MANDELA ALWAYS ALIVE.

MANDELA LIVES ON….ALWAYS WILL

Now am writing this when the whole world is worried about whether or not Nelson Mandela will make it out of hospital this time round since he has been ill for a  while. Actually, several news agencies have pronounced him dead, while others have news that his condition is critical but stable. So I have chosen to stay off Facebook, twitter, television, internet and all media that could put me on edge about this Great Man.

Nelson has been a Mentor to me and I don’t appreciate  the portrayal of him being dead one minute, and alive the next minute, more like that of the frog king in the animation Shreck.

I have known him to withstand harsh conditions  like the many years in jail as you all know, and on several occassions has he been ill and in hospital and yet survived. But am not writing about that which all or most know, though.

It’s rare that a living hero treads the earth in our midst, and I really hope he remains so for a little longer. So I ask the Media to back off and let the man be, unless the doctors communicate otherwise!!!!!! Even upon his death, I am sure that his place in the abode of the likes of Mahatma Ghandi, Mao Zedong, Julius Nyerere, and others in that trade is clearly set. He will still be a hero, a much bigger hero actually.

Many of the Leaders who fight to liberate a nation from an abyss of oppression of sorts tend to want to 'own' their nations. They cling unto power; grow greater and meaner ;until that which they fought for is lost somehow in the cloud of the new ways they adopt. They stay till revolution takes them out, death, and what they fought for is watered down and their own supporters start to view them in a despicable, un-trusting, condescending perspective. They forget the merits their presidents formerly fought for, for reasons already stated….I could mention many I think are in these brackets, but I will not taint my article with their names, even for the local ones.

Mandela however, after gaining the freedom from apartheid, he let the people enjoy it,  retired, and took the role of reference, reverence, authority and respect that many in the previous brackets will never enjoy. It is said that every country in the world has something named after this man. Now isn't that great?? Such authority, power, influence, worldwide!!!!!!! I wouldn't question that.

Now his life has always justified my coinage of ‘Breaking out of the cage of commons’. He broke out of that cage of greed, blind ambition, extortion, selfishness that surrounds many currently. And the purpose in his battles was not lost.

I am sure everyone has their own story to tell about the Great Mandela, so I will not say any more. I trust that most accounts of this man are very true.(and yes, he calls the queen of England by her maiden name, and can get an American president out of  a serious meeting for over 30 minutes just to listen to him) not to dilute my aim or lose purpose in my cause, I will end here. In short, I will always seek to break out of the cage of commons like the one man I look up to Mandela.

If by the time you read this he is gone, I say RIP, and I will always live to cherish His memory. If not, I say KUDOS MADIBA, YOU ARE ALWAYS A FIGHTER…GOD BLESS NELSON MANDELA.

Life is short… cliché indeed this expression is,

But the truth there in is too true

For futile yours will be when nothing is left to remind

Those later living of how useful you spent the short time,

Kids you may have yet, but the worst critics they are

Looking to you and finding no mentor-ship to emulate,

Yet consoling themselves in the fact that you are their parent.

That I find harsh and bitter for a soul that seeks rest

My mark I prepare differently

Even with no kids,

 many a kid will want to be like me

Even yours, if yours are but only the procreation mark…

Short and well lived it should be

So that they miss you even when they knew you not

Or were born ten decades into your grave..

From your pot let them sip. Mark the world with you stain

One customized to betray your trade…..

An adorable and beautifying one it should be...

                                                                                                

Uganda Martyrs.

The Uganda martyrs

A humble people; Charles Lwanga and companions,

Driven by a relentless conviction,

Call it naive following or blind faith,

They set an invaluable example of faith..

Their heroic sacrifice, for an ideal only but new to them,

Neither fire, spittle, ostracism nor death scaring them;

Withstanding Threat and persecution…

Holding on to the heavenly reward,

Being killed; by fire and beating; and not flinching,

They exemplified virtue,

Purity in simplicity; love; the ultimate sacrifice

Now we celebrate their victory,

The fruits of their foresight…

We bask under their umbrella sanctity,

They shade graces upon us,

Make worthwhile our spiritual journey

And our convictions they strengthen.

May we lead in their example,

Be purified and purged in our flaws

So that we too can be worthy of the Ultimate kingdom.

Happy martyrs day.

A LAMPOON OF YOUTH URBANISM






A lampoon of youth urbanism




It’s neither once nor twice that many humans have the indispensable urge to be remarkable before others, despite the methods they have to adopt to attain this state. A state that nourishes one with self-gratification and satisfaction. The bone of contention is borne out of how many of them decide to attain this splendour.

Basing on old told yarns and chronicles of parents growing up, I picked one rather interesting aspect of gallantry as possessed by some of the current 'grown-ups' ,as teenagers about two or three generations ago: The boys used to let their handkerchiefs hang from their pockets especially in public places so that notice is taken of them, clad in buggy clothes and espousing a colonial gait to betray a practiced grace …. The lasses on the other hand, like today, made a point in clairvoyant saunter and twisting in the decently long gear fashioned in a pioneered Elizabethan manner. The hair was usually neatly combed with hot broken pot pieces and oiled so that it glistened in the rising and setting sun and all that she passed by would silently acclaim by turning to behold the passing ‘breeze’ one more time… how decent at the time.

As times change however, the alteration has been for the worst, or should I say, revolutionary in ways that the girls of the passing generation, and the evolving one dress to leave nothing to the imagination… the minis, leggings… name it. The lads adopt smoking, bouncing like fully inflated plastic balls and they want to be dressed in a gangster version, and the language is dominated by slang, gestures and an accent that our parents only need serious tutoring to fathom what is being communicated by their off springs. This analogy however does not cast a microcosm of society. There are exceptions to it. The decent, well bred, learned, ambitious and self-conscious.(need I say like me?? That’s for you to decide)

This only serves to justify the philosophy that the parents give birth to the body and not the brains, and that one has to do their own growing no matter how tall their father is or was.… of course this applies to a few, but the vast majority of well-bred youths seem to boast an estimable level of decency, at least for this century.

Funny that I am rather indifferent to the cries of parents that, ‘children are not as they used to be in our time’ and the youth thought that their parents are ‘old fashioned’ or ‘colloquial’. So, my question is borne from that conflict: what is the best way to be remarkable with little injury to social decorum and disposition suicide????

OMODING GEORGE EPHRAIM…

ATTITUDES

Positive attitude to conquer youth problems

Positive attitude to conquer youth problems? I once asked an adult; a retired educator of the English language, 'what will it take for me to overcome the problems am experiencing as a youth and those am yet to experience without being overwhelmed by them?' His response was plain, 'choose the best attitude in all you do.’ Habit will make it pleasant for you to handle your problems. A build up onPythograth (a 6th century B.C mathematician and philosopher.) philosophy.

Startled, I wondered how mental activity could materialize into solutions; could a good attitude give jobs, capture drug addiction? Would it really materialize to conquer the numerous woes? I thought the old man mentally senile actually, for I needed practical advice like taking to the street when unemployed, burying worry in Dutch courage, that is , drinking my head away,... you know what I mean. 

In my expedition, I came across literature from one doctor, author and encyclopaedist George .D. Pamplona.Roger, who equally stated that a mental equilibrium is a paramount factor of health, riding oneself of worry , grudges against others, or even oneself, confidence and a sempiternal smile in facing life's struggles brings optimism and patience for the toiling. According to a scientific analysis, it was discovered that cancer affects more often the depressed or the ill-humoured. Did this mean that the ill-humoured are more prone to being overcome by youth problems?

He asserts that gaining an inner peace while plunged in the cataclysm of the many tensions is not an easy task, but can be attained in means like faith. The church indeed has a role to play, in the gospels, the inspiration from readings, one often gets consoled. In private meditations, self-evaluation and examination, a youth is able to know their capabilities, fears and weaknesses, and like the philosophy goes, knowing and accepting a problem is a big leap to solving it.

This awareness and belief play a significant role, therefore, in quenching the heat of our agitated feelings, resulting from unemployment, addiction, frustration, anger, and other problem  s we suffer as youths. When one lives in firm confidence, hope and belief that they are victors, they persevere, and it is crowned by a conviction that there is someone above them who understands their atrocities and loves them. David Padfield sums up all the youth problems as "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" (1 John 2:16). That the problems are the same as in ages ago and so are the solutions, only that they some wrapped up a little differently.

Indeed a good mental disposition and peace of spirit enables one face the battles of youth as they all seem to be mentally borne. According to 'The Power of Positive Attitude' by Remez Sasson, he states, 'Positive attitude helps to cope more easily with the daily affairs of life. It brings optimism into your life, and makes it easier to avoid worry and negative thinking. If you adopt it as a way of life, it will bring constructive changes into your life, and makes them happier, brighter and more successful. With a positive attitude you see the bright side of life, become optimistic and expect the best to happen. It is certainly a state of mind that is well worth developing and strengthening.'

With this enlightenment, I realized that the old man was sane and I was the mentally incompetent one, because many different people could not agree on the same wrong philosophy, if it were wrong anyway. With this, we will chose friends, not for stupid reasons like cheap popularity in belonging to a gang, but in modesty in order to mutually help one another develop.

Sometimes teenagers allow the people of the world to determine how they will dress. But a positive attitude will still avert the problems of adultery by desire for one in immodest apparel as many will have modesty in dress.

Mates , young newlyweds will develop character hence remember their wedding vows , love, honour and cherish their spouses, even in the most trying of circumstances of life, it would curb the problem of fear to marry, divorce or sexual immorality for the older youth already married. It yields obedience to parents, respect for authority, listening and seeking advice from parents. It could establish a communication that could avoid the occasion of collision with pant. 

I was further advised to seek particular advice in order to be knowledgeable enough in making decisions, especially in the confusion of career choice. The role I was charged with was that of creating a self that I would be proud of later, and not to solely be what others want me to be. That meditation could lead to discovery of talents that I could use to develop not only myself, but also others around me. With that, i realised that indeed our education, despite its relevance, had clipped the feathers of our creativity to the extent that we became too theoretically learned to apply the education that we spent half our lives pursuing.

I had spent so much time in the blame game, branding many bother people, things, situations, name it, for whichever shortcoming I encountered in my life. This negative tendency bogged down my incentive to fight my own battles, taking whatever failure as a blessing in disguise was never a part of me. But now I know that it is my role to change my attitude and socket for progress.

'A positive attitude leads to happiness and success and can change your whole life. If you look at the bright side of life, your whole life becomes filled with light. This light affects not only you and the way you look at the world, but also your whole environment and the people around you. If it is strong enough, it becomes contagious.' That is the theme I follow today,

If you have been the negative type being followed by a multitude of woes, be not retrogressive like I was to the old educator. It is time to get rid of negative thoughts and behaviour and lead a happy and successful life. If you have tried and failed, it only means that you have only not tried enough, but are better than many who have the ability, but have not the will to harness the resources endowed Uganda for their own engrandisation. They keep the paradox of poverty in plenty a recurring factor in a nation like Uganda.

LIFE CHOICES

The choices in life and self discovery 

Its not often that I sit down to ponder at the paradox of the choices that we make in life, their origin and how we end up eventually. However, it occurred to me one day when I was faced with a scenario that I feel worth sharing. I am a student volunteering as a part-time tutor of English language in one of the schools in the country (Uganda) and I did a combination that had history, divinity literature and economics. One day I returned home and found my mother with one of the qualified teachers at home. Little did I know that she was my visitor and when I sat to talk to her, she told me to draw an art piece that she would use. It was general family knowledge that my average mark in art had been 35% and here I was with a task to draw!! Ironically, my mother who knew my weakness kept egging the lady on and saying that she thought I could do that which was before me. I kept silent. Later that day, I had to find a friend that had excelled in art to draw the piece which I took to this lady. "this is nice!" she exclaimed. "I will keep disturbing you for more..." she added. Now look what my mother was putting me through! 

This may sound weird but in real life, there are times when parents run the lives of their children even to directions that they may not be suited for just because they want them to be a particular kind of people and they ignore the fact that they could be wrong for once at least. Funnier to note is the fact that some children will swing to this rhythm until later they discover what they actually want and yet the time for effecting a real difference has long lapsed. Moen, a friend of mine, whose father owns an architectural firm was determined to be of a similar trade as the dad for he had been involved in its work often times. The conflict developed with his interests in school in that he seemed to gravitate more to the debating society and the writers club. He was not only ardent but also proficient in these societies. He even preferred to do technical drawing, mathematics, physics in his high school. However, all his free time was spent in the faculty of the arts chatting with the literature, history and divinity students. He never enjoyed much of what he did. Lo and behold!!, today he is doing a diploma in law. I still wonder where the architect in him went, or should I say the architect he had wanted to be, in order to carry on the family business. He is one among the many.

Objectively, I think that it is only wise that parents leave their children to have some bit of soul searching and self discovery and not plant decisions in their way that may end up making the children's lives but a misery. In an interaction with a gentleman that runs a shop of music and movie equipment, he told me that he had done a degree in environmental science and took it to his parents for it is what they wanted and not his desire. His passion is in music and his hairstyle is a signature of this. If all parents do not desire such, then they should carefully guide and talk to their children from informed perspectives based on the interests that their children seem to subscribe to.

If that lady had brought me a task of writing a poem or composition, I would have been more than glad to oblige and I would fire at all cylinders to do my utmost best for it is therein that my interest lies unless of course I discover that am good at something else or abstract art that can not appeal to the human eye...., all am trying to say is that I have never been good at it and I realize I am good at something else for all humanity is endowed with different talents ... thank you..

 OMODING GEORGE EPHRAIM

EPHRAIM

the author of this blog is the one that appears in the picture therein....sip from his drops of thought...

DREAMING

DREAMING…..Limmerick

My dreams rise before me

Long nights stave off loneliness

On my back I move to the furthest of places….

My projections are real and limitless

I am senseless in my efforts therein.

Not sentiment, emotion or fear stands in my way

I wonder away far far away……

I behold the most heroic of welcomes there.

All bow to me and all I need I get

That’s not just as good as it gets

Respect flunks me,

Beauty loves me

Wit seems to be my breath

And death so far away…..

How I wish this were not just a limerick!!!!!!!