Tag Archives: Relationships

Chasing Humans: A Poetic Film

”Human life is as evanescent as the morning dew or a flash of lightning.’‘ – Samuel Butler. I agree because life and love is a journey. Find out more in this short documentary I wrote and directed with a friend.

 

Here’s a transcript of the film:

Life is a journey, and it starts with a cry… the cry of a new-born baby. It ends with moans, groans, or the contented sigh of an older man or woman who’s led a fruitful life.

Or it can end in running feet, a chase, a stab, searing pain, blood splattered on the sidewalk, the cold street receding away as a young life flitter away into nothingness…

A life cut short…

Humans are chasing humans and killing without thought or regard for the pains inflicted on unfamiliar people.

Life can end well, or, it may end in tragedy.

Twenty years ago, I got married to the man of my dreams, and two years later, I was in the hospital, in labour, and anticipating the birth of my son.

It was a complicated process. A short life, my son passed away two days after he was born.

My life stopped briefly.

I didn’t know how to process my grief. I cried every night, and I prayed every night.

Days passed. Time didn’t wait for my grief. And I healed with the love of my husband and family.

Three months later, there was a miracle.

I was pregnant again. This time, everything felt different, but I was hiding my fears. I smiled openly while I cried and cringed inside, wondering if the new life growing inside me would live, and survive.

Nine months later, I welcomed another son.
He lives. He’s kind and makes me laugh. He’s energetic and loves life. I had two more children, a daughter and another son.

My family means everything to me.

But something is wrong.

I’ve lived in London for over fifteen years, and every time there’s a young life wasted on the streets, I remember the child I lost.

Although my son died as a new-born baby and in different circumstances, I relive the pain every time I read or watch the news of another senseless killing of young people on our streets.

My eldest son is now 17. He’s brilliant and hardworking. He had one of the best GCSE results in his school, and he’s currently studying Medicine at A levels. He wants to be a doctor. Samuel wants to help and make our society a better place for everyone.

But should I be afraid anytime he’s out of the house? Or because of the colour of his skin?

Can I have hope that things will improve, and that love may conquer hatred, racism, anger and the ugliness inherent in the human soul?

My son believes in a better society, a better world.

Rafael Benedetti wants the world to see goodness in him. Fay Beneddeti intends to champion the course of women and family. These people are keen to see positive changes in our society.

Maybe, there is hope Afterall.

I won’t be afraid anymore.

Hope, no matter how fleeting is still better than fear.

Loving humans can be a reality while chasing humans could become a myth.

I hope love wins!

I want life to end well for our young people.

Let’s start from the beginning.

Seyi Sandra David.

 

That Special Dream…

(Photo credit: Flickr)

‘A dream doesn’t become a reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.’ Colin Powell

Everybody has a dream, at least I think so. Some dreams are easy, go to work, come back home, take care of your kids, and you’re clean. Some dreams need getting used to; those kinds involve the lives of others, maybe a nation, a state, or a council.

Take Theresa May, for example, the nation is hooked on her decision, whatever happens with Brexit will go down in history. As a nation, we attach the success or failure of Brexit to the Prime Minister. As the country and the rest of the world waited with bated breath at the deliberations going on at Number 10, I wondered what the Prime Minister must be thinking. As a journalist, I wished I could ask for an interview and ask her how she felt to be in the eye of the storm. And as I penned these words, everyone at the cabinet meeting represents us. And what about the other side of this divorce process? The EU officials in Brussels are also having their meeting while they waited for the UK to announce the decision to either go with the draft agreement or dump it.

When the decisions you make can affect the lives of others, then you have a peculiar dream. You have to climb a pedestal to reach those kinds of dreams and if you fail? You take many people down with you. Those kinds of goals are unique. However, a parent doing two jobs, training her children to be outstanding citizens also deserves an accolade.

I love Oscar Wilde’s quote,

‘To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist that is all.’

You have to live to make a mark in the world, to make a difference. How can we live? How can we find our purpose in life? You can find your purpose in life when you find out what drives you. What do you love doing? My mum loves teaching, she eventually ended up as a teacher and later the head teacher. I have a cousin who loves taking care of sick people; she ended up being a doctor. She goes to the hospital with a smile on her face every morning because she’s found her purpose in life and that gave her the impetus to get up in the morning and make a difference in people’s lives.

I hate slavery of every form. Modern-day slavery, abuse of any kind makes my blood boil. I detest human trafficking and prostitution. I hate every form of injustice. However, how can I correct these anomalies? Through the written word, the dissemination of information. It’s what I call enlightening. People are always afraid of what they don’t know, but when there’s knowledge, a lot of wrongs could be rectified. I believe that’s one of my purposes in life.

A few years ago, on my way home from work, I went shopping. As usual, I bought more groceries than what was on my list. So instead of taking a bus home, I called a cab. Immediately I entered, the cab driver gave me a wide grin. I’ve had a rough day at work, and barely held it together until I got home, I was bone wearied, the epitome of exhaustion, so I wasn’t in a mood for a chat. But my cab driver looked relaxed and was beaming.

‘My name is Shan, Miss, what is yours?’ He asked throwing me a wide grin, and as his eyes darted to the car mirror, our eyes locked briefly. I gave a tired grunt.

I told him my name, and he kept on talking about how he loved London, going to the park with his family and relatives and how he loved his job.

Out of curiosity, I asked,

‘What’s your purpose in life?’

Without hesitation, he answered,

‘To make people happy, to make people glad they entered my cab.’

That caught me off-guard. I thought Shan would tell me about making money and being rich. That cab guy has found his purpose in life.

Have you?

 

Walking The Green Mile

                                                                        (Photo credit: Flickr)

‘The Green Mile’ is a 1996 serial novel written by the prolific writer Stephen King. I watched the movie a few days ago and the finality of the film astounded me. The film also expounded on living, healing, empathy, racism, supernatural, love, and friendship,

Someone once wrote that we’re all on death row, it’s a price we have to pay for being alive. The important thing is, have we lived at all?

Now today, I would like to write about living your life to the fullest. Which brought me to this song ‘Forever Young.’ I loved it when it came out, the only song by ‘Jay-Z’ that I understood, although I must confess I don’t know the lyrics to most of the rapping but it’s a song that filled me with nostalgic memories.

Growing up in the idyllic town of Ilorin in Africa, life was simple and filled with lots of laughter. There was this carefree attitude to things, I believed I would be forever young. I was a bookworm, if I wasn’t singing in the church choir, you’ll find me in choreography practice. I loved my growing-up years.

Now twenty-five years later, things I took for granted then are so important now. The fierce sun blazing relentlessly on my pale skin, the cold December month squeezing the blood out of my lips, running away from my mum after plundering the pantry, checking my dad’s room for loose coins, chasing after my cantankerous brothers, watching horror films with my favourite brother and, daydreaming about the future!

What did I miss? Oh yes, my first kiss! Oh, my! That was something else, and I won’t be getting into that now. I am discovering new memories; I am telling new stories with my family, friends, and people I associate with.

The thing with life and living is, every moment is significant, and we need to cherish it. As we walk down the green miles of our lives, let’s leave a jolly legacy.

I intend to do just that.

I believe everyone would have a wonderful Bank holiday, at least here in the UK. If you’re my friend and reading this from other parts of the world, have a blast this weekend! 🙂

Much love, always!

 

Let Go?

”Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

Leo Buscaglia.

I would be a year older tomorrow. I came home from work today and found myself trawling through some motivational articles to make sense of the impending days ahead, and then I stumbled on the short article below. I believe I should share it and I am keen to find out your thoughts on this though. Do you agree with the author’s point of view? Or maybe you don’t, why?

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‘They say that, at some point, you learn to let go. I must disagree. If it just takes one moment to let go, then you never really held on tightly enough. To a dream. To a goal. To a place. To a person. To anything. I believe that you let go little by little. You let go a little, then hold back on, but with a little less force until you fully release yourself. And the tighter you old on, the more force you let go with. The deeper you dive, the higher you’ll fly. The closer you get, the further you’ll pull away. The weaker you feel, the stronger you’ll become. So do not be ashamed of your weaknesses. We all have them. You must learn to be kind to yourself. You must learn to understand yourself. You must believe in yourself. Never think that you are a bad person. Differentiate between your self-worth and your actions. To say that you are bad is different from saying that you made a mistake. You can’t fix yourself, but you can fix a mistake. And remember, not one person on this earth is perfect. We all make mistakes. We all fall. We all have flaws. We just need to look within ourselves and treat ourselves as humans who are worthy of respect and hope. Do not give up on yourself. Get back up. Be brave. Be happy.”

Najwa Zebain

Najwa is a Lebanese Canadian author who self published her book, ‘Mind Platter’ in January, 2016 by Createspace. She is a deep thinker and writes from a wealth of experience. I don’t know her personally but I sincerely believe in her story.

I hope you’ll all have a fantastic weekend!

Much love, always! 🙂

The Ruins Can Come To Life!

 

‘In life, you can’t walk in a straight line, events have a habit of derailing your plans, so be prepared”.

Peter Nelson.

Well, Peter Nelson was my late dad, and he said these words to me and my husband on our wedding day. Things happen that you may not have control over, so get on with your life.

However, it is easier said than done.

I have experienced loss in a deep and personal way, and in my moment of anguish and pain, I actually believed I wouldn’t be able to go on but I did. Time heals, the pain remains in a way but the miracle of time is that it lessens and you would be able to move on.

This past year has seen huge changes on the global stage, and things would always be changing. My dad’s words always echoed in my mind, ‘be prepared.’ I should be prepared for changes, hopefully, positive changes. Which brings to mind other questions.

How do we truly enjoy life when we’re faced with debilitating circumstances?

Imagine a wife abandoned by her husband, ran off with a younger version of his wife. How would she begin the arduous task of rebuilding her life? Or a woman who fell out of love with her husband and left the family home. How would the man rebuild his life?

What about a young life blighted by drugs? How could such a life be transformed?

The scenarios above may well change. I’ve seen couples on the verge of divorce getting together again, and drug addicts living sane, fruitful lives. Miracles do happen. But often times, we have to create it.

I believe the ruins can come to life.

What miracles are in the offing around you?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend friends!

Much love, always. 🙂

 

A Liar In Heaven

Tobias Amos slid the knife into the drawers, stealing a quick look back. He stared at his hands in dismay; it was as red as the sweet chilli sauce Mama bought a day earlier.

‘Where are you, Tobias?’

Mama’s voice bellowed a few yards away. He scanned the room in nanoseconds; saw the red gown Mama loved wearing on special occasions hanging loosely on the sparsely filled wardrobe. He dashed towards it, yanked it off the rails, wrapping it delicately around his crimson fingers, allowing the blood to soak through, his eyes the colour of a limpid pool.

He closed his eyes and was transported to the events of eighty-six thousand four hundred seconds earlier. He could feel the knife ripping through the supple milky flesh, the bones cracked, the gurgles of blood splintered about the basement like the paintings of Michelangelo. He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down his long scrawny neck.

Mama entered the tiny room, she took in everything, the deranged look on her son’s face belied the calmness she felt. Tobias Amos stood still like a statue, watching his mother’s reaction.

There was an uneasy silence.

‘What have you done?’ She asked in an icy tone, her hands shaking uncontrollably.

There was no answer. He kept his eyes down, all the feeling of conquest and elation he’d felt had evaporated like a mist in the night.

‘Tobias Amos, what have you done?’ This time, Mama inched closer, towering over her whimpering son, whose bravado had dissipated…

******

I haven’t written for quite a while but today, this just came pouring out. I have lots of manuscripts I’m working on, and lumping this with other unfinished projects is a mammoth task. However, I don’t believe in letting a good story plot go to waste. We’ll see how this goes!

I hope you’ll all have a wonderful weekend. I’ve visited several websites and blogs, if I haven’t been to yours, please bear with me, I’ll touch base soon.

Much love friends!

:):)

Somehow… We’re All Connected

 

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(Photo credit: Flickr)

My office is in a prestigious and historic building in Whitehall, and every day on my way to the office, I love saying hello to the cleaners making the place a beautiful sight.

They are as important as the Prime Minister, Theresa May.

Maybe some people might not agree with me, but we’re all important. From the bus driver struggling through the morning traffic to the chef in the restaurant trying to bring sanity to the chaos in the kitchen to the cashier at the grocery store who might endure muffled abuse from disgruntled customers to the care assistant who takes care of  our older relatives or the nursery assistant who has to endure the incessant screams of restless babies and yet, has to smile and reassure parents that all has been well when it hasn’t.

I reckon, we’re all the same.

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The feeling of ”I’m always right and I know everything all” has the hallmark of a ‘jerk syndrome.’ I respect all the men and women holding two to three jobs, trying to make ends meet while also bringing up their children at the same time. They are superheroes.

Now don’t get me wrong, life isn’t a straight line, but it would augur well to appreciate people who appear to be doing menial jobs. I once got into an argument with a former boss who refused to allow his driver in the same lift with him, I didn’t mince my words when I told him in no uncertain terms that he was wrong. You can imagine what happened after that, I got fired? Hell no (forgive my language), he apologised to his driver and increased his pay. Although I later realised that the truth is a bitter pill to swallow.

We’re all connected.

Imagine the scenario where we’re all rich, every single soul on this planet is wealthy. Where would you find the shopkeepers, drivers, butchers, child-minders, just to mention a few? So, why not give that sweaty waitress a sincere smile and the cleaner at your HQ an appreciative grin? Maybe I’m wrong, let me know what you think.

Have a wonderful weekend friends, and may the coming week bring you peace!

Much love, always. 🙂

 

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! 🙂

Time, That Ageless Riddle…

 

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(Photo credit: Flickr)

My father loved time, he once told me that the most precious thing we could ever waste in life is time. He implored me to spend my time wisely on worthy causes, on things that give joy to me as a person, and I’ve adhered to his advice, as a result, my life is rich and fulfilling. When he passed away two years ago, his words still echo in my mind, and now I realised why he valued time so much.

Time is, and will always be a riddle. We can’t own it but we can use it wisely. How are you spending your time? Are you spending it in love? Or in anguish, hatred and discontentment?  Are you filling your days with laughter or sorrow? As we age, we reflect on days gone by, in the midst of our reflections, let’s be mindful of our time, and I think we would live it well.

 

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Finley Peter Dunne had a saying that, ‘the past always looks better than it was. It’s only pleasant because it isn’t there.’ I disagreed with his assertion. In the past, my dad lives, in the present, he’s gone. I’ve made peace with that because he’s safe with God, however, there are moments I still want to kiss his cheeks and hear him call my name. Time claimed my dad, as it would claim us at one time or another.

I love how Horace Mann puts it, ”Lost-yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered, for they are gone forever.” My dad left this earthly realm when I least expected, however, he left me with wisdom beyond my years.

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Today, I watched a new documentary by Morgan Freeman called ‘The Story Of God.’ Freeman explored the afterlife and why human beings are keen to be immortal. To me, my dad is immortal, he lives on in my breath, my thoughts and my actions. He lives on in the memories of those men and women that aren’t even related to him, and I guess when we positively touch the lives of others, we would live on in their memories whether we are alive or dead.

Our time in this part of heaven is limited, we can’t help it but we can make our lives count by being selfless and loving.

Still thinking of you Peter Nelson… Adieu, dad!

My Dad

I hope everyone would have a wonderful week ahead!

Much love, always. 🙂

The Irrefutable Light…

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”We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call to attention their shinning – they just shine.” Dwight L. Moody

What Jesus did and is still doing for humanity is simple. He became our light, he simply allowed himself to align with our frailty, weakness, and mortality and when he did that, we became one with Him when we believe. Jesus is the irrefutable sacrifice, the ultimate hope of eternity. In Him, we have the hope that even though our time in this world is limited, our joy in heaven is limitless.

The international rock star and social activist, Bono’s song about Yahweh capture my mood in this beautiful season, his quote on Christ was spot on. Please watch if you’ve got the time.

”But with Christ, we have access in a one-to-one relationship, for, as in the Old Testament, it was more one of worship and awe, a vertical relationship. The New Testament, on the other hand, we look across at a Jesus who looks familiar, horizontal. The Combination is what makes the Cross.” Bono

I love this song below, it sent me down memory lane.

”Outside of the cross of Jesus Christ, there is no hope in this world. That cross and resurrection at the core of the Gospel is the only hope for humanity. Wherever you go, ask God for wisdom on how to get that Gospel in, even in the toughest situations of life.” Ravi Zacharias.

Jesus is our hope in this world of sin and imperfection. Let Him be your friend, He’s already mine!

I hope all my Christian friends would have a wonderful Easter, Jesus lives! And to my non-Christian friends, I love you still, have  a fantastic holiday!

Much love, always! 🙂