Showing posts with label letters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label letters. Show all posts
Friday, 1 March 2013
LIFE'S LESSONS FROM ONE 20 YEAR OLD TO ANOTHER
When I wake up on third of March, I will be twenty...say it again, TWENTY! It's as unbelievable as it sounds. I have a lot to be thankful for. I will begin by thanking people who have walked with me to the present. I can't list all of them because they are many. But basically, I want to thank all my mentors-- my spiritual mentors, the people who inspired we to get hold of life and live properly, my parents, my role-models... and even those people I have never met but they mentor me by the way they live their lives and what they do. A big thank you to all of you.
It will be another new decade... A make or break decade as far as the future is concerned and I can only pray that the Almighty God will give me direction. Life as they say, is not a dress-rehearsal and I hope to be especially prudent.
So here are a few of the lessons I have accumulated at this grand age.
1. There is always a super-power
A greater power holds this earth. The earth has a beginning and for us to have a beginning then there must be a beginner. That beginner is the super-power. Remember God in everything you do.
2.Only boring people follow crowds blindly
There is a lot of bad peer influence hovering all around as. But luckily, it is always a choice. You can either choose to follow the wrong crowds and get lost or not follow the crowds... But just know that only boring and uncreative people ignore to think carefully and critically before taking any step.
3.There are no guarantees in this life
The fact that you have ability today does not mean you will have that same ability tomorrow. TIME is more powerful than everybody in this life. Use every opportunity to live a mark where you pass...history will ask questions and the fact that an accident stopped you from doing something will not exactly liberate your name in the records of history. People will want to know what you did with the time you had.
4. Everything that can be counted, counts
Whatever you do becomes part of the story of your life and when you will be taking stock of your sojourn on earth, it will be counted. Don't do something that will haunt you tomorrow. Be wise.
5. It is the same mouth which a dog uses to play that it uses to bite
Basically, understand people who are around you and always know the boundaries. Don't get carried away or too excited...only non-thinkers do that and Pisceans are thinkers:)
6. There is a place beyond knowing
There is a place beyond knowing called understanding. Understand and critically analyze anything before you get involved. A wise man once said that, 'the color of fire is bright and beautiful but once you fall inside it, your body will tell you a different story'. For the Piscean, a word is enough.
7. Freedom is ephemeral
It's a fact. It is easy to discover that once you have it(freedom) for a while. Freedom comes with responsibilities and some of these responsibilities include doing house work...so don't be in a hurry for this thing called freedom.
8. You are the brand you!
Mmmm... Only you are You and you hold your life in trust so protect your life as if it carries all the tomorrows of the universe...because it actually does!
9. Destiny is in mortal hands
Your destiny is in your hands...People will show you the way but only you can follow the way that you have been shown. Walk every step bearing in mind the fact that you are walking towards destiny. Once again, be wise.
10. Be the model 20year old piscean in the world
At twenty, you have a huge life a head of you...hold it firmly and stir it in the right direction. Show the world that you earned the right to be 20 this year and that can only show if you are positively exceptional.
11. Love will come
If it hasn't showed up at your door step, it's certainly going to show up very soon. Love with your heart but don't forget your head.
12. Forgive
Life is a battlefield and we all walk wounded...
I will be meeting my fellow pisceans more often in a label I am starting and we will talk more then.
From me,
With Love.
Thursday, 24 January 2013
LEAVE A MARK ON YOUR 21ST YEAR IN THIS LIFE
I noticed that most of my gold-pals are turning 21 this year (2013) and I think this poem by Prof. Kivutha Kibwana is going to be useful to them.
Have a pleasant 21st year on the universe. Daisy loves you.
You are 21 child
a magic cross-roads age
yesterday's child
welcome to the world
there is no ceremony today
you are to give birth to yourself
you will mature yourself
you will adult yourself
mama and papa are far away
your other kin and kith too
21 means frontiers to explore
a world to conquer
an opportunity to make your mark
you are to determine who you will be
you will be the person you seek
you may forever be half child half adult
you may settle for a non person
someone who was just passing by
someone escorting others
someone just waiting
or a go-getter, a doer, a maker
the world is about choice
you may think before you act
you may act before you think
you may ignore to think and to act
you may have others think for you
you may have others act for you
choose...
men like bees will fly to your life's nector
they will hum love, affection, tenderness when their only desire is to sting
women will knock for companionship or for convinience
beware of womankind, beware of mankind
and yet you must love
Your body is yours, your shrine
your mind is yours, to be kept open, pure
your soul is yours, you motor
guard them with your life
build your character day by day
character is the window from which we glimpse the real person
discard the superficial vile
be a person people remember
a person others will follow
set goals for yourself
follow them as a train does its rails
always search for knowledge
the path that guides living
do your bit in life
small bits make the world
learn to reflect
to pause in motion
to dialogue with silence
to be your best friend
to love yourself
remember
the worst lie is the lie told to oneself
because you know the truth
the lie will torture you
the truth will torment you
remember
nobody can silence a conscience
God is there for us every moment
He will always be there for you
even if you forget or deny Him
don't be afraid to look for Him
in good or bad times
He will mend your spirit
He will give you His peace
Life is suffering, you will suffer
life is joy, you will joy
life is about ups and downs, arise from the downs
life is about feeling you must give up, never give up
life is about being unsure of where you are, be sure
life is bitter, make it honey
life is tough, be tough
life is for living, not for quiting, hang on, live
You are 21
welcome to the world
mould your world
karibu
make the world
don't you ever look back.
Have a pleasant 21st year on the universe. Daisy loves you.
Monday, 19 November 2012
A LETTER TO NAWAL EL SAADAWI
Dear Nawal,
I hope this letter finds you hale and hearty. It is with utmost interest that I write it. I would have preferred 'an up-close and personal' interview but I realize that it will be tricky, almost impossible to reach you as soon as I would want to; our different circumstances notwithstanding.
Allow me to start by acknowledging that crown that sits on your head. You obviously wear a crown and this is regardless of whether people can see it or not. It is over eight decades since your fast contact with the world and simply put; you have left a mark in the sands of time and as you said in the interview with Homa Khaleeli in the Guardian of 15th April, 2010, you are becoming more radical with age. You laughed after that comment but I know that was not to make it less factual. In the interview, you went on to say that,
"I have noticed that writers, when they are old become milder. But for me, it is the opposite. Age makes me more angry"
That was a real fast. My contact with a good number of writers shows that a lot of them become less radical with age. What makes you 'more angry' with age and different from most of them for that matter? I know the fact that you are a rebel could be an explanation to that but what else? I am honestly interested in that angle. My friend, an ardent critique of yours(not published yet) who also intends to do her thesis on your work, argues that you are a victim of circumstances rather than a fighter for women's rights. She compares your approach to that in Fatmata Conteth's A LETTER TO MY SISTERS and she draws the conclusion that, in both these two circumstances, the simple idea that there was initial breach from the norm is what makes you view the world from what she calls 'a stressed up point of view'. Another argument she puts across is that, there are other Islamic and (women in general) who achieve everything they want without necessarily going against the norms.
I don't know what your response to such understanding of your work would be. I would like to know.
Dr. El Saadawi, you have been in and out of prison severally because of your stands which in most cases were against the government. You even had to fly out of your native Egypt when you received death threats. In short, you joined the long list of African writers who are forced into exile because of their work. In your opinion, is fleeing one's country by its very nature a mark of heroism? Do you think going into exile helps deliver the message one is passing over to the masses?
You have been swimming against the tide all your life. Those are your words. I admire them because there is something comforting about avoiding the bitten path. Truth is that you gave all your life for the struggle against women oppression and you are not resting until this is done. But there is a slight problem. Not a lot of people know you or are aware of what you do. You even said in one of your interviews that it is much easier for you to be listened to in other countries; you are more recognised in other countries that your own. Does that state of affairs make your quest unachievable especially in Egypt or is it a classic case of' a prophet is never welcomed in her own country'?
One of your plays; GOD RESIGNS IN THE SUMMIT MEETING was so explosive and you said that your Arabic publisher destroyed it under police duress. This was followed by several court cases because the criticism on religion proved so controversial. An obvious explanation of this would be your daring nature but I still have to ask. What is your source of inspiration? What runs through your mind when 'everyone' seems to think you are wrong and should stop what you are doing?
Finally, are there any regrets in your life? Is there anything you wish you did differently when you were younger?
Pass my regards to your daughter, Mona Nawal. She followed after you in both character and interests and no doubt she is a woman of steel too. I hope to hear more from her.
Very enthusiastically,
Daisy Nandeche Okoti.
I hope this letter finds you hale and hearty. It is with utmost interest that I write it. I would have preferred 'an up-close and personal' interview but I realize that it will be tricky, almost impossible to reach you as soon as I would want to; our different circumstances notwithstanding.
Allow me to start by acknowledging that crown that sits on your head. You obviously wear a crown and this is regardless of whether people can see it or not. It is over eight decades since your fast contact with the world and simply put; you have left a mark in the sands of time and as you said in the interview with Homa Khaleeli in the Guardian of 15th April, 2010, you are becoming more radical with age. You laughed after that comment but I know that was not to make it less factual. In the interview, you went on to say that,
"I have noticed that writers, when they are old become milder. But for me, it is the opposite. Age makes me more angry"
That was a real fast. My contact with a good number of writers shows that a lot of them become less radical with age. What makes you 'more angry' with age and different from most of them for that matter? I know the fact that you are a rebel could be an explanation to that but what else? I am honestly interested in that angle. My friend, an ardent critique of yours(not published yet) who also intends to do her thesis on your work, argues that you are a victim of circumstances rather than a fighter for women's rights. She compares your approach to that in Fatmata Conteth's A LETTER TO MY SISTERS and she draws the conclusion that, in both these two circumstances, the simple idea that there was initial breach from the norm is what makes you view the world from what she calls 'a stressed up point of view'. Another argument she puts across is that, there are other Islamic and (women in general) who achieve everything they want without necessarily going against the norms.
I don't know what your response to such understanding of your work would be. I would like to know.
Dr. El Saadawi, you have been in and out of prison severally because of your stands which in most cases were against the government. You even had to fly out of your native Egypt when you received death threats. In short, you joined the long list of African writers who are forced into exile because of their work. In your opinion, is fleeing one's country by its very nature a mark of heroism? Do you think going into exile helps deliver the message one is passing over to the masses?
You have been swimming against the tide all your life. Those are your words. I admire them because there is something comforting about avoiding the bitten path. Truth is that you gave all your life for the struggle against women oppression and you are not resting until this is done. But there is a slight problem. Not a lot of people know you or are aware of what you do. You even said in one of your interviews that it is much easier for you to be listened to in other countries; you are more recognised in other countries that your own. Does that state of affairs make your quest unachievable especially in Egypt or is it a classic case of' a prophet is never welcomed in her own country'?
One of your plays; GOD RESIGNS IN THE SUMMIT MEETING was so explosive and you said that your Arabic publisher destroyed it under police duress. This was followed by several court cases because the criticism on religion proved so controversial. An obvious explanation of this would be your daring nature but I still have to ask. What is your source of inspiration? What runs through your mind when 'everyone' seems to think you are wrong and should stop what you are doing?
Finally, are there any regrets in your life? Is there anything you wish you did differently when you were younger?
Pass my regards to your daughter, Mona Nawal. She followed after you in both character and interests and no doubt she is a woman of steel too. I hope to hear more from her.
Very enthusiastically,
Daisy Nandeche Okoti.
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