HUSH

Embrace the silence. We always wait for something big to happen, some sort of chaos or drama. Some form of explosion to get you excited and carelessly cry out aha! As if you know all the answers. Today I think of why we do what we do, and why we believe so much in some things and less in others. This great thing called life always keeps us guessing. We never quite figure it out, and what I have learnt in the few years I have been kicking, is that we don't always have the answers - Because if we actually did, we would lose the meaning of life. . . So embrace the silence :-)

I have been in a very docile state in the past few weeks. I have been feeling as if nothing much has been going on, because there is no explosion! I mean, it feels like there is nothing much going on. I guess over the past few weeks I have shifted my focus a bit, and that is taking some time to adjust and actually click in my head. I am slowly figuring out the silence. Its been there before, and its just a matter of time before I realize the reason and I blurt out an aha! That's how it is. When we look at some moments in our past life, only then do we see the true meaning of each of those micro-specs of events in retrospect. They all seem to fit in quite perfectly. The next time you don't sense a big bang coming your way, breathe deep and embrace silence. Its your quiet way of figuring it all out. We all get the answers eventually, and then we learn from each of those experiences.

 Eat. Breathe. Smile.

Round a round we go

"My thoughts and prayers go out to Perez, and all other affected AIESECers including their families and my neighbor whose house was burned down"

My 2 days have been very worrisome. Fatalities have just hit near home. In life some things happen that live you pondering, especially if you are melancholic like I am. I tend to get very introspective with little stimuli and when you are with people for 10 days in a gathering and they get involved in an accident resulting in one fatality, you tend to ask why?

I was planning to go to the j-town for one of those familiar shenanigans. Just before I leave, my mum tells me to drive her to the airport to pick up a visitor. On the way there she receives a phone call from one of her friends in the neighborhood and you can hear her wailing and screaming, and my mum tries to console her. Apparently, there was a huge fire in one of the buildings, about 4 houses up. Close enough to home.

Misfortunes are a trademark to life, and we suffer small doses of that at times. Yet again, it shows me how fragile life is. I mean, that must have been years' worth of investment and it took less than 30 minutes to disintegrate it. Back to my other story, the accident involved some of my friends-People who are super great leaders in their own right. I begin to think of the consequences that the loss would have on their countries and it’s a bit over my head, not only in terms of leadership but also psychologically for the team. I have been in a 10 day conference for AIESEC, and some of the delegates were headed for the coast for a study tour just after the conclusion of the annual International conference. There was an accident on the early morning of 30th August. The conference was super awesome and the end equally tragic as if we hadn't had the time of our lives. In retrospect, the 10days will be a hallmark in my life - it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.

That is life. One major thought in my mind has been that there has to be something greater and more satisfying than material things. . . Because clearly those can go any moment. Secondly, life is vain. 2 things I have concluded are:

• No matter where you are at, and what you are doing - Make sure you enjoy every moment.
• Do your very best, and live as if it were your last day.

That said, my belief is that we shall all realize that we live once, and that we will live for something bigger than our own selves. 

Believe in something | Fall for nothing

Inspired by "We all try"

I believe in God. I believe in progressive people. I believe in passion, happiness, humility, contentment, calmness and love. I believe in constant improvement. I believe in imperfection. Life is not perfect. I do believe there are some people who don’t want others to progress. I believe that there are good people. I believe in genuine friendships and true love. I believe in my family. I believe that life is not always simple. I believe that true happiness in life comes from intangible things. I believe that material things don't generate long lasting happiness. I believe that everyone deserves to be lost to find themselves. I believe that in life I have to make  a conscious effort to live. I believe that that there is a 'Heaven'. I believe that everything happens for a reason. I believe that we all have to live passionately. I believe that everyone is confused. I believe that we all have our frustrations and imperfections. I believe that we live our lives ultimately to find meaning and find answers. I believe that believing in something gives us comfort. I believe that we are all afraid . I believe that we are all afraid of uncertainty. I believe that at times I don’t believe in anything. I believe that I doubt myself at times. I believe that I live life fully. I believe I try to make things better. I believe that I have a good heart. I believe that we are all emotional beings. I believe that I am living an imprint. I believe that people are different. I believe that we don’t always have the answers. I believe that I don’t always know what I want. I believe that I appreciate both sides of the coin. I believe that I am aware of most things. I believe in myself. I believe in my friends. We all try to believe in something.

Of dreams and hallmarks.

Nothing comes easy. Freedom, chocolates, girls and super cars are all equally fought for. In this world you reap what you saw. That's the truth.

Another hallmark under the belt. It gets me thinking every time what success is and how do we know we are on the right track? Progress is gradual, and the most important progress is the one where those around you can feel it together with you. I create a world in my head, and a set of ideals and I define my own successes-I share it with others, and they chip in in little or major ways towards the collective goal and actually enjoy doing it. They discover more about themselves, and that fuels big dreams in their heads and they know that the world is theirs for the taking. Nothing can stop them. . . They in turn create their own perfect worlds, and get other people to chip in. The momentum creates a force and the strides get bigger and possibilities infinity. . . If that is not progress I don't know what is.

Back to my soliloquy. Where do I go from here? Honestly speaking, I set big goals and at that moment in time, I assume that that is the end. Funny thing is that there is no ceiling. We set our own limitations. At this point in time, I ponder on the long road that this has been. Its been TREMEANDOUS. That is even an understatement. Yesterday I also dreamt the next hallmarks for AIESEC JKUAT:

• Media coverage.
• Different and unique projects.
• Meeting a major leadership figure.

I say that with confidence because that is the next step. We have the abilities and strength. Everyone now realizes that we can achieve anything. The essence in life is always improving from where you are. As long as you are doing your best to get there, then have the confidence to know that you are on the right track. Most importantly, no matter what you are doing BE CONTENT. No matter your position or your achievements or successes, be content with your current situation. Strike a good balance. What will happen will amaze you. . . You acquire peace of mind, genuine friendships and a circle of good, positive energy. Contentment is not defined by what you do, but who you are. Be content with yourself right now.

And even as I gaze into the unknown future, I can feel it now. I am almost there. Almost near my big break. I dream big, and I dream all the time. We live our dreams, and if you are not dreaming then you are not living. Simply put, our dreams create that will power within us to go in a certain direction. I dreamt yesterday, and I smiled. I can sense it within me. I just need to open my eyes a bit more, and carpe dium.

International day of the African Child

Today I will proudly walk the streets as an African. I respect this continent as our Motherland. 

I am proudly African because her lands are blessed with resources,

From her oil deposits,

old as gold,

her beautiful diamond pearls,

and her elusive African curves,

her soils are fertile with foods.

I am proudly African because it is the symbol of black,

I am proudly African because of her deep heritage and traditions,

I am proudly African because her diaspora is proudly African,

I am proudly African because she is THE Motherland.

I will forever embrace my pride as an African because despite the odds against us, each and every day many of us defy the odds. Each and every day people get out of a warped mentality that faces us as Africans. I am proud that even as that happens, other people love spending their time empowering our fellow Africans and live to eradicate the poisonous cycles of poverty, lack of education, corrupt leadership and disease.

I am proudly African that despite our infested leadership, there are young people out there making a difference and exemplifying true leadership or should I say servant hood? 

I am proudly African because we continue to produce the best out there in different fields.

From Nobel Peace Prize Prof. Wangari Maathai, to writer Chinua Achebe. I will be forever proudly African because of our fallen heroes, those who have paved the way for us. This is because we are here in the present because someone else suffered/succeeded to lay a foundation for us. Be it our resilient Mau Mau fighters, budding leaders such as Tom Mboya, The great Nelson Mandela after his imprisonment and then to fight Apartheid. 

I will also appreciate the mama mboga and her vegetable stall. Our roudy touts, because they make life seem African. All the African women, blessed with that smooth black skin - You are beautiful in all ways.

And even as we continue to forge ahead, Let us all remember that we are African and we owe it to our continent to make a difference and to empower each other. Despite the fact that our roots have been uprooted, let us deeply remain bound to the true cause of our Motherland. Let us make our own definitions for being African.

Today we are celebrating our lives.

Yes we can

I have just had a very good night, I cannot remember the last time I had a clarity in my dreams. The weekend was very awesome and we had a very good conversation with one Mr. Selelo. What struck me most yet again, is that each one of us has that one dream or passion they would do for anything. Most young people actually do. Yet again, it is my view point that YES WE CAN. We especially have this tendency to have a crowd mentality, let that one be ours.

Indeed, we are currently doing stuff today, whether we like them or not. Whether we are passionate about them or not, each and every day we do stuff. Fortunately or unfortunately, we find ourselves in systems where we cannot change the way things really work but the Hope is usually following your heart and your gut, and through your passion, other people get to see that it is possible and in turn are empowered enough to ignore the norm. Moral of the story is that you owe it most importantly to yourself to follow your heart, to follow your instinct and secondly you it to every one around you.

It is a new day of the week yet again, but let us pledge to do it differently this week. Let us edge closer to our dreams. Today we will do what has to be done, and I say that with a lot of skepticism but the NEXT thing we will do will be to follow our dreams.

If you will need someone to tell you why, rather to REMIND you why-Talk to me.
Yes we can! 

We know where it all starts from

STOP!!!!

This is where we will draw the line - by force :-) Today, we are going to start afresh. We all know where it starts from - we all know the answers.

Lately I have been feeling a little bit bogged down with a lot of CLUTTER. I am doing quite a couple of things, and I will admit I am not as good a 'multi-tasker' as our female friends :-) Last week we had this session on time management that brought things to perspective - We know all that hullabaloo about time management, but we don't actually do it. So for starters, I have created my own priority list for this year - 4 things. I will tell you about that another time.

While I was on that DE-CLUTTERING agenda during the weekend, I stumbled upon a nook called 'The power of less' written by Leo Babauta {who also has a blog called Zen habits - check it out zenhabits.net/}.

I stumbled on another book however, called The power of your other hand. Now, it picks up on a theme I had started familiarizing myself with over the past four months. It expounds a bit on our right and left sides of the brain and the various cognitive, intellectual and artistic abilities we all posses.

I was starting to write some 'did you know' facts but it already started to look boring. One thing you should know though, we have a dominant hand and for the majority of humans it is right handed. Scholars continue to bit around the bush but one thing is clear - Using both sides of your brain makes you more wholesome.

Enough of that.

The intro starts with a brief background on how the author had a depression phase because of a lot of stuff happening in her life then she stumbled upon the power of the other hand. It briefly outlines how she had a dialogue between her right and left hand and for her (she is right-handed), her right hand represented her domineering personality, her confident self while her left, her hidden worries, long time struggles and emotional stresses. She would write the dialogues down on a piece of paper. I was brave enough to have a go using my left hand and 2 quick things gained some clarity.

1.  I had a pout while I was drawing/writing using my left hand :-) Took me back to the kindergarten days, remember? when we first disregarded our weaker hands because the drawing books looked terrible/or for some because we were told it is WRONG to write with our left hands. While I was doing that I felt a sense of renewal, like the world was before me and I had the ability to re-invent myself. Parallel to that, it brought back a few of my childhood memories, some struggles, a few disappointments and my childhood torments.

2. As much as my left hand writing cannot catch up with my mental processing (for now), I already feel like it is opening me up, and removing any mental barriers, reservations that I have - My first time and I am already feeling re-energized.

In conclusion, I am on this path of a renewed outlook to life and I encourage you to STOP!! and consider the unthinkable for once. Look at it differently. We all say think without the box, and I will re-iterate that - There have never been boxes, all the shapes are in our heads. I will keep you posted on any new discoveries I find along the way. You know what to do in the mean time, don't you?