseflies and other species of flies, the world would be almost unliveable/unhabitable? The smell from organic waste would be unbearable for humans. Flies recycle ?? and decompose these waste. Both insects are legend, even though the honeybee is more respected.
I would say the two insects teach us an additional lesson: we must give attention to our inherent God given potential and sink ourselves into exploiting them in whatever environment we find ourselves. You are important, whether you are a honeybee or housefly. You are important, whether people like your work or not.
My Response: “we must give attention to our inherent God given potential ” I respect your thesis but I do not buy into it. I will NOT be poor to satisfy the nexus that the world will always have poor people. I will not be last in my class because someone has to come last in that class. That family is known for begging, unable to farm during the planting season, preferring to beg in the harvest season, while a part of a society, will not be a reference to mine. Every human has a role in society; we desire we are positioned for the best possible. Some have roles to pick garbage, I respect them. But I do not desire it.
Comment 1A: Ndubuisi Ekekwe my Prof, thanks for your response. But I think you didn’t understand my thesis at all. My thesis emphasis is that people have TALENTS/GIFTS and EXPLOITING IT for the good of the society leads to impact. We can’t discount the TALENT of the housefly in comparison to that of the Honeybee.
Humanity NEEDS houseflies and the fly family to RECYCLE billions of tonnes of organic waste globally. Humanity NEEDS Honeybees for pollination and honey ?. In the true sense they are both LEGENDS.
Both INSECTS exploit their talent to serve humanity. The problem with looking down on the housefly is that you end up with a society where everyone wants to be a Honeybee, instead of being effective at exploiting their talents for the greater good of the world.
My perspective is about valuing diversity and giving honor to TALENTS we don’t understand. Your desire not to be a housefly is a strong indication that you are a honeybee. The housefly also has zero desire to be a honeybee. The most important point I make is that both are EXPLOITING their TALENT to SERVE humanity. They are both legends.
My Response: “We can’t discount the TALENT of the housefly in comparison to that of the Honeybee.” – no one is discounting it. We are saying why should Blessing be a garbage collector even though it is a very important job in society? No one discounts the collector’s job; what we’re saying is that we should not be the one doing it. In world of housefly (garbage collector) and honeybee (bank CEO), we desire to be honeybee even though housefly is vital to society.
Response 1b: Ndubuisi Ekekwe my Prof. Aha, now I see your point Sir. Thank you for using the brilliant Garbage collector vs Bank CEO analogy. From my perspective, I view the Housefly not as Garbage collector but as CEO of a Recycling Company. For me it’s Recycling Company CEO vs Bank CEO, both are Kings of their own different market domain. They are kings because they both EXPLOITED their unique talents to serve the market well.
Prof, I therefore concur with your excellent line of thought especially that no one should be the Garbage collector when they can be a CEO. Thank you so much for this meaningful conversation my Prof.
Response 1bb: I like your thinking, but I also think it would be more suitable for a different conversation. The analogy of honeybee and housefly was constructed from the standpoint of ‘beauty’ and ‘ugliness’, and not from that of value proposition and agency in the grand scheme of things. Why would some people see only the negatives and challenges when others can easily see opportunities? That is the thrust of the post.
Comment #2: A mindset of abundance or a lack of it. Ndubuisi Ekekwe I have seen this play out in my association with people. You can be involved in a business generating a certain revenue within a certain reach and think this is the height of it all but then you come across someone within the same environment and conditions doing double or triple of that and immediately your mind opens to abounding possibilities that you never thought possibilities
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I agree that we actually need the housefly. If everyone decides not to be a garbage collector, the garbage will not collect itself. I believe what needs to happen is a continued elevation of dignity in labor. I believe this is one of the problems minimum wage is meant to address. While we recognize that some people just want to do the bare minimum and survive, we have to agree that if that is how they find their ultimate fulfilment and we believe their contribution is significant in society, there has to be a reward system to ensure they continue to do what they are doing, which is serving society.
Today in Nigeria, the roads are dirty. We have graduates in hundred of thousands who are polishing their resumes looking for white collar jobs. If I am living in Nigeria today, I will not be happy with the current state of the gutters. I will find my fulfilment in being the gutter guy. However, this duty of mind cannot sacrifice my need to create the kind of wealth that will last my future generations. Therefore, I will make the garbage collection business a big one and ensure that no street is dirty. But I will be paid for it and I will also recycle it. I will advertise my company as the “Garbage Guys” and only honorable people will work there. Now this may also be in line with the mindset of the honey bee in a way.