I am Very! Very !! Very !!! Hungry

Dr. Jarlath Uche Opara Jarlathuche@gmail.com

It sounds very simple, with an impression not too complex to understand . “I am very hungry” one phrase that is full of meaning, but on surface level strikes a monosyllabic tune for minds not too deep in inquisition.

This morning I was working on my laptop trying to round up a particular documents. I got stuck, my mind blank and the mental energy to continue ebbed. I needed to ventilate my choked mind with something a bit pedestrian and less tasking.

Gazing into an empty space, the question what is hunger became strong in my mind . What is hunger? The more I thought about this question, the more what is hunger became clear in its diversity. The meaning so diverse I decided to carry out a simple social mini research on how people off the cuff would react to it. So I sent “I am Very Very Very Hungry”… to some of my friends. I was very delibrate in selecting my target audience.

I looked at the age, gender and closeness( those very close, close and not too close) Factors

It was an amazing sampling and the feedback very very enlightening. The truth is , our mind is so much conditioned with a particular way of either doing things or analysing things. For instance the word sex isn’t a single phased word, but to an average mind, once it is mentioned such mind had already been sterotyped to process it in one particular way.

Same with intercourse, intimacy, ejaculate, fertilize, hungry, love etc. These are great words that have many phases in meaning but the minds of an average human being see them from that one lense that is common, what many may describe as a single story approach.

Life is too big to be seen from a single story approach and words flexible and pregnant with deep meaning to be limited with one single phase meaning, asking that important questions “What and How” helps in understanding better what part of the meaning of the word is demanded.

The responses I got equally opened my eyes on how quick human mind can make conclusion based on assumption.

Just few persons from my targeted audience were able to ask the kind of hungry I was feeling. Hungry of what? They wanted to know what kind of hungry before they could know how to help.

Some read it and said nothing. These were the category of persons that possibly made assumption and felt they wouldn’t be able to help, the best is to keep mute. Others read it and were quick to advise me to find something to eat, without offering to help.

For them It may not be a subtle way of me asking for help, if you are hungry go find some thing to eat.

One person reacted showing surprise that I could feel hungry. Heyyy hungry? I said yes. But you can’t be hungry except you are asking for another person. For this person I couldn’t possibly be broke, not having money to eat. She possibly couldn’t see me in such a situation of saying I am hungry.

She forgets that I am human and could also be cashstrapped for a reason.

1)Is you or for someone else because I doubt if you can be hungry

2)Aaaaaaaah! Just seeing this. Where you dey?

3) Chao sorry Find something and eat nah please

4) Hungry how???????

5)No problems, please come over and you will surely be satisfied by God’s grace 🙏. Good morning to you my beloved J

6) 😇Hhhhmmmm Jarlath, you know I’m willing to help if you can narrow your hunger to a specific context. Awaiting your details… Or is this another social/academic experiment?Happy weekend bro !

7) What is the meaning of this elder

8): Ok. . . Are you serious? I mean, not joking, right?

9) For the word of God..
For the things of the kingdom…
A hunger for more genuine love of God …
🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼so help
us God

10) One sent me a dancing emoji with a dark goggle. So funny but the message wasn’t lost on me anyway.

11) If William Shakespeare of our time is hungry, then , no more books for us to read. Send ur account details.

These are some of the reactions I got. One information, different ways of processing it. We see differently, we feel differently and we are quick to make assumptions based on the already existing information in our sub-concious. The truth is, perception isn’t reality, seeking for clarification before making conclusion is key.

The way many reacted to “I am very very very hungry” off the cuff , is same way people react to our actions and make presumptive conclusion based on their perceptions which may be wrong.

We should at all times learn to ask and seek for clarification before making conclusions. By this we would be free from avoidable wrong profiling of people’s intentions.

Next time one tells you they are very hungry, ask them what are they hungry for, don’t assume it is food. People’ heart pines for so many things and their spirit hungers for a lot.

In same way, ask for clarification on anybody’ actions , dispositions and leanings towards you, it could mean a different thing beyond what your eyes could see and your feelings fathomed. Just ask!! Assumption isn’t good!

N.B: Information is not complete until there is a common platform of understanding between the sender and the receiver.