modern day terrorist

we live in a world that is pre-occupied with human rights and the individual. a world that says the expression of the person, the i, is more important of the greater good. we have become so selfish and intertwined with ourselves that it has become impossible to distinguish right form wrong. a world that says discipline is not important. we ignore. we chose not to see. we read of rapists walking free. human trafficking and the slave trade alive and kicking. politicians turning the blind eye and lining nothing but their own pockets. our future looks grim. our children the ones that will suffer. what are we leaving behind. is it not time we stand up for a better tomorrow. regardless of your colour or creed. regardless your country or religion. the time has come for common sense to prevail. for the sake of our children. before their future disappears. we have become modern day terrorists in our own right. we use manipulation to get what we want. we maneuver. we plot. we plan.  we focus only on what we want. our own needs. our own greeds. when last did you consider the need of another before your own comfort. we are causing our own downfall if we don't stand up for what is right. soon it will be to late. we are allowing the fabric of our society to be crippled and polluted by "pseudo" honourable ideas. on the surface it all looks good. yet we swallow the lies. we eat the deception.we are too focused on our own things and believe it is up to the others to fix things. we have pushed the self-destruct button. even on our own lives. emotionally. we have cut others off. burnt bridges. we have dived into the dark abyss of self pity and strife. life has never been this dark. not on the outside. but even worse...not on the inside either. take control. take responsibility. don't outsource your future to someone who is not concerned with your interests. start by making a small difference. cos the small difference will lead to bigger change.

outward focus

we live in times where very few people know their purpose in life. few of us take the time to sit down and ponder this question that leaves most of us with the feeling of inadequacy. we live in a society that feeds our needs and greeds with more than we can acquire or consume. we have become obese filled with our own selfish consumerist lifestyle. our eyes are blind and our ears blocked. we don't hear the cries of the people we trample under our feet. we march on towards a pseudo dream or goal. lust filled hearts. driven by a worldly prescribed form of success. the rat race. we curse the slow driver. forever in a rush. every email marked urgent. only smart phones. no more smart people. burning our proverbial candles from both sides. outgrowing our friends. broken relationships. no more quality time. abandoned families. alienated. distant. alone. lonely. obsessed with success. striving for the next promotion. a bigger salary. no more satisfaction. everything has become fake. plastic. empty. meaningless. our hearts and emotions have become seared. blunt to the greater cry out and around. the lady crying in the parking lot. the abused four year old. the depressed secretary. the boss going through divorce. have we become so insensitive. have we completely lost the plot. what ever happened to neighborly love. or common decency. perhaps if we care less about ourselves and a little more about others around us. perhaps then the world can be a better place. perhaps if our focus is outward. putting others first. esteeming them higher than ourselves.

lovesong

we could have been stranger on the bus
like ships passing in the night
our paths might never have crossed
what a tragedy that would have been

our fairy-tale has been written
the script scattered across the sky
our story a perpetual lovesong
of time to come and times gone by

never did i imagine, never dream
that my heart would be forever yours
i still remember the hardness, the wall
excluding everyone before my fall

but you made loving easy
not looking back, forsaking all
the mystery so perfectly made
a lifetime of unwrapping the person that is you

cos ours is a perpetual lovesong

a dark soul

there comes a time when you look in the mirror and you are not particularly impressed with the way things have turned out. you stand there amazed at the face staring back at you. not so much the physical appearance. but rather the dark and sadness in the eyes. you thought you were a happy-go-lucky kind of guy. you can fool a lot of people around you. but when it comes to facing up to your inner man there is no hiding the truth. those eyes don't lie. they speak from a dark place deep inside your soul that once was the fuel of your everyday life. a place you though you have left behind. a place you've turned your back on. sorted out. never to see the light of day again. then years later it shows its ugly face again. some people call it depression. but it is not really that. it is something worse. far worse. i like to call it the spirit of death. it is that place in your soul that thinks it can take over and cause havoc and destruction. it is a self-inflicted wound that refuses to heal. it brings hurt and rejection to the surface of a decaying broth. it remains unpredictable. you feel as if your life is spinning out of orbit and that all control has been lost. yet there is an Answer to this. the Answer will never leave you nor forsake you. the Answer will complete the good work He has started in you. the Answer = Jesus Christ.

if you are south african - you need healing

 

the process of healing starts with acknowledgement of the need for it, but for many the level of woundedness is so deep that they need to be supported in order to acknowledge their pain. strong and effective leadership is essential to encourage a movement towards the quest for healing. when that acknowledgement is blocked for whatever reason, the emotions which have an impact on the immune system, the neurological system, the circulatory system, the whole body, trigger psychological changes such as blood pressure, temperature, digestion and end up making the whole body ill. there is always a tight relationship between the illness we suffer and the emotions we express or suppress. it is sometimes difficult to explain why South Africa should be so focused on social pain from the legacy of the past, given that other post-colonial African countries have also suffered discrimination and oppression. my own view is that most Africans in post-colonial Africa are also affected by social pain but the difference between SA and the rest of the continent is the extent and impact of social pain. the visibility of the stark differences between lives of grinding poverty and those spent in comfort and conspicuous consumption rubs salt into the wounds of those enduring social pain. given its advanced urbanised economy relative to the rest of the continent, SA has created intimate proximity between the haves and the have-nots in which domestic and other menial workers are daily witnesses to, and servants of, the lives of the wealthy. black South Africans have alwyas been essential to the creation, maintenance and prosperity of the privileged lifestyles of their white compatriots. they have always been part of the intimate domain of homes, hospitals, retirement facilities where they have rendered essential services. they were constantly subjected to the humiliation of being denied the dignity of sharing entrances, utensils and other basic facilities with their fellow citizens. for example, simple issues such as a clean flushing toilet for white people versus a smelly long-drop for black people working in the same company or household from part of the painful memories of many. or black mine workers having to live in an overcrowded mine hostel whilst white colleagues enjoy family homes. it is relative deprivation in SA that makes inequality so painful for so many and the social pain so deep and so widespread in our society.

(from Conversations with my Sons and Daughters by Mamphela Ramphele)

social pain

modern psychologists are becoming increasingly aware that "human beings are wired for inter-connectedness". some authors go as far as to suggest that social connectedness is a need as basic as air, water or food. the lack of a sense of social connectedness may result in deprivation that is expressed as social pain, which is to be understood as suffering caused by harm or threat to social connectedness. it is a form of emotional or psychological pain. bereavement, embarrassment, shame and other hurt feelings are types of social pain. people who have or are suffering from social pain tend also to suffer from low self-esteem which sets off a vicious cycle of not being sociable or fun to be with. affected individuals are often seen as brooding, undesirable social partners which compounds the sense of being marginalised and excluded.

(from Conversations with my Sons and Daughters, by Mamphela Ramphele)

reflections of our times

the "doing" has overtaken the "being". our homes have become empty and dull. there is a lack of "genuineness" in our conversations. there is an ever growing inadequacy to communicate between generations. we have become too busy to stop and listen, to reflect and celebrate our being together. our homes, families and societies have become empty and void. frenetic schedules are not confined to our parents, but has also been passed on to our children with unhealthy expectations placed upon all to over perform or out perform the proverbial "Jones clan" from next door. our lives are increasingly programmed to include a significant proportion of our time outside the family circle and we are increasingly missing out on the joy of just being together and marveling at the beauty  of togetherness. the kitchen table is empty and the fire side seats are cold. the sharing of experiences and ideas has grown dim as older generations and younger ones alike abstain from cross-generational interactions. what are we teaching our children? what example are we setting?
(thoughts of Mamphela Ramphele)