There's Rice at Home

The Aroma of "Enough"

When you went out as a kid, or even now, let’s be honest…you probably know the drill. You’d spot something you wanted, whether it was pizza, ice cream, snacks, fried chicken, anything that caught your fancy and just as you were about to ask, your parents would give you that look…😒

“No. There’s rice at home!”

Oh, the betrayal 🥹. The unspoken rule of African parenting: why spend money outside when we have food at home!?

I don’t know why, but the memory of it makes me laugh now. Maybe it’s nostalgia, or maybe it’s realizing the life lessons hidden in those five little words: There’s rice at home.

Recently, I was chatting with a friend about life and how it can feel like a string of unmet expectations. The job that didn’t come through, the friend who let you down, the love that left you questioning your worth. In all of that, my friend looked at me and said, “But Tutu, there’s rice at home.”

See…there is rice at home…

It may not be the rice you want. Maybe it’s plain white rice without the stew, or rice and stew but no protein, or rice that’s been reheated one too many times…but there’s rice at home.

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We spend so much time looking for more: love, validation, approval, a seat at tables that aren’t meant for us. We’re desperate for the perfectly garnished jollof, the Michelin-starred fried rice, the kind of meal that feels like it would finally make life complete.

But maybe what we need is already with us. There’s rice at home.

The rice at home could be your close-knit group of friends who truly see you, the ones who cheer you on even when you don’t feel like much. It could be your family, messy and complicated, but somehow still the safest place to land. It could be your faith, your inner strength, or your weird little hobbies that bring you joy when nothing else does.

It’s not perfect. It may not look like what’s on someone else’s plate. But it’s yours.

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Too often, we’re so busy chasing the next best thing that we forget to cherish what we already have. We’re sold the dream of greener grass, only to find out it’s artificial turf.

But when we pause and look around, we see that the rice at home…though simple, though humble, is filling. It’s steady. It’s enough.

And here’s the thing: if you don’t appreciate the rice you have, you might end up begging for scraps elsewhere. Scraps that come with a price, sometimes far greater than you’re willing to pay.

I’m sure a situation comes to mind that feels exactly like that…right?

So, what do we do?

1. Find Joy in Simplicity
   Life doesn’t always have to be a grand, well-arranged feast. Sometimes, the best moments are the simplest ones. A quiet night in with people who love you, a good book after a long day, or even the satisfaction of eating that leftover rice because, hey, it’s still food.

2. Invest in What Sustains You
   Build and nurture the “rice” in your life. Deepen your friendships. Strengthen family bonds. Cultivate a sense of self-worth that isn’t dependent on external applause.

3. Recognize When You’re Enough
   Stop comparing your plain rice to someone else’s jollof with extra toppings. Your life, your journey, your “meal” is yours. And it’s valid, even if it doesn’t feel extravagant.

4. Know When to Stop Searching
   It’s okay to want more for yourself, but there’s a fine line between ambition and desperation. Chasing the wrong things can leave you empty-handed. Sometimes, the answer is to come back home…to yourself, to your values, to the people who’ve been rooting for you all along.

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So yes, there’s rice at home. It might not come with the fancy packaging or the Instagram-worthy aesthetics, but it’s yours. It’s nourishing. And when you learn to embrace it, to appreciate it, to be content and cherish it, you’ll realize it was enough all along.

Manage the food you have at home. Appreciate what’s in your fridge. Don’t turn into someone begging for what you already have in abundance.

Because the truth is, the rice at home is more than food. It’s a reminder that contentment often lies where we least expect it…right where we are.

May your plate always be full of what truly sustains you.

I wish you well 🧡