Standing by my book shelf

Lost in books, late again

Standing by my book shelf

Thumbing through pages

Rereading favourite excerpts

Fancifully hoping for a book getaway

Far from the ugliness of the world

Reminded others saw worse

So that i can stand tall today

Incredible beacons of courage

In the vile face of hatred, abuse, exclusion

They transformed it into stories of triumph

Into poetry i hold close to my heart

To sojourn through another test

A test of humanity, of truth, of justice

I stand by my book shelf

Musing how millions of words 

Give meaning to my life.

Comandante!

I've met some people along my life who've left a lasting impression. They've inspired me in the fine way they take on situations and they've made me laugh through their witty observations of life. Most importantly, they mastered early on the importance of taking charge of their own personal lives in order to succeed.

Now success is relative, it is not limited to always winning in the external things. The greatest battle is in conquering the weak and faulty parts of us that make us less human. Unfortunately, this critical aspect of success is misunderstood a lot today, especially by extremists.

The success of being human is thankfully not tied to the material resources at one's disposal. It begins with a mindset. An attitude that dares to still embrace humanity even when the rest of the world mocks you. It is the courage to live right even when the world is primarily one big billboard that screams: "The end justifies the means!" "Grab what you can for yourself!" "Be bigoted!" "Kindness has no place in the modern rat race!" "Destroy!" "Gain the world!"…and forever lose yourself. 

Don't be deceived. The world is hurting. You can feel the pain that Warsan Shire speaks of:

A hurting world is made up of broken people. People who have given up hope and decided to match despair for despair and cruelty for cruelty. Quite the blind and toothless world…

The blueprint for taking charge of one's life is looking inwards in order to rise above all these gravely misleading voices. When you understand yourself, with all your flaws, then you become comfortable in your skin, then you are able to see the world with the scales fallen from your eyes, then you are able to be human…giving fully your authentic contribution.

The real country

I just got back from Hargeysa. Like with every trip i make, i return with a sense of wonder of all that i have seen, revelled in and eaten;-)

One thing that struck me about Somalilanders is their patriotism. Now some of us understand patriotism differently. That it is an action summarised in that jersey worn, that drink raised and that win at the olympics. Then the following day, the tearing down of your neighbour. In these times where national identities and loyalties are so fluid, it is refreshing to be reminded of the real meaning of patriotism. Somaliland renewed my belief in uzalendo in what i observed. A deep pride for country and the added zeal to making it a place where fellow country woman and man thrives.

As i was mulling over this, i saw a piece of news from home, a border away, that moved me to silence. His nickname draws you - Jadudi but his reality even more. Jadudi, a young Kenyan man who has undergone brain surgery three times already, and is due for a fourth in coming days was at his end. Financially he was drained due to the high cost of treating the cancer. Naturally this has taken a toll on him and his family in all other ways. In a dark moment, he reached out to his country folk. He asked his kin to help him fight this battle. The will was there but the way…Biko Zulu heard his brother's call and he told the village.

In under two days, Kenyans rose magnificently as one and responded in a resounding way to Jadudi's appeal to raise one million Kenya shillings for his fourth surgery. The hundreds and hundreds of thousands of shillings flooded in totalling to just over six million shillings. The power of humanity was proven yet again. Put aside all other fickle matters and the results are stupendous! Kenyans remembered. I salute you. As African wisdom goes, "cross the river in a crowd and the crocodile won’t eat you".