UNHEARD CRIES

Lately it has been kind of hard to get my thoughts together and craft a remarkable piece worth reading, but here I am today, inspired and motivated by some of my peers; by the strides they’ve been making to make the world a better place, the best way they know how. Some with their amazing writing skills, others with their creativity in all forms of Art and others by simply believing that anything is possible and that a journey of a thousand miles begins with just one step.

During this pandemic, we all need someone to lean on, something to destruct us from the new normal and motivation to make it to the other side of all this. The decisions we make now are the key as to how we get through this pandemic. What is worrying is that we’ve got powers making those decisions for us and they are not all in our best interests.

Today I feel for the kids who can’t afford e-learning but are still in competition with those who can, the parents who are trying as much as they can to provide for their families but lockdown has made that impossible, the families who have been rendered homeless by our very own government and to everyone who has felt nothing but oppression due to the set Covid-19 regulations seeing as they seem to benefit the high and mighty. Take heart and cling to the little hope you have left that there is a higher power watching over his people, it might not look like it at the moment but this is not the time to lose faith, your cries will be heard; keeping in mind that religion is the sigh of the oppressed, the heart of a heartless world and the soul of soulless conditions.

Self-preservation is a basic human instinct but we don’t really need that right now. As much as we are observing social distancing, let us not neglect others coz we need each other now more than ever. It’s high time we became more attentive and observant of the ones close to us and those who might have fallen victims to this pandemic one way or the other so as not to miss their Cries for Help. Covid-19 has already claimed lots of lives; let’s not add Covid Induced Depression to the list of worries, at least not when we can do something about it. As Patoranking one said; SPREAD LOVE AND HEAL THE WORLD.

BELIEVE

CHANGING THE NARRATIVE

I remember back in high school we used to have these motivational speakers who used to come to school every now and then with the aim of changing our mindset and brightening our future by instilling hope for a better tomorrow. I was never a fun of such talks reason being, the stories were always the same. It was just like watching a script over and over again and the only thing that changed was the characters, but never the story. 

My greatest hobby is watching and I’ve come to note a commonly used term in movies; that is ‘supplies’. To some it can mean foodstuffs but to others it can mean armory/weapons. Same thing applies to dreams. You can’t tell people to follow their dreams without actually defining what a dream really is in the context you’re using it. The only dreams most of these youngsters have are just ‘wet dreams’ – metaphorically speaking; and then you’re surprised why fornication is now the new normal. I would say that they’re out here following their dreams just as advised by these ‘mediocre’ motivational speakers. We can only dream of what we can imagine and most of the time our imagination can be quite limited when it comes to our perception of a better tomorrow. 

You might have noticed that the baseline to every successful person is how he started off poor and the unthinkable things that he had to go through to get to where he is. Never have I ever heard a person say that he was brought up in a family were everything was handed to him but still emerged successful in the society as opposed to turning into a ‘spoilt brat’ as it is expected by most. 

I long to see the day when the story of a rich kid from the city who made it in life without any foul play will be just as inspirational as that of a poor boy from the village who through his struggles, also made it life. A world where not every achiever will have to stand in front of an audience and all he can narrate is his sad story about how he grew up in poverty which gave him no choice but to work his ass off to beat all the odds and became someone relevant in the society.

It’s a changing world which in turn demands a change in the way we do things and also how we tell our stories factoring in every imaginable scenario possible. It’s about time we let go of the old ways and embrace new ones. Do things and tell our stories differently to the extent that when we stand in front of people to tell our success story, they don’t start guessing what we are about to say. Just as I did back in those high school motivational talks. Let’s be the change that the narrative needs.

The Change the Narrative Needs

IN THE SHADOWS

It’s been a while since I published an article here, and today is all about you. We often find ourselves in the shadow of others; putting them before ourselves. Some may call it being selfless but to me that’s not so. I've often found myself referring to it as operating behind the scenes. Just like in those movies you love but you never get to know the production team, just the cast.
You have no idea the kind of opportunities you can miss out on while standing in the shadows thinking that you’ve earned it. Feeling invisible to others believing you deserve it, afraid to let yourself be heard. If someone was to ask, what are you waiting for?
Climb over the walls that you fear, find you place in the world and leave all the doubts behind. And step in to the light. Shed the skin that you’re in not hiding who you are any more. Spread your wings and follow the path to your identity. Speak out, give those ideas that you’ve been holding back. Stand up for yourself and never think less of yourself, not even a bit. Say goodbye to the person you’re hiding and ignite the real you by stepping into the light.
Always putting yourself second. Ignite. Who knows what or who you might illuminate in the process!
Be your own greatest motivation.

STEP OUT OF THE SHADOWS

IT'S A LIE

Let’s talk about what you see on the social media. Or better yet, what you think you see on social media. I would hate to break it down to you that most of what you see is staged just to impress. As you might have noticed, no one is poor on social media apart from those conmen who post pics of poor kids just to solicit money from unsuspecting social media users. Though am not saying that all those posts are from conmen, some are very genuine but you never know. Better be safe than sorry, just saying.

Most people on the social media like being on the spotlight but what they don't want to show you is that they are struggling behind those digital cameras they use to amplify their looks to look like someone who is already self-actualized. Now the trouble comes in with these innocent followers who like to compare themselves to the social media personas trying to copy their lifestyle. I would like to bring to your attention that no one ever posts his/her failures.

Most of these social media personas are living a lie and they'll make you feel like you have done nothing meaningful with your life. These are the kind of people who will take a hundred photos and choose the best of all to post just because it makes them look better than the other 99. This has provided ground for invidious feelings. The jealousy that a former colleague or classmate is living the dream life while you are just the same, not progressing or struggling to make it. This is the time when depression creeps in without you knowing that you are comparing yourself to a fake life that someone else is showing you.

So basically what am trying to say here is that, lets live our lives the way it is and not trying to be like a certain social media persona. You have no idea what these people are struggling with behind the camera, off social media. I have been a victim, I wouldn’t want you to be too.

Don't compare your behind the scenes with everyone else's spotlight.  What they are showing you is a LIE. Be the most of you you can ever be.

This is all staged to impress. you have not seen behind the scenes.

THE JOURNEY BEGINS

What better way to begin than taking a trip down memory lane to those days when we were younger. Life was very simple with no worries at all. You didn't have to worry about what you're going to eat or wear or how you look. You didn't have to worry about tomorrow coz you just lived in the moment knowing that someone is looking out for you. But then growing up came and ruined everything. Now you have to worry about how you look, what other people have to say about what you do; you worry about almost everything and that is when reality hits you hard and you just miss how fun and free your childhood life was.  You wish you could go back there even just for a day. So many things you could have done differently...even saying no to growing up if it was an option (I would definitely do that).
But since we're all grown up right now, we just have to focus on the here and now and let tomorrow take care of itself for if something is meant to be, it will be.

Am not a writer, but I can be a story teller. So come journey with me as I share real life situations that might inspire you in one way or the other. Just as figuring out that growing up has always has always been overrated.

Feel blessed.

This is as far as my childhood memory can take me.