Intention

Maya Angelou said, "I believe the heart is the only thing we can trust". For some time, I struggled to wrap my head around this because i tend to be (believe i am) a very practical person. But when i paused to think about it, i realised that i actually follow my heart often. Not in the whimsical way modern movies might sometimes present it but in a cultivated manner, where i have learnt to trust my intuition in addition to weighing my reality.

Three years ago, i made a bold professional (heart) decision even when the timing and finances seemingly told a different story. I knew that if i did not follow my heart then, i would miss an important opportunity to grow and be happier. Interestingly, the courage to jump in 2016 came from another heart decision in 2009 that prepared me for an even greater leap seven years later. This time my fears were greatly reduced because i had began to identify the synchronicity in my life's run. It is also not a coincidence that i received a profound book, The Power of the Heart by Baptist de Pape, at the end of 2018 and it was my first read as i began the new year. I still have many questions from 2016 that are unanswered but i am learning to trust that living the question is sometimes a necessary step to recognising and accepting the answer, which might not come immediately or in the form i anticipate. I am learning to be patient with what my heart is saying and being confident in this connection.

In order for you to connect with your heart, you need silence and an attitude of gratitude. The heart's messages get drowned by noise and you cannot take note of them until you learn to regularly practice some quiet time. I have a tradition of taking a retreat as part of the ways in which i seek silence. As you give thanks for what you have, you gradually connect deeper with your heart and open yourself up to even greater possibilities. A power that will keep you grounded and safe.

In a world where cruelty is an everyday occurrence, we can only defuse the violence and hatred by having the courage to act from the heart - the authentic source of love, kindness and cooperation. "What we do accumulates; the future is the result of what we do now" ~ Pema Chödrön ~

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".