I have been silent. Not just here but in other areas of my life too. I have found, there is wisdom in that proverb, 'silence is golden'. There is much you can learn if you listen more than you speak/ write.
Work has been helter skelter. Deadline upon deadline. Proposal after proposal- until on some days I have been just about ready to quit. But, bread and its companion butter have to be put on the table, so I soldier on.
I have always been passionate about the condition of the African and grieved that we seem to be stuck in a vicious cycle whose end is not in sight. I have had dreams of more for the African.
I have read books, listened to sermons and TED talks on the matter till am gorged. Then, I listened to Mr. Andrew Wutawunashe, a bonafide prophet of God and all I can say is you need to read his book on the matter.
Africanness has for ages been under attack and really, it is about time we woke up to the necessity of standing up and being counted because we have a role to play, a unique contribution to make.
Today, a man that has been called the only secular saint that ever lived, an African icon, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, will be laid to rest. He succumbed to a long time problematic lung infection on 5th December 2013. I have found myself in the last couple of days, reflecting on how important living an exemplary life is. How tough it, actually, is to walk the talk. See, the Bible says, "many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?" (Proverbs 20:6). Indeed, faithful men are few and far between; as a consequence, it's no wonder that a man like Mandela is literally revered.
He said this;
'I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.'
- Nelson Mandela's court statement before he goes to prison on April 20, 1964
...And he meant it. He gave his life and health up for this ideal and I think he made an important point about black domination being as abhorrent as white domination.
In fact, there are people who criticized the 'deal' he supposedly made with the white people in order to secure a free South Africa because they thought he could have got 'more' or even enabled the 'punishment' of the white people for all the suffering they had inflicted on the black South Africans; but if you ask me, none of the critics endured 27 years in a jail with jailers determined to cause your death whichever way how.
I have mourned him, these last few days, as if I had a personal relationship with him. Today, I will begin to celebrate his life and hope that on the day of glory, he will be standing in line for a heart of forgiveness like his could not have been born of evil but of God.
Rest in peace Madiba. Until we meet, on the other side :-)
Work has been helter skelter. Deadline upon deadline. Proposal after proposal- until on some days I have been just about ready to quit. But, bread and its companion butter have to be put on the table, so I soldier on.
I have always been passionate about the condition of the African and grieved that we seem to be stuck in a vicious cycle whose end is not in sight. I have had dreams of more for the African.I have read books, listened to sermons and TED talks on the matter till am gorged. Then, I listened to Mr. Andrew Wutawunashe, a bonafide prophet of God and all I can say is you need to read his book on the matter.
Africanness has for ages been under attack and really, it is about time we woke up to the necessity of standing up and being counted because we have a role to play, a unique contribution to make.
Today, a man that has been called the only secular saint that ever lived, an African icon, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, will be laid to rest. He succumbed to a long time problematic lung infection on 5th December 2013. I have found myself in the last couple of days, reflecting on how important living an exemplary life is. How tough it, actually, is to walk the talk. See, the Bible says, "many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?" (Proverbs 20:6). Indeed, faithful men are few and far between; as a consequence, it's no wonder that a man like Mandela is literally revered.
'I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.'
- Nelson Mandela's court statement before he goes to prison on April 20, 1964
...And he meant it. He gave his life and health up for this ideal and I think he made an important point about black domination being as abhorrent as white domination.
In fact, there are people who criticized the 'deal' he supposedly made with the white people in order to secure a free South Africa because they thought he could have got 'more' or even enabled the 'punishment' of the white people for all the suffering they had inflicted on the black South Africans; but if you ask me, none of the critics endured 27 years in a jail with jailers determined to cause your death whichever way how.
I have mourned him, these last few days, as if I had a personal relationship with him. Today, I will begin to celebrate his life and hope that on the day of glory, he will be standing in line for a heart of forgiveness like his could not have been born of evil but of God.
Rest in peace Madiba. Until we meet, on the other side :-)
This is real deep Lynn!
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