Riding the Highs and lows of life....

Have you ever felt soo good at one time you felt like you were going to burst but you didn't  and not so long after you felt like the worst person on earth....Well, I have and recently it has become more frequent that I can't ignore and immediately needs addressing.
I've struggled amidst high and low points in my life soo much that being consistent became difficult to keep at. I could go for a very wonderful service and come out soo alive and instead of fanning the flames ...I douse it with one mistake. The worse part is if you're introverted like me, you probably keep your struggles to yourself because "they" might not just get it...Anyway, this article isn't to solicit for your pity but actually share steps that are helping put me on a better platform of enjoying a more wholesome steady life.
1. Your mistakes don't define you. This is very important to me and should also be to you. If you take the lovely things about you as seriously as you took the bad...the bad wouldn't even have as much impact on you.
2.  Learn quickly and move on as fast as yesterday. The more time we wallow in guilt and self battering the harder it is to come out and do the wonderful things that are waiting for us out there.
3. Remember your future. Is your "past" mistake really worth throwing away your priceless future which by the way starts right now. I don't think it does. So please stop selling yourself cheap.
4. Take your lessons learned seriously. This will help avoid future disappointment in that same area and if you don't you will repeat that stage till you learn.
5. Talk to a wiser person. If after doing stuffs to remedy your situation and the problems still persist, talk to someone who is much wiser and can also identify with what you're going through. This will help in many ways like access to sound advice, someone to encourage you to be your best. Chances are you are less likely to fall into the same thing with a good mentor/ friend than without.
Life doesn't give promotions without kowing that you have got the corresponding strength to manage it. God even said He will not allow something you cannot handle come to you (Paraphrased). Whatever you currently face you have the power to conquer.
I'll end by leaving the picture of a surfer in your mind. Don't complain or struggle or feel down about your lows, study the wave pattern and Ride gracefully. Love you guys.

Things don't make us better

I don't even know if this is the most appropriate title but you will soon understand what this article is really about.
In recent years, with all the technology advancements in Africa, I too have not been left behind in the thrill and have become very tech conscious. The gadgets, the websites, the blogs, the Internet, the mobile apps and so on. It's really exploding everyday.
Anyway, so when I started this blog, all I wanted to do was write impactful things. I thought to myself that if I had "better" gadgets, I will be a more efficient writer. So my target was get a 'smarter' smartphone, a top specs laptop, better Internet access and so on ...I hadn't realised that the soul of the passion for writing wasn't found in the things I was amassing but in me. This is were I started to notice a downward spiral. I wasn't more effective than I was when I first started. I had trusted things too much over me.
Technology is good but humans are the brains behind it. No application ever ran without a computer geek somewhere, no site ever ran without the programmer, no machine (even artificial intelligence) ever made that didn't involve humans. These 'things' are here to make our lives easier not show us that we can't do without them. They only have value because of you and I. So the next time you think it's your laptop that's slowing you down, just remember that you are the boss and smarter than it. You will soon realise that restricting yourself to the confines of machines, doesn't just limit you to what it can do, it slowly kills innovation and creativity.
"Things" won't work until you've gone to work.
Cheers 😉☺

The plank in our eyes

I want to start by saying that this is first of all talking to me..more than anyone else. Most times its easier to see the fault of others..its easier to point fingers to the next person and blame him/her for your short comings...its easier to give advice or criticise someone else even when your in the same boat. But is it right...? Certainly not.
I've been in many situations where I was hurt by what someone did or didn't do..and also where I criticised, judged and passed sentence...loool...But then I painfully remember when I was in a similar situation and didn't respond any better...I still let out my steam and trash whoever though... but deep down I can now put myself in the person's shoes and realise just how much I've hurt someone else...It takes my eyes off the current situation I'm in where I'm demanding to be treated "right" and I find myself really sorry about the persons I have previously mistreated..
The fact is..nobody is perfect...This isnt to say everybody should go on and treat people without respecting them just because they must have hurt someone else too ..No! Rather its a call to treat people in the way you will want to be treated...So next time before you pass that judgement "Judge"...take a step back and be sure to remove the plank in your own eyes first...I'm sure by the time you're done.. you will have very little strength left for criticism. ...
Enjoy your day...

N:B  I know I've been the most slothful blogger....no excuses...no blames on anyone but myself...picking up the pieces and starting all over...

Are you a local Champion?

Bidding a friend farewell as she went out to meet a couple of some other friends who were not in our own circle of friends, I realized just how relevant she was/ is. I smiled to myself and told her to keep being relevant. Of course she didn't understand what was going on as she wasn't aware of the thought being processed in my head at the time. I spared her the trouble of explaining the weird response though and left her puzzled...Now to the real puzzle of the day, I have observed that amongst our close niche of friends, we portray a strong and confident personality, but outside this circle, when situations arise to test all that confidence, our response is usually a different story entirely. Why?
Using myself as a case study, I belong to a wonderful unique clique of friends (league of extraordinary gifts), where we use our talents for the advancement of God's kingdom. The league has given us something to be proud of and made us realise just how important we are. We have a central place where we all feel at home and function at our best but outside these walls, its a tug of war to remain as relevant as we were at 'home'. It’s almost like we are a different people.
All we think of is how to come back and enjoy each other’s company. Now this isn’t wrong in itself as it shows our bond and strength in love. However, on the flip side, it reveals a big weakness. If the motivation for coming home is to just be with loved ones rather than because you are bored of where you are, it’s ok. But that is usually not the case.
Yeah, I'm sure you are about to say that there's no place like home, I agree, but we can't dominate the world by staying at "home". Now, DON'T GET ME WRONG, its not that I'm against staying in our comfort zones where we are accepted and valued, but I'm against getting TOO COMFORTABLE THERE. I want us to realise that if we want to be the impactful, relevant people we talk of, then we have to get comfortable with adapting to 'foreign lands'.
Remembering my friend I referred to in the beginning, maybe you now see everything I saw in that seemingly common situation and maybe understand my reaction a little. It got me thinking just how valueable she was (at least that was how I saw it, I know its a long shot). I think the question that should be foremost in our minds now is “Just how relevant am I and what is the boundary of this relevance”. What am I doing to become relevant anywhere at any time? Answering these questions will prepare us for life's uncertainties. This post as much as I’m writing to everyone is also to myself. As for me, I have made up my mind not to be a local champion or be limited by the geography of a place. I'm going to be sharing "how" I plan on being relevant everywhere and anytime in my next post. You can join me, there’s still space for some international stars.
Cheers!!!

The Busy-ness of Life.

Sometimes in our lives, we get carried away with life's challenges that for a moment or a while, we lose 'ourselves' in it. We stop doing the things that we once cherished, things that made us smile and turn to just existing. The worst of this case are people who have gotten so used to these 'abnormalities' that they now accept their way of living as 'normal' or 'that is how life is'..as some will put. There are even some others who have come to like the term 'I'm busy', so they can appear relevant to their peers like they're making impact. I have noticed that only a few have qualitative impact in their busyness. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying being busy is bad, I'm just saying, being busy about the wrong thing is a problem. Taking my life as a case study, I realized that I got soo busy at work that I hadn't done any constructive write up in months now. I just kept postponing till I completely didn't do anything about it. I almost started adjusting to some stereotype lifestyle, thank God I realized and I'm back on track. A wider example that cuts across many of us is the case of our childhood dreams. As a little girl, I remember I had so many beautiful dreams of how I wanted my life to look like, but as I grew older I started to become more 'realistic'...*laughs*. This is not to say we should all become dreamers chasing after shadows. Rather, its a call to awaken the ingenious locked away inside each of us. We shouldn't drop those childhood dreams saying they were immature, instead we should refine them to fit into present times. Life is to be lived to the fullest and not just passed through. This cannot happen if we are carried away with busyness in the wrong things and accepting an average lifestyle instead of utilizing our potential to make the world more appreciable.

Hearty Cheers!!!

Are you just satisfying a need or its by choice?

As we go through our everyday lives, we are usually faced wth one need or the other, but how we satisfy those needs are just as crucial as the need itself. I've realised from experience that whenever a need arises, we tend to rule out reason and try to satisfy that need any how, but when we ignore the urgency of the feeling and calm down, we are usually in a better position to make better choices than when we let the urgency of how or what we feel dictate our results for us. A very basic example is 'food hunger' as we can be hungry for many things. I've realised that when I'm hungry, I don't calm down to eat well, I bow to the voice of hunger and munch on the closest food available (of course cooking is rarely an option) even when someone is already preparing a meal I enjoy, I'm just usually too impatient to wait. Though I feel better, I'm rarely satisfied. I used this example because most of us are familiar with it, but this could be applied to any area of life. The reality in life is that sometimes we have to exercise a little discipline in the present to get a desirable future. I've started applying this principle and its been wonderful. Though silencing your feelings would not be as easy as I write here but the ''wholesome meal'' you enjoy at the end of the day is usually worth the wait. So guys before you attempt anything ask yourself if you are just satisfying a need or it s by choice..Cheers!

Our very own basic human rights

Have you ever wondered what your basic rights as a person were. Well, I think most of us (me inclusive) know these rights exist somewhere but are vaguely aware of what they are exactly. During one of my random online search, I came across these rights in an online magazine.... 'covering the good deeds of individuals, charities and businesses'...that's how they put it.***smiles. Anyway, so I took the liberty of sharing it here with you guys...At least now you'll know when next you infringe on your neighbor's right....Happy reading and applying.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

1. We are all free and equal. We are all born free. We all have our own thoughts and ideas. We should all be treated in the same way.

2. Don’t discriminate. These rights belong to everybody, whatever our differences.

3. The right to life. We all have the right to life, and to live in freedom and safety.

4. No slavery – past and present. Nobody has any right to make us a slave. We cannot make anyone our slave.
5. No Torture. Nobody has any right to hurt us or to torture us.
6. We all have the same right to use the law. I am a person just like you!
7. We are all protected by the law. The law is the same for everyone. It must treat us all fairly.
8. Fair treatment by fair courts. We can all ask for the law to help us when we are not treated fairly.
9. No unfair detainment. Nobody has the right to put us in prison without a good reason and keep us there, or to send us away from our country.
10. The right to trial. If we are put on trial this should be in public. The people who try us should not let anyone tell them what to do.
11. Innocent until proven guilty. Nobody should be blamed for doing something until it is proven. When people say we did a bad thing we have the right to show it is not true.
12. The right to privacy. Nobody should try to harm our good name. Nobody has the right to come into our home, open our letters or bother us or our family without a good reason.
13. Freedom to move. We all have the right to go where we want in our own country and to travel as we wish.
14. The right to asylum. If we are frightened of being badly treated in our own country, we all have the right to run away to another country to be safe.
15. The right to a nationality. We all have the right to belong to a country.
16. Marriage and family. Every grown-up has the right to marry and have a family if they want to. Men and women have the same rights when they are married, and when they are separated.
17. Your own things. Everyone has the right to own things or share them. Nobody should take our things from us without a good reason.
18. Freedom of thought. We all have the right to believe in what we want to believe, to have a religion, or to change it if we want.
19. Free to say what you want. We all have the right to make up our own minds, to think what we like, to say what we think, and to share our ideas with other people.
20. Meet where you like. We all have the right to meet our friends and to work together in peace to defend our rights. Nobody can make us join a group if we don’t want to.
21. The right to democracy. We all have the right to take part in the government of our country. Every grown-up should be allowed to choose their own leaders.
22. The right to social security. We all have the right to affordable housing, medicine, education, and child care, enough money to live on and medical help if we are ill or old.
23. Workers’ rights. Every grown-up has the right to do a job, to a fair wage for their work, and to join a trade union.
24. The right to play. We all have the right to rest from work and to relax.
25. A bed and some food. We all have the right to a good life. Mothers and children, people who are old, unemployed or disabled, and all people have the right to be cared for.
26. The right to education. Education is a right. Primary school should be free. We should learn about the United Nations and how to get on with others. Our parents can choose what we learn.
27. Culture and copyright. Copyright is a special law that protects one’s own artistic creations and writings; others cannot make copies without permission. We all have the right to our own way of life and to enjoy the good things that “art,” science and learning bring.
28. A free and fair world. There must be proper order so we can all enjoy rights and freedoms in our own country and all over the world.
29. Our responsibilities. We have a duty to other people, and we should protect their rights and freedoms.
30. Nobody can take away these rights and freedoms from us.

* List provided by Youth For Human Rights International, adapted and simplified from the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Here is a link to the original:  http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/


Reference

• www.samaritanmag.com