UHURU

I have heard that we have uhuru,

They say it means that,

White does not tell black what to do,

White does not rule over black.

Now he is a friend, a generous friend,

A very concerned friend too,

So concerned, that he helps us,

But only if we do what he says.

He says we can pay him later,

And if we are unable to pay him,

He smiles and helps us to pay him,

So, we do what he says.

He says it is brotherhood,

I say it is exploitation, it is colonization

But white does not force black,

It is uhuru, he reminds us.

Edwine Barasa – written in the year 2000

So I came across this piece from my archives, written in 2000. I was 19 years then, and I am not really sure what inspired these thoughts. Reading it now, reminds me of this quote by Ramon Grosfoguel (2007):

"One of the most powerful myths of the twentieth century was the notion that the elimination of colonial administration amounted to the decolonization of the world. This led to the myth of a postcolonial world. The heterogeneous and multiple global structures put in place over a period of 450 years did not evaporate with the juridical-political decolonization of the periphery over the past 50 years. We continue to live under the same colonial power matrix. With juridical-political decolonization we moved from a period of global colonialism to the current period of global coloniality" 

As a 19 year old, I was aware of the economic manifestations neocolonialism. Time and the exposure that comes with it has been a gracious teacher. I am now alive to the reality that the 'colonial matrices of power' as Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni (2013) describes it, is multifaced and includes economic, social, ideological, cultural, epistemological, and aesthetic dimensions. 

Of Fears and Dreams

-->Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what is still possible for you to do -Pope John Paul XXIII

So today is exactly 11 years since I posted anything here. I logged in and found this post had been left as a draft and never posted. I always knew that something happened to make me stop blogging. I just didn't realize that it was sudden that I left a draft post unpublished! Anyways, so I am hitting submit without any edits. Not sure what inspired the quote but it still does ring true. Oh and yes, I think this means I am going to start blogging again. I cant make promises through. I will take it one day at a time and see how it goes.

Bridging the Gap

The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve.
Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity. An
important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative
thinking and negative acting people. As you grow, your associates will
change. Some of your friends will not want you to go on. They will want you
to stay where they are. Friends that don't help you climb will want you to
crawl. Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream. Those that
don't increase you will eventually decrease you.

Consider this:
Never receive counsel from unproductive people. Never discuss your problems
with someone incapable of contributing to the solution, because those who
never succeed themselves are always first to tell you how. Not everyone has
a right to speak into your life. You are certain to get the worst of the
bargain when you exchange ideas with the wrong person. Don't follow anyone
who's not going anywhere.

With some people you spend an evening: with others you invest it. Be careful
where you stop to inquire for directions along the road of life. Wise is the
person who fortifies his life with the right friendships. If you run with
wolves, you will learn how to howl. But, if you associate with eagles, you
will learn how to soar to great heights.
"A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the
kind of friends he chooses."

The simple but true fact of life is that you become like those with whom you
closely associate - for the good and the bad.

Note: Be not mistaken. This is applicable to family as well as friends.
Yes...do love, appreciate and be thankful for your family, for they will
always be your family no matter what. Just know that they are human first
and though they are family to you, they may be a friend to someone else and
will fit somewhere in the criteria above.

"In Prosperity Our Friends Know Us. In Adversity We Know Our friends."

"Never make someone a priority when you are only an option for them."
"If you are going to achieve excellence in big things,

you develop the habit in little matters.

Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.."..

Colin Powell

HOBSONS CHOICE

Yonder across the river,

I see a beautiful city,

Surrounded with lush of green,

Roofed with starry skies,

Its citizens beckon at me,

To join their happy clique,

Denounce my desolate abode,

A tempting offer indeed,

But the river is bellowing,

Welling with vigor and valor,

Daring me to dive,

And risk the loss of my life,

But have I a choice,

Shy away and die anyway,

Or dare to really work,

And maybe, just maybe,

I will succeed.

Crossroads

Someone once said that life is a journey. As you walk though the journey of life, slowly you begin to realize that a journey imposes on you the responsibility of making decisions. You have to make decisions about what pace to take, you have to make decisions about who to accompany you, and most important of all, you have to decide which path to take. Life presents you with crossroads.

Whenever you get to a crossroad, you have to realize that in the path that you take therein lays your destiny. Crossroads, decision points as someone might call them, are the tipping points of our lives, the functions that define the curve of our existence.

The question is, how do you choose a path in the midst of uncertainty? It is in moments like this that the words of Robert Frost, resonate in my mind, ‘’The road not taken “. Many a people will chose to take the path trodden by the majority, the path that’s easier to tread. As someone once said, Taking the path of least resistance makes men, like rivers, crooked. The true path of wisdom is the path that teaches us something, the path that provides opportunities for learning and mistakes, the path that makes us grow, the path that makes as a better person.

Letter to God

Dear God
How are you doing, am pretty sure you are quite superb since you are God anyway. About me, well, if you were someone else I guess I would have told you that am quite fine, but since you can see right to the deep recesses of my soul, I guess you can tell that things are not very normal there.
I have decided to write to you because in the recent past ive been unable to talk to you, why, coz every time I talk to you I get this feeling that ive been put on voicemail, which I don’t mind since I know you are quite a busy guy and I wouldn’t want to be selfish, but the problem is, when are you ever gonna check your voice messages? My guess is, its either you’ve lost your phone, like I have, you’ve put it of, or you just don’t want to talk to me. So I write for a change, that way ill be sure you’ve gotten it, the rest is up to you.
You see God, you n I come along way and if there is anyone that knows me better that anybody else, it’s probably you. You know what I love n hate most in life, you know my weak and strong points……..

I came across this piece while cleaning my closet, written probably in 2003. I have no idea what I wanted to talk to God about since the letter is clearly incomplete. I just wonder what it was, I wonder why I didn’t finish it. did things suddenly change? did I give up, did I despair? I guess we will never really know.
Sometimes in life we lose faith in everything, everyone, even God. What do we do then? - the warrior of light, Coulo says, always experiences such moments, but unlike everyone else, he takes it as a moment of growth, and he still believes in God, and still abides, if only as of routine, for he knows that the day will surely come, when he will find reason, once again, to believe, and so he must stay on track, he must believe, he must have faith. Have you ever written a letter to God?

Another life

On this day I make a resolve
To reach out for my dreams
To explore my every potential
To take advantage of every opportunity
For tomorrow may never come

On this day I make a resolve
To love n honor family n friends
To be kind n caring to all n sundry
Let the ones I love know I do
For today is all we may have

On this day I make a resolve
To mend my relations with my God
To submit myself to thy will
To live a life worthy of Him
And thank Him for another life

Written after 12th October 2003
Like a candle in the wind, like a silhouette in darkness, like a mirage at day, so are days of our lives