Alien

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(Photo Credit: Flickr)

Recently, I had a splinter of wood embedded inside my middle finger. Initially, the pain was excruciating, but after a while, I scarcely noticed the alien inside my finger. I guessed it slowly became a part of me. It was a slow process, it didn’t happen immediately, but soon enough, it ceased to be an alien. I’d accepted that splinter of wood as part of me, it mingled with my flesh, it attached itself to my blood, and if I did nothing to remove it, it would be immovable, static.

It would have found a home.

That’s the same with attitude. I don’t believe that people are naturally born nasty. They cultivated that nastiness over time. That’s why I love children, they are so innocent but incredibly impressionable. It’s an open secret that children who grew up in homes where swear words were spoken repeatedly wouldn’t find anything wrong with it.

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Life is complex, and most things happen when we least expected. We can slowly turn into a monster, if we don’t check ourselves and gauge our lives with this mantra, ‘how would I feel if someone did that to me?’

My middle name is Alexandra, which means helper of men or humanity. I love people, naturally, I try to see the good in people, so you can imagine my horror when I found out that I’d hurt someone, although it wasn’t deliberate. I was mortified, and I moved swiftly by apologising. Have I been hurt by others? Countless times! But I wouldn’t for the life of me expect someone to apologise to me because life doesn’t work out that way.

At one point or another in our lives, we may have inadvertently imbibed alien attitudes, the great news is, we can remove that stranger from our lives if we wanted to do that. I travel on the tube to work everyday, and I’ve witnessed horrible behaviours from other commuters; and I’d also been exposed to a huge amount of love.

I’m a humanist, I believe in people. I hope anyone reading this believes in people too, because that’s one of the ways we can make our world a better place to live!

NB:

I have to apologise for not updating my website/blog for a while. I’ve recently accepted a job offer which is incredibly satisfying but utterly time-consuming. I’ve mastered my daily routine now, and I would be visiting more blogs and writing more posts often. I’ve missed all of you, and as time permits, I would be visiting and reading your awesome posts soon.

I love you all, and please, stay safe!

Love, always! 🙂

Notoriety And The Human Psyche

Mar19

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”The mind is like an iceberg, it floats with one-seventh of its bulk above water.” Sigmund Freund.

Sigmund Freund was one of the greatest influencers of the twentieth century. He postulated the fact that our minds are like icebergs, what is seen is much different from the unseen. His quote reminded me of the story of an Australian woman, Noela Rukundo, whose husband hired assassins to kill her on a visit to Burundi for the burial of a relative. In a nutshell, the situation boomerang and he got nine years for inciting murder. It must have been a shock to Noela. Her husband certainly didn’t belie the fact he was planning her murder, this was a classic case of notoriety and the human psyche.

According to ask.com, ”The human psyche is the mind or soul. It is the center of an individual’s response to his environment.” While Cambridge Dictionary Online described Notoriety as ” the state of being famous for something bad.

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Love is the easiest emotion in the world, yet it could be costly and it needn’t be, love should be the backbone of our world, however, is it? I doubt it, because if it is, we wouldn’t be so divided with our different views. Some may argue that we need to exercise our freedom of expression hence the need for some people to be free to hate. Hatred would certainly make some people notorious and there are people who crave that kind of attention.

I believe love shouldn’t be all about our families and people close to us. We get suspicious of people who look and dress differently to us, we love our little space in the universe and aren’t too keen to share. We moan incessantly about the weather, the Tube (if you’re a Londoner), the government, whether we should leave or stay in the EU, (the UK again). We snort our noses at immigrants, we’re quick to judge but are slow to proffer solutions. For millennia, there are have been wars, unrest, hatred, disaffection and all sorts. Unfortunately, that is the world, it’s not perfect, that’s why we really have to raise the bar of our love level.

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Why do humans commit murder and relish mayhem? I believe the response of people to different situations differs which may ultimately be the catalyst for many destructive reactions. It’s nothing new that notoriety springs from the mind. ‘For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him?’ 1 Cor: 2:11. This scripture is spot on! The mind is so complex that throughout millennia, people have tried to decipher its secrets.

The human psyche is as complex as the millions of electricity that pulsate through our brains, little wonder detectives bring complex cases to their behavioural psychoanalysis unit. People have recurrent patterns to their lives, following sets of rules which when pointed out to them, they are always surprised at the patterns of their behaviours.

Forgive me if my post is a bit based on psychoanalysis, it’s got to do with the books I’m working on. Lately, I’ve conducted loads of research on human minds and behaviours, when my new books are released, I guess you’ll all understand more.

I’ve been offline for the past few weeks, my sincere apologies. I’ll be visiting as many blogs as time permits. In the meantime, have fun and stay blessed! :):)

(Photo Credit: Flickr)

Much love, always. 🙂

Love, Aging, And Everything In Between

Feb12

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(Photo credits: Flickr)

We are special species. The human race is resilient in the face of adversity, we come up with interesting concepts about love, aging, and survival. I love the way Jamais Cascio puts it, ”resilience is all about being able to overcome the unexpected. Sustainability is about survival. The goal of resilience is to thrive.”

I couldn’t agree more. We can thrive when all hopes seem lost, the secret to an ageless, carefree life is contentment with who you are. People with disembodied image of themselves tend to continually conflicts with life.

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(Lines of wisdom)

When everything seems to go pear-shaped, humanity always has a way of making things better. Yes, sometimes, we fail dismally, however, that has never stopped humanity. I believe in humanity, I believe in love and I am a forever optimist that things can always get better.

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(I love The Hope In Her Eyes)

Valentine shouldn’t be about love only, I reckon it should also be about hope, faith, and perseverance.

Hope for the parents of a six-year-old girl afflicted with cancer that she would get better with the right treatment, faith that a job seeker would get a befitting job and his life wouldn’t be a constant struggle, and perseverance in the face of overwhelming defeat. Never giving up because there would be a time, when a breakthrough actually looms beside defeat.

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I believe in humanity, do you?

I’ll leave you guys with this simple quote by Kushandwizdom, ”faith makes all things possible, hope makes all things work and love makes all things beautiful.”

I hope your lives would be filled with faith, hope, and love.

Have a wonderful Valentine. 🙂

Much love always!
🙂

Dreaming When Awake!

Aug11

(Photo credit: Flickr)

“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake up in the day to find it was vanity, but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.” T.E. Lawrence

***

John Parker threw the cheque into the river Thames, his eyes darting everywhere like a man on opium. He dug his right hand inside the pocket of his chinos trouser and brought out a rumpled paper, he stared at it for what seemed like ages, then tentatively, inched forward, staring down at the dirty muddy water. He held the railings of the Tower bridge and contemplated his actions. Tourists trooped by, some gave him quizzical looks while others swept him away with the views.

He swallowed hard and heaved himself up but strong pairs of hands held him back. John Parker was stunned, he struggled but the hands stayed firm, locked, clasping his shoulders in a bear grip.

‘Let me go!’ Parker screamed like a trapped animal. Quickly, a crowd had gathered. Some lifted their phones to film the unfolding drama while the hands which held Parker spoke rapidly to someone in German, ‘Annette , könnten Sie bitte die Polizei rufen ? Nein, rufen Sie 999 ,’ (Annette, could you please call the police? No, call 999) Parker realised his plans had gone awry and he hung his head in shame. The strong hands gently led him out of the crowds.

Twenty minutes later, John Parker sat in a hotel with the hands which actually belonged to a huge bear-like fellow with a weather-beaten face, scattered brown hair and very kind eyes.

‘My English no good, but me understand well,’ The man said quietly.

Parker nodded, wiping sweats off his face with the back of his hand.

‘Thanks for saving my life, it was a stupid thing to do,’ John Parker said, trying to avoid the eyes of his rescuer.

‘Okay, okay, my name Anselm.’

‘I’m John Parker.’ They shook hands and Parker began his story…

****

Hello friends, I hope everyone is okay. I’ve not written short stories on my site for a while, and I thought, why not? So this is a story that’s filled with life’s truths. I would post the penultimate part on Friday. Mull on the quote before the story and please, don’t stop dreaming positively!

Much love, always! 🙂

Out Of The Ashes

Jul8

(Photo credit: Flickr)

I believe in life after death, not every one does, but I do. Human beings aren’t merely flesh and blood, we have souls, and soul are indestructible. I’ve got friends who are atheists, so I’m not going to expand too much on this before I start a debate that would rival a sitting in the House of Commons.

Yesterday marked exactly ten years when people with warped views of life took the lives of 52 Londoners, they also left almost 100 people with life changing injuries and scars. Yeah I know, my post is a day late but the topic isn’t. After work yesterday, I caught a few glimpse on the news and was sad at such wanton destruction of human lives. But I was proud, (in fact, I still am) to be a Londoner. Years has passed, but we’ve grown stronger as a city. More tourists visited London than ever before, I love travelling on the tube, bus or on a private car. It’s testament to the fact that evil will and cannot win.

If we read the news, there’s always stuff that would make our tummies churn (my daughter always says that), but life isn’t all gore and horror. There’s the incomparable breath of fresh air, there’s the sheer joy of clean water, what about the juicy goodness of an orange? The list is endless, life is good, and it’s tough, I won’t dispute that.

The relatives of the 7/7 bombing and the senseless and needless attack in Sousse would be comforted by the love and prayers sent their way. I believe in prayers but I also believe in living each day with a heart of thanksgiving in spite of my circumstances, that, I believe is what would keep me sane and out of the ashes of stress and despair. My husband used to say that everyone has problems, it’s just our ways of dealing with life’s daily grind that’s different.

I would end my post with this simple quote from Groucho Marx, ‘I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.’ NP: I’m still writing, albeit slowly. I’ve informed my publisher of my inability to submit my manuscripts until next year. Life seems to have a way of sending many distractions my way and I always oblige 🙂 I hope everyone is fine. Please, stay safe! Much love to you guys, always! 🙂 🙂

A Glimpse Of Bliss

Feb14

Love is in the air! It’s all around us!!

(Photo credit: Flickr)

Life (love) is a pilgrimage. The wise man does not rest by the roadside inns. He marches direct to the illimitable domain of eternal bliss, his ultimate destination.

Swami Sivananda

How does one attain bliss in life? How does one attain bliss in relationships? I don’t think there is a clean-cut answer, but I bet it starts with a pure heart. That doesn’t mean the pure don’t get dumped, they do, but they can always pick themselves up again and march on regardless of their situation.

Not everyone celebrates Valentine’s day, the day set aside for lovers because some don’t believe in love anymore, maybe they have been burned several times and are now cynical. I still believe in love in its purest form, (not the kind of trash we see on films sometimes) there is still a lot of love in this beautiful planet of ours, we only need to look deeper to find the truth.

I hope you would all have a wonderful day today, love is the only thing we need in this world, the only remedy that can make our world full of bliss. We would not only catch a glimpse of bliss when we allow love into our hearts, we would live in a world free from pain.

Much love, always!

🙂

The Bystanders

Jan27

(Photo credit: Flickr)

Today marked the 7oth year of the liberation of that notorious death trap in Poland, Auschwitz. It’s a solemn day for the 300 hundred survivors who attended. Roman Kent, who gave a very moving speech where he implored people not to become bystanders, those words stood out for me. The word struck a chord in my heart, and I realise that by and large, we could be guilty of being a bystander.

We can do more to make the world a better place, but rather, we sometimes turn our eyes away, thinking, ‘it’s not my problem, I’ve got enough of my own.’ True, we all have one baggage or the other tied to our tired gait, but if every human on this planet (minus ISIS, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram and all those crazed lunatics prancing about killing innocent people in the name of their blood sucking god, they relish in murders anyway), decides to stamp out evil, malice, hatred and our differences, we would be living in a crime-free world indeed.

I don’t want to be a bystander, I really don’t. If we all feel like that, maybe, there would be a chance that the world would prevent another near annihilation of innocent people.

For this post not to be an irony, I have to state categorically that Auschwitz is practically repeating itself all over the world. Killings of civilians continue unabated while the world looks on unperturbed. If I were to be the president of the world, I would abolish all weapons of mass destruction. However, since I am not, and would never be, I think I would be able to abolish hatred on my street.

Spreading a little love around need not bring any ills to the giver, and while I go to work daily afraid of a bomb going off by a crazed Jihadist, I still have hope that one day, all that ails the world would soon be forgotten.

I know we can’t choose where we come from but we can choose where we go from there.

I remain your loyal friend. 🙂

NP: I have missed several posts from some of you, please bear with me friends. This new adventure I’d recently embarked upon (writing two novels at once) makes me search for time, but I would find it and visit your lovely sites soon!

Much love, always! 🙂

Yet Another Day…

Jan3

I wish your lives would be bright this year!

‘The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.” Abraham Lincoln.

I love new beginnings, the ability to start again and I think that’s what excites me most about a new year, every January, I tend to have lofty visions of what I want to achieve, projections and expectations. Some years, I meet my targets and other years, well, life just happens.

Not that I’m bothered, I always shrugged my shoulders and think, ‘well, I have yet another day.’

And that’s what a new year is all about, yet another day.

2015 is not different, I have visions, but there is a change in me – I really want to enjoy this year, I have that determination to be happy, live each day at a time. Humans are essentially creations of habits, we tend to have certain ways of doing things and I’m not different. However, this year, I want to step out of my comfort zone and do something different (positive things! 🙂 ) that I wouldn’t normally do.

I also want to use this opportunity to appreciate you all. 2014 was a year that I went through a few personal struggles which most of you know about, but that’s what makes life what it is, sometimes unpredictable but overall enjoyable. Your love is what makes this earth a better place to live. I am grateful for your kindness friends, thank you everyone!

I love how Abraham Lincoln put it simply, ‘The future is living one day at a time.’ How right he was…

What visions do you have this year? I would really love to hear from you my friends.

I wish you a Happy New Year, I hope this year would be filled with love, laughter, and peace!

Much love, always! 🙂

The Double C

Dec17

This picture calms me down, I’ve stared at it for days, it’s so beautiful!

(Photo Credit: Flickr)

This year would be the first Christmas without my dad. Apparently, it’s been eight months since his passing and I should have gotten used to it now but it hurt most when I know I can’t hear his voice. We were quite close and as this year is slowly rolling to an end, I wished I could hear him call my name softly; just one more time! *sigh*

I miss you dad!

However, acknowledging my grief was a good thing, and it has helped me on the road to recovery. Some days, it was unbearable, other days I limped through it. Then last week, while I was doing the dishes and listening to a song called ‘hallelujah,’ I was overwhelmed and burst into tears but my spirit then envisioned my dad at peace and with Jesus, immediately, my tears stopped and I felt better than I had in months. I still miss him, and it still hurt, but I have that confidence that he’s at peace.

I hope I’m not dampening your Christmas spirit, if I am, just stop reading, 🙂 but there’s a miracle in blogging to friends whatever situation you’re in. A trouble shared is a trouble solved, I think I’ve read that somewhere. 🙂

Now with that off my chest, I saw this picture about two days ago and I absolutely love it. Christ is real, and He’s the reason for Christmas, that’s why I titled this post the double C, ‘Christ for Christmas.’ I don’t think political correctness should still be at play in this beautiful season, and if it is, that’s a shame.

I love this picture

I wish everyone a beautiful and Merry Christmas, to all my Christian friends, I pray the Joy and hope Jesus gives would be yours forever, to my non-Christian friends, I wish you a peaceful and happy holidays.

Much love, always! 🙂

The Hagglers

Nov25

(Photo credit: Flickr)

***

When the world haggle senselessly,

Stoning themselves with hatred endlessly,

I simply laugh continuously.

They fail to see my beauty

They fail to see my work.

They only see their evil

splattered all over their world.

I weep for my clouds,

I weep for my mountains.

My hills groaned with displeasure.

as my leaves danced with agitation.

When will sons see their foolishness,

and embrace joy?

Until I steal the wind? Or make

my rivers dry?

They haggle for the price of peace,

when they only need to love.

********

I rarely watch the news, but I love reading newspapers and when I do, I’ll check BBC website on my laptop for updates which is ironic, because at the end of the day, I still watch news, albeit, reluctantly. This simple poem didn’t follow any pattern but it just came to me when I saw this stunning picture. I want to celebrate the earth, so I take the place of a creator bemoaning the stupidity of His creations. I hope you like it.

To all my American friends, I wish you ‘Happy Thanksgiving,’ in advance, and to those caught up in the Ferguson riots, please keep out of it and stay safe.

Enjoy the rest of the week friends!

Much love, always! 🙂