My Dad’s youngest brother is uncle Iredia.
I remember going through the worst breakup in my life and he called me from Atlanta. I was in Baltimore. I still remember where I was sitting the day he said a proverb in Edo which is the equivalent of ”many fishes in the sea.”

The proverb says that if a particular fruit does not fall from a tree, it will rot there. Fruits are meant to fall and the one that falls to you is your own. Don't desire fruit that was destined to be rotten.

My sister’s name and daughter’s name: ”Amenaghameinvbezeghilesomwanhie” (popularly shortened to Amen) means that the water you will drink in a stream will not run and leave you. It comes to meet you.

I have found this profoundly true in all my years of life.

Catholic Catechism is more philosophical than indoctrination but you don't get it yet until you grow up. In catechism we were thought that ”Hope is a supernatural gift, that enables us to believe without doubt”. Hope is a superpower. In all my doubt, I learned about hope.

Hope is what gets us up in the morning. Hope is what truly drives us. Love is really about the hope for joy or further joy. Charity is a different kind of love and another gift. Faith is the greatest gift of all three. Hope, Faith, and Charity. Catholic Catechism stuck with me.

I learned to examine situations from the point of view of which of these gifts to apply. Make no mistake, we all have these gifts but we must realize when they are called for. Charity is needed when other people are down and you become God’s blessing go them. Same to you.

Charity is a gift that is sometimes abused by those who have lost hope and faith. The best charity comes as a miracle. Hope and faith never fails. Hope and faith are the roots of perseverance and the will to fight against odds.

Statistically, I realized that all black swans are not bad. What is bad for many others can become very good for one person who sees the silver lining. I learned to look for it. Before the pandemic, I had people owing me for years. They paid in December. A black Swan. Very rare.

In the years they owed, I continued to have hope. In this pandemic, I see an opportunity for many people to save money. The stock market defies the logic of the pandemic specifically because of that. It is an opportunity and not always a crisis.

There are people for whom this pandemic was particularly crushing. They lost their jobs and even lost relatives or friends. Many lost businesses. They need the three gifts of Hope, Faith and Charity the most. It is also a test for the unaffected. Charity is a gift from a gift.

We don't have to be rich to give. The gift of hope itself is a gift we can give others. The gift of faith is what religious houses are meant to spread. The best of them also do all forms of charity.

This pandemic should make us all more human and remember the 3 gifts always.

Faith, Hope and Charity.

Autocorrect messed up that long Edo name. Correct spelling: Amenaghamwonvbezeghilesomwanhie