Each Day As it Comes

I’m just going to give two examples and make my point.

There’s this northern man that sells oranges close to my school gate.
The man just peels oranges and sells, that’s all.

Now I’ve been in school for four years, and this man was there before I started schooling. I thought to myself, how long does this man want to keep selling oranges? How would his family survive with just selling oranges?

One day I asked him, Oga, (creole for Sir), “Why is it that everyday you peel orange and sell? Why don’t you get a shop and sell more fruits or just do more? I was really puzzled.

He said No, that he gets what’s enough for him and his family to eat and that’s okay for him. He doesn’t want to do more. His answer really got me thinking. How much is really needed?

This made me remember a story a ghanian friend told me.

A man saw a fisherman fishing with his hook. He noticed that the man comes to fish everyday and this conversation ensued between them.

Man: Why do you fish everyday?

Fisherman: I love fishing and I take what’s enough for my family to cook and eat each day.

Man: Hahahaha… I can’t believe this. Why don’t you fish some more and sell?

Fisherman: If I sell my fish, then what next?

Man: You can buy a boat and more fishing equipment and fish and get more money.

Fisherman: Then what next? What will I do with the money?

Man: Then you employ people to do the work for you. Open a company, create a department for fishing, for sales, delivery, preservation etc.

Fisherman: When I have all this, what next?

Man: Then since you love fishing so much, you can come back and just fish once in a while with your fishing line at a good age.

Fisherman: So what am I doing now?

The similarity in this story is that the men in the story just wanted to get what they really needed for each day without worries.
Some rich men, their security guards sleep better than them because the rich man stays up at night, calculating, drawing balance sheets, or even scared that robbers may come at any time.

I’m wondering, what will happen if we take Each day as it comes?