A sense of Urgency

As we approach the end of the year 2009, most people had year resolutions which some did not accomplish them due to some restrictions or circumstances, and for whatsoever reason it may be. We make year resolutions because we know that we are capable for more than what we possess. We want to bring change to ourselves, our families and to others too. We want to tread into our horizons. As people we fall short, we fall short in life, in reaching our desired goals. We fall short because we sometimes lack the sense of urgency.

We speak of new beginnings, of new things and all things that will bring change in our lives. Change is good. New beginnings are best, too. But if u lack a sense of urgency there is less u can achieve. Think of a person who starts a race without a vision of how he will finish it, with no knowledge of where the finish line is. The beginning without the finish in mind is meaningless. The end is always important for any beginning if u have a sense of urgency in mind.

Though this sense need to be created in your program, and it should not just end there, it needs to be recreated again and again to keep you alert of your ends. If u maintains the sense of urgency in u, u will prosper and u will be compliant. You will be compliant in your dealings. You will do things right from the word go and with the ends in your mind and heart nothing can stand your way. With the sense of urgency you realize that life is too short, therefore it is important to prioritize your goals right at the beginning. This will help you to focus on the important things and eliminate things that aren’t.

So 2010 is full of promises, lets begin this year with the ends in mind, with the sense of urgency and with the vision of what we gonna get out of our actions throughout the year. On flip side of things, you can have the ends in mind but if your means aren’t compliant then you will have a problem. So have this sense in mind and be compliant. Make that list for the year 2010 and work on it right now with end results in mind and heart.

Life is extensible

Life is a journey
That needs to be travelled
I got to give it all, wherever I go
Now I gotta spread my wings and fly
Coz sky is the limit.

As I travel I know I’d fall and cry
Good and bad will happen to me
I will meet people I love
And hate others.
I will make friends, true friends
People who will always be there for me

People I wish to be with together, forever
But that’s not how life works
Life is extensible
So I have to be flexible

In life someone has to leave,
To start new adventures,
Where a new life awaits
Then they will have to say goodbye.

Though it might be sad and difficult
It seems unfair when someone leaves.
I personally hate goodbyes.
But sometimes goodbyes are the only way.
Coz everyone has to expand their horizons
And so I have.

New beginnings are great
I have to leave
I got to start something new
I’m not leaving because of you,
Or anyone
But it’s my destiny
Because life is extensible

I have to go,
I must go for I can no longer stay here,
I must expand my horizons.
It’s hard to say goodbye
Coz I have made friends, true friends
I wouldn’t want to leave
But ya!!! This is it.
Good moments do not seem to last.
I feel the pain inside,
But tomorrow I’ll forget about my grief today.

Devotion

she came to my life unexpectedly,
stood by my side assuredly,
no matter what!!!

she’s been there for me,
she has listened to me,
and comforted me.

she showed me a path to righteousness,
she gave me love and tenderness.

never thought I’d meet someone of her character,
with so much courage,
and passion about life.

she’s been like a mother.
she’s done things not even my girlfriend could have done.
she means a lot to me.

never thought we’d relate,
but now we simulate.

i used to walk past her,
without greeting her.
she would walk arrogantly.
but not, she’s part of my life, eventually.
Who is this woman, though?????

Human nature defaults

Strange enough that we are judged by what we do. What we do projects who we really are, that’s what I have noticed in this planet earth. Though the things we do are sometimes driven by circumstances. Good or bad, we sometimes are left with no option but to just do or accept things as they come due to circumstances.

Where there is some doubt, people will tend to choose negative meanings and draw gloomy conclusions – that seems to be a default of human nature. The amendments we choose to take for the conclusions don’t usually turn out well coz people have different meanings on things.

As human beings we make mistakes, though sometimes the minor mistakes tend to paint your whole being in a way that people will make negative conclusions about who you really are from the mistakes you make. I don’t think that’s how things should be. Who are we to judge? Do we judge others because we get judged too? That’s the human nature default. Anyway, I careless what people think of me.

Rejection

From time to time we engage ourselves into some risky businesses, nor risky or not. I mean everything we do or don’t do involves an element of a risk. We tend to forget one thing though, what we venture into might get us hurt or injured both mentally and physically however we walk into it as brave and passionate too. Then when we lose, get injured or be rejected the outcomes usually are the same. We all fear the day it happens yet we all continue venturing into the unknown.

It is true that losing or being rejected by someone makes us feel small, worthless, insecure and unwanted. We feel like the world could just open up so you can hide. We tend to lose our self confidence. We feel like hiding until we feel stronger again…until we feel positive that we can face the world, the people we were rejected in their presence. However, on the flip side, most people like being popular and being loved. It makes us feel good I reckon. Though we sometimes meet vast, different people, some don’t even care what other feel or think about them. Those are the ones who feel down when they get hurt or rejected.

Dealing with rejection is not and will never be easy to anyone. Though how we handle rejection is paramount coz it keeps our self confidence and dignity. Sometimes we make excuses for the person dumping us; we say nasty things about them to make us feel good again…we try to console ourselves. But let me tell you what when you are rejected just move on coz what we encounter in life is an experience (good or bad, it leaves memories and work on them for future references), when you move on you’ll feel stronger than ever, over time. Rejection is good on one instance though, it establishes a sense of learning about our reaction (or emotional intelligence, to be precise).

Our encounters are different in live though, for instance some get rejected from dating, business, or any other spectrum. Let’s take a rejection from dating for example, most people are so not honest and that’s ticks me off. I think transparency is the way to go. A person should just tell when they had enough or if they not getting enough. Let’s learn to call a spade, spade and not a digging tool.

My best advice is that try to track your weaknesses and work on them to keep yourself intact and strong. In that way you will be able to have confidence and then all kinds of rejections will like water over a duck’s back. I’ve been rejected and learnt how to pick myself up from time to time and now I can handle whatever rejection that comes my way.

Marriage refraining

People’s minds are filed with independence,

everyone wants to be independent,

no one wants to feel attachédto anyone.

They talk of marriage refraining,

gone are the days where marriage

was a blessing from God.

People get married for their own individual

benefit and not of both counterparts.

Gone are the days of serious relationships,

of commitment, and dedication,

of respect to our loved ones.

Now it’s all about giving it a try,

and see if it works,

if it doesn’t you leave.

No hard feelings.

It’s just a game, at the end.

What happened to a sense of glooming your partner?

If there’re mistakes, work on them together,

coz nothing beats unity, and solidarity.

Everyone wants to be on their own,

people don’t want to be owned, at all.

That’s what they feel about marriage.

Gone are the days where partners will be-

faithful,

respectful,

and watchful.

The sense of love is vanquished,

there’s no intimacy, nor fantasy.

Most women mourn the death of “love”…

They don’t wanna be involved any more.

They mourn the death of husbands they’ve

been dreaming for, just to refrain from a marriage

marriage they never tested.

It was all an imagination.

I think we should pray to God,

that the spirit of love comes back

we should reminisce the notion that “two” is good than “one”

and that three is better than two,

for those who still believe in polygamy.

We should pray for every marriage to last, for ever.

We should pray for eternal love and

not for materialistic one.

People should feel the sense of being in love,

to be loved back in return.

To be faithful to one another,

to be watchful of each other,

to be respectful to the other.

In this way, marriage refrainance will be diminished.

We’ll enjoy the benefits and pitfalls that come with it.

Time is money (NOT)

“Time is money” that’s what people often say! That’s not true. In business, YES…time is money. So we proclaim!! But what if there was no money in this world, what would it be? I pondered.

     I recently started tracking my time, the things I do or don’t do with it and reached a conclusion that TIME is the most precious commodity that one possesses. In my case, what I do with my time is more compelling than what I do with money. I mean I survived without cash for a couple of months but have achieved a lot with my time investment. I had time, I spent it, I spent it on things I want, and though I did not have time for the things I needed to do like sleeping (enough), eating (healthy) due to circumstances.

     I think time constitutes space, love, and money. For instance, time is space (when you need your own space), it is love (in relationships) and it is money (in the business world). All these subjects are intertwined with time, though. Especially love, when it comes to relationships, one gift you can give to your loved ones is spending quality time with them. “Time is love” quote makes sense when it comes to relationships. Love takes time to create, just as money does.

     Time is money, not. Hence money can be replaced. But time, can not. In my environment I have lost people I love dearly but manage to recuperate that sentiment, I have lost money but replaced it (sometimes and sometimes have not), but one thing I have struggled to replace my entire life is time. No matter how hard I have tried to stay ahead of it I kept trembling. I always wish time can be rewinded...I wish I could turn back the hands of time....there's a lot I could change in my life, things I have done and regreted for. But what happened, happen, I just have to be strong and keep going. I think scheduling your time wisely might be a solution to keep on track with it. To do the right thing, at the right place at the right time.

     Conversely, you will find people who have money but not time. Some have time but not the money. Some have space but don’t seem to have time on their own because their environments are always beset. Some have love but none of other things, but time to spend with the loved ones.

     One of the things I learnt with time is that it does not change but environments we find ourselves do. Time is never wasted but it is spent (wisely or not) and no one can ever relive it. Money or not, time goes on. This “Time is money” equation need to be revived.

the darkest night.....

We’re all excited, jubilant about our ventures. Now, that we are nearing to finish the second lap of the race. Some of us will be job hunting while others who already got jobs will be looking to settle down. However, we can still refer to the two laps we’ve pass- drove from time-to-time as a reflection.

    Everyone is a witness that we have been through ups and downs. We hustled and struggled. Some of us fall and picked themselves up. Some could not rise again. It has been the survival of the fittest.

    Some have seen the light…..they are now working, sum are still job hunting. Anyway that is part of life. We can do the same thing but the repercussions can be different. Anything is possible. Hence, life is like a race, where you need to focus on the curves and caution signs ahead. “Don’t look at others coz your car might tumble”. Unless you been down that road before then you can assist your counterparts.

Reevaluating Our Friends!!!

How many people have come in our lives as “friends” but in no time they just vanish. Disappearing act, if you know what I mean!!! From time to time we meet new people and different types of peeps from different spheres of the planet. They come and go. I mean in my life, so many have come and gone. Though I had to come to terms that friends will come to fulfil a certain purpose in our lives and once their role is accomplished they leave, (*sad face*). Goodbyes are my worst, I hate to say goodbye. But on the flip side when someone say goodbye I feel better then those who just disappear.

It’s very irritating, when you think you got yourself a friend who cares about you, when he leaves…some of them don’t even warn you…they just disappear. It is true that you only see the value of someone once he is gone. We hang around with friends, everything might seem fine and splendid, and you sit down chat with them but we find it hard or should I say we do not even think about reevaluating if you still serve the purpose or play your role as friend or the people around you. Sometimes we don’t even ask when we start a friendship, what type of friends we are going to be? What role one will play in our friendship?

A friendship just happens, and it starts in a number of ways. Some meet at school, some at the malls, some from the same ‘hood’, some at church, you name it! But no matter how you guys meet, know what role one play or possess in your life because you get friends who are there to destroy you. We connect with people easily, we share our experiences. Now with a flabbergasting online media like Facebook, Twitter, Mxit etc, have just made things easier. We even become friends with people you never met before. Those people are called ‘strangers’, but once you mingle with them they are no longer strangers but friends. Warning!!! You should not trust them fully though, LOL.

Personally speaking, I don’t want fly-by-nights friends; I want genuine, long lasting friendships. I want people who are going to be there when I need them most. I want people who care about me, in my circle. If you don’t care about me and have no sentiments, though luck……coz I will race off.

I mean as friends you will go through ups and downs, and sometimes you will go through a rocky patch but true friends stay no matter what. They let you know things will be alright. Even when the sky turns cloudy, when the light is gone, they tell you to stay strong, because they have faith in you, they have faith that the tunnel will light up and you’ll see the light again. These are types of people I need in my circle.

True friends will read between the lines, they will walk beside you and won’t follow or lead you. But how many times do you ever reevaluate your friendship? Reevaluating friendships helps you not to hold firm on to someone who do not serve their purpose anymore, or people who do not see value in you anymore, people who do not care about you. When is the time to do this re-evaluation? I think it is now, because keeping useless people in your circles is a waste of time which can not be replaced. Lost time is like a lost life. Its dead, you will never get it back so why waste time with the so called “friends” you ain’t need no longer? Do some evaluation and let them go!!! “Let it go” is inspired by T. D Jakes.

Watch this space!!!

What it means to watch this space? I have had many people saying this and sometimes get confused if they are threatening me or what. Usually this will appear at the end of ma folks’ texts. But I have just realized that it’s another way to promise something. Like ma oak when we play cards he would say, “today I will bit you, watch this space”.

  As we are nearing to the end of our academic careers there is a lot coming up, though, of course each has their own goals but some of us will join the industry, some will take a break (of which I don’t encourage any of us to), some will run their own businesses, just watch the space!!!

  I have been processing this for a very long time now that as I have been living a student life since I started schooling now it’s about time I adventure other aspects of life which some I have been introduced into, like working, other things I would like to have a piece of are: workouts, sports (soccer, cricket and athletics), traveling, among other things. There are number of other things I want to venture into but watch the space.

  Please be patient and watch this space for other exciting things I want to do, watch out the developments and fantastic ventures I am about to undertake. Watch this space!!!!

Conventional is a good fallback position

Every individual have objectives. These can be short term, mid term or long term goals. As we are in pursuit of our careers we have vast ideas and not all of these ideas will work out the way we want them to. Some of us want to own businesses and others wants to further their academic career in one way or the other. Either way in all of this there might be fallbacks. It is therefore important to have a back up plan for your plans in case the one you have does not work.

My opinionated advice is to be able to adjust and adapt, but most importantly be flexible so that if your plan does not work out then an alternative plan will be your fallback position (which might be conventional). If you play your cards right, you will not be in a situation where you accept anything that happens to you. Conventional fallback position means general standard, normal settings, where one fall into if the original set out one does not work. I for one have been in a situation where none of my plans materialized then I had to do things the conventional way. I had to accept life as it is, you how hard it is to sustain life and not making life. I mean one thing I like about life is that we are given freedom, the opportunity to decide what we wanna do out of it, what we wanna make out of it. Although it has responses to our attempt to make a living and some of those are not good at all.

It does not matter how you fall but if you pick yourself after you’ve fell is better because you realize your mistakes.

I am very fond of this say: “if you are going nowhere in particular, any road will take you there” by Lewis Carroll. Though in life we encounter unconventional things but for the sake of making something in life conventional will be a good fallback position. I think this applies to people who are not proactive. People who live life as it present itself to them.

“Nothing is more dangerous than an idea, when you only have one idea” (Alain)

They say a man without a backup plan does not have a plan at all. As they say that anything is possible in life so, certainly, as human being you will have obstacles in your endeavors and these can hinder you to achieve your goals, be it personal, business or any other. Ideas are just mind thoughts or images one constructs. These ideas should be turned into action. Hence you need to have ideas and not one idea.

So really there is nothing more dangerous than an idea, when you have one idea. An idea keeps one on his toes as you should undertake research on the previous and current ideas and what were the pitfalls if there are any, or if it worked or did not. Do this to balance your state of being because if your idea does not work out you will have repurcussions.

An idea on its own is essential for anybone because it basically gives a person commitment and a direction one can take to put that idea into action. So having one idea is dangerous. It is best to have the second idea where you can actually compare or choose any that will work effectively for you. More than two ideas are better than one because you will have atleast an opportunity to choose between them. Three are even much better because you have a variety to choose from.

D definition of luv

  Every day of our lives we often here the word love: “I love Apple Mac, I love Porsche Cayenne (oh!! dats my favourate car)” and so many other things that people love. But do we really know what love means? I know each man has his own definition of love. In English language love means ‘a strong positive emotion of regard and affection’. Yet other languages like French love means different things for different purposes and these are ‘amour, aime, amtie’.

  We live in a country where our love has one meaning with everything. Where love is no longer a choice but an obligation, we are living in the world where we should love our families no matter what they do to us. Because they are family you got to love them. Same goes with friends we have to love them no matter what they...provided we really love them and they serve our personal needs. (*sigh*). 

  We live in the times where we love one another on performance factors. In your family for example, if you have done something that please your parents then they will tell ‘I love You son’, you’re such a star. That type of love is performance based and it’s not the love from within. Why should we do something to know our parents loves us? How are suppose to people around us if we do not get love from our families? I think parents are the ones who should nurture us and give us unconditional love so that we can transmit the same love to our brothaz and sistaz around us.

  We live in the land where our love is tailor-made by people around us; we do dramatic things to please people in our surrounding. When you go on a date with someone who love horse-riding for example and you never tried or had any interest in it: but because you wanna be with that person you’ll do anything to make her happy, you will pretend that you also love horse-riding. Why do we have to lie to be with people we love? We lie and do things that people love in a way that we even forget about our inner feelings, interests, and we forget who we truly are because we have been venturing other people’s lives and not ours.

  There is nothing worst then to lie to yourself, to live a fake life, a life that is tailor-made by others and not us. They say people can do anything for love. People can go all out to ensure that their lovers “supposedly lovers” stay with them. Things you would not do in your truly state of mind or self being. Why do we have to be shifted from our own way of living to those of other people? We live on the planet earth where some of us can no longer tell who their real selves are. People have lost self identity; they now have false personal identity. Some people are force to tell their partners they love them even they do not feel like just because it makes the other partner feel happy. I think that should come from within and must not be pulled out of ones’ chest.

  Love as any other things is made of various ingredients and these are: truth, love, trust, care, commitment among others. I start with truth because being honest with one another is the core concept of love. You gotta be honest with yourself before you get involved with anyone else because if you enter in a relationship where you only want to fulfil certain purposes of life you just in a wrong relationship and actually you don’t even know what love means.

  You know that sometimes people that loves you do not always do right things, they can hurt you, they can reject you just because they love you, they can do things that even a stranger is capable of because they love you. These things are possible because love does not occur over night; it takes time to know anyone better. So being hurt in a relationship is just the rhyme of love. 

  Love is another essential ingredient for love. Hmmm!! Let me rephrase that, love is the perfect ingredient of love. You can care, trust, commit yourself with someone or on something you love. However, if the element of love doesn't exist there, then you just don't love him/her or it but you probably adore it. One has to learn to love before they emancipate love to others. Love yourself before you love others. But one can only love someone else when they are being loved by the people around them. Only once they realize that they are being loved then they will love back. If people around you don’t love you, how are you supposed to love them?
  Sometimes I wonder who said love gives your partner an authority of control, I mean most people think if they are in love they should control the other counterpart which I don't think it works for any relationship. As much as you would love to spend quality time with your partner but it does not mean that you have control over his/her time or him as a person. Love means compromising, committing yourself and giving one another space, hence, though you can be together in spirit but you still have separate goals and respecting someone else's time just spice things up a bit.  

  To end off, love is God and God is love. God’s love is unconditional so it is important that we give unconditional love to our brothaz and sistaz.

Practise what you Preach!!!!

Nothing is more than a turn off like someone who does not practise what they preach.

I’m sure we are all aware of such people who do not practise what they preach…… these people are more likely to say things and do the opposite. It is not that I don’t do this sometimes, I do but not with the things that will project a negative perception about myself-being. There is a say that which goes like “you are what you preach”. So what ever happened to creating a good image for oneself?

You can back me on the fact that the current media mantra is “going green”, it talks about global climate change = global warming. Our government has been pondering about the The Greenland Dialogue which its aim is reduce the international understanding of the challenges in future international climate policies. However, not too far ago South Africa named the National Heritage Day a Braai Day. Didn’t they? Yes, they did and their main aim is to unite all South Africans by encouraging them to partake in a fun and tangible activity shared by all individuals.

Recently, our president made a speech in China looking for ways to reduce climate change in our country and the world at large. Isn’t this contradictory? I mean how many trees were cut down for the Braai Day so that people can make fire for to braai meat, around the country? The Greenland Dialogue speaks of planting more trees for our health’s sake. Thus, tons and tons of trees were cut down for the so called “Braai Day” celebration. Beside that the pollution on that day caused by the smoke of fires also contributes to the climate change.

While looking at the solutions for the climate change we still continue to spread the problem further, this means we do not practise what we are preaching.

15 mins of fame.......

When I saw this one I giggled!!!!!

Picture: Mollie Kendall

I mean being a world famous for only fifteen mins!!! Hectic is it not? Andy Warhol said, “In the future everybody will be world famous for fifteen minutes” – You can’t choose the 15 minutes but why would you be world famous. “15 minutes of fame (or famous for 15 minutes) is an expression which refers to the fleeting condition of celebrity that grabs into an object of media attention, then passes to some new object as soon as people's attention spans are exhausted. It is often used in reference to figures in the entertainment industry and other areas of popular culture” (Wikipedia).

   Online media has presented numerous possibilities for everyone to be world famous, speaking of twitter, facebook, blogs etc one can be famous. Thanks to the blogs now people can text your name on Google and there comes your name (that makes us celebs for even more than 15 mins).

  Other than that the old traditional media: television, radio and the likes can also make you a world’s celeb for a few minutes. I have been on television (on Your Date With Destiny) more than five minutes I guess and that contributed to my celebrity encounter.

  So I fully agree that everyone in future would be world famous for 15 minutes or more but now I think people can choose when and through which media they can be famous.

Rock Journalism

Frank Zappa quoted that: “Rock journalism is people who can’t write interviewing people who can’t talk for people who can’t read”. On the other hand Wikipedia talks about music journalism as a criticism and reportage about music which began in the eighteenth century as comment on what is now thought of as 'classical music'. This aspect of music journalism, today generally classified as music criticism, comprises the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of music and its performance. However, I eventually came up with this opinionated authoritative information about what I think RJ’s is. Though it nearly turned me into one as well, hence the hustles I went through. This took me a couple of hours thinking about this, processing, googling but all I divulged was virtually about Frank Zappa’s quotations and comments which basically was no help after all because it is just what it says on the topic. However I think Rock journalism are actually worthless people seeing that they can not do more than two things simultaneously. Zappa said that “most rock journalism is people who can’t write, interviewing people who can not talk, for people who can’t read. These are the people who write for the literate people and look for the relevant information for the right target audience. They know where exactly to find information and how they go about delving the information that they want.

What motivates me…

I reckon every individual’s motives are important because they drive one to a particular path in life…..as it is said that if you going nowhere in particular any road will take you somewhere.

The motives I possess are:
I’m motivated by certain aspects of life such as learning, curiosity and making a difference in other people’s lives. Every day I believe I should start something new and see repercussions after.

What keeps me going is faith and hope that one day I will achieve my goals. Starting from zero there is nothing to lose, though I have lost some things that had value in my life but that couldn’t stop me from adventuring, I believe that everyday’s new beginnings.

Music also play a pivotal role in my motives (all types of music = r n b dominating though). Something about music it can be real powerful. If I hear a good song that I like it motivates me.

Among other things that motivates me is love…. to love someone and being loved back in return really takes me to the sky, actually a motive is driven by love.

And all the successful businessmen who started their business/es from scratch and made it to the top keep me aggravated because that signifies the potential of being successful in my career endeavors. Funny enough, some of them had to start from home (in the garage) but now they have international businesses.

If they can do it so can I.

Luck favors the prepared mind!

I personally didn’t believe that there is such a thing as “luck” in reality. Guess I just lost a connection with reality in that case…not that there was not link with it at all but with the luck mythology. Now I fully believe that luck really favors a prepared mind.

Having a prepared mind helps in a number of occasions, it also keep people alert of the things happening around them. Not the people who wander around. One can agree that every person has an expectation in life and every time you go somewhere you want your expectation to become realism. Someone who wander would not be prepared about what might happen but a prepared person would.

A prepared mind will truly impact in our success when something occurs in our personal, work or family lives. Just take the global recession for instance; those who were aware of it from the beginning had/made plans before it took a full scale. But those who were caught in between are in serious trouble now. To be prepared you need to have your timing right though. Ever heard of being in the right place at the right time, a prepared mind won’t be surprised when good things happen.

As a person you need to be able to adjust or adapt to any situation but you can only do this if you are aware of the past and current occurrences. If you are enlightened you will not be shocked if a change happens in your life. So all in all, be prepared for anything in life as they say that anything is possible in life. Luck favors a prepared mind!

Personal Autonomy- how far does it extend?

When looking at this topic (Personal Autonomy), I reckoned it would be best to first understand what it means in order to come up with an authoritative conclusion as to how far does it extend. Reference.MD described personal autonomy as self-directing freedom and especially moral independence.

As human beings we are exposed to the planet earth’s diversity where every single individual do things according to what they believe is right or what they were taught is right. Everyone controls his own universe, though; other people as well are directly or indirectly affected by the circumstances of your decisions. However, not all of us consider our cognates with our dealings.

I think as a person you are destined to make decisions on your own, although people in our surroundings also partake in this but at the end your shots goes, so it is important to self-direct ourselves to the righteous paths and to let our morals be independent. But our personal autonomy has no limit; it’s only our actions or decisions which limit us.

I guess personal autonomy goes as far as the regulations and/or rules we make for ourselves as human beings and how we behave in societies we found ourselves in. In addition, it also depend to what or how we govern ourselves and to what extent we allow others to take control in our dealings, of which we shouldn’t….. it’s only us who must make calls and nobody else, which is how far I think personal autonomy extends!

The Significance of NiNe!

Let’s not be outraged, astonished, or shocked about this month’s occurrences. Well! One can actually look at this from a negative perspective that we should be having brighter and sunny days but instead we’ve been recently blessed with rainy days in the city. Why is that? *(Wondering)*---This is probably that rain gives life and it is a gift that brings growth to plants. Without water they strive to survive and so do we.

On the positive note the rain we have been blessed with these days is perhaps meant to strengthen our roots, so that we remember where we come from as human beings (especially on a cultural day), or it is meant for us to be grateful for our mother’s whom carried us for NiNe months and gave birth to us, and continued to nourish us. It’s a big up to us as well because we pulled it through for NiNe months in our mother’s wombs. I reckon we should be thankful to the Almighty for those blessings too, because some of us didn’t make and some made it before time.

NiNe month of the year is the time when most people pack away their winter woolies, provided that winter doesn’t last longer though and we get to see bright outfits, beauty pageants, and weddings etc. Speaking of NiNe, in few days to come we’ll experience 09/09/09 and both September and Wednesday have NiNe letters. How is that for a coincidence?

“BUNCH OF ANIMALS” is one comment on CPUT strikes. What is yours?

People have had their personal views on this heart touching topic. As individuals everybody is entitled to safety and security. Don’t we? Yes, we are. Though students were out of control in their dealings, everyone can back me up on this ‘if you make decisions using your intuition the worst happens’. Is not so?

This is heart touching because some of us are being negatively affected by the strikes taking place at CPUT. Just imagine when you fight for your own rights but instead of negotiating the matter concerned you get jailed. I mean we are here for one reason and that is to pursue our careers but how one is expected to do that when intuition fees increases every year. Well, I know the global economic recession play part on this but that does not mean that the increment should be 100%.

However, Student Representative Council should monitor their fellow students and ensure that they do not vandalize any property but how is this possible if management locks themselves in their offices when needed to come and negotiate with the SRC. Students have seen that they only take action once something is destroyed.

Strikes at CPUT are becoming a new culture which inevitably gets students’ voice heard. If you have noticed every time students strikes they get what they have been striking for. This is the worst year of my life with this institution, though there have been, in the past few years, strikes but they never are like this one.

My comment on this is that strikes at CPUT need to be announced well in advance so that all students are aware and they come prepared. Bunch of animals should take part on strikes because most of these issues affect us directly or indirectly.

Every day is a good day

When I looked at this topic many questions popped up on my mind…. Questions like, what about the day when things are pretty not going well? When you were not feeling right? Do these moments portray a good day?

But I got to think of a day as an absolute day….to think of it as a blessing for the Almighty. I think every day is the same, all the minutes, hours we spend every day are equal, there is no fast or slow day but it is only our minds that perceives a day as bad, slow, fast or otherwise. But the truth is every day is as good as any other.

I think every day is determined by thoughts, what is on your mind when you wake up in the morning will certainly tells how your day is going to be like. But whatever your mind can think of the day, it is just a day it has nothing to do with our problems. A day is just a precious commodity or an opportunity in which we do our daily activities of life.

Even if the weather can change throughout the day, but it still remain the same as good as it is on a sunny or rainy day. Weather or other things that might ruin your day should not make it a bad day; it is only your mood that changes.

Our greatest strengths are our greatest weaknesses

I have been contemplating a lot about this topic and it took me not too far from the notion that this could be true. Actually it is true. Though I tried to look at different views so as to oppose this but I guess that would be unfair of me.

Our strengths are our greatest weaknesses, this goes without elaborating. I mean we grow up stumbling, chopping and changing how we do things so that our future could be what we want it to be. It is mostly said that our steps today leads or determines our destiny.

So this means that you should step very carefully. Think when a child is crawling for example, its’ main weakness is that it can not walk. But when time progresses, with a lot of practice, it walks eventually. In this regard, whatever you are good at today was once your weakness, because as a human being with conscious and/or subconscious mind you work durable and smart to convert these shortfalls into your strengths. Today you can walk out proud on the street because you posses a great zeal in something, but know that it is not that you knew it from the word go, it might happen that it was once of your most weakness but you worked on it, now its your strength. Our strengths grows out of our weaknesses.

Feelings follow behaviour

Pretty much so, most of us have a tendency to listen to our feelings or to what we think before making any decision, this also empirical with behaviour. I mean what you think will determine how you behave….. to elucidate this; as a human being there are things we are fond of and we hold them dear to heart and those that we are not fond of we just neglect their existence. What make this occur are the feelings that you have towards that certain precious thing.

I wholeheartedly agree that feelings follow behaviour. I am of the mind that our day-to-day performance is based on our feelings. As a cognitive, we feel angry or happy; we like or dislike, etc all these feelings will direct you to behave in a certain way. In most cases we know what we want, what makes us feel better and what to do and the things we do are regarded as behaviour. And behaviour is more related with attitude and both these cues are exasperated by our feelings.

When you wake up in the morning with a fresh mind and a vision to accomplish something, for sure that day you will have a positive behaviour and good attitude. Same applies with me, when I wake-up everyday my day is beset with conflicting demands but I always thrive to complete my to-do list so in this way my feelings to accomplish my daily activities creates a positive behaviour. How I feel determines how I behave. So when you like something you will do it and if not you will not. You first feel it then do it or not.

It is better to practice a little than talk a lot

I fully agree with this. It is better to practise a little than talk a lot. I mean if you think of it, talking might help but there is always something to talk about, and if you want things done you better start acting. Talking a lot doesn’t get things done. It, however, prolongs the process of practising things.

Talk is cheap. Well, that’s what they say. If you look very close at this statement, it means that talking will hardly make you a fortune but practising will get you somewhere, yah!! People make mistakes and mistakes can be rectified, but if you don’t implement how are you going to know where you go wrong? So my suggestion would be talk a little rather and practice a lot because practice makes perfect.

Something just crossed my mind; I know someone who has a business vision, he is a business-minded. Everyday she comes up with new business idea(s), magnificent plans and she goes on and on telling potential people about her plans, virtually everyday. She invites some to collaborate with but the thing is she never gets any of her ideas into practice. We’re are now on the sixth month of the year, and running her own company was on top of her New Year’s resolutions, she has not registered any to date. Not that I make fun of her but I mean if she can get her acts together and start practicing, I’m sure things will page up.

No matter how little you practices but it is a step towards something, I believe that baby steps can get you somewhere, no matter how small they are but you’ll reach your dreams. It takes time anyway to achieve your dreams. Yet talking a lot will just consume your time immensely. After all, it is better to practice a little than talk a lot.

It is a poor idea to lie to yourself

When I asked my friends why people lie to

themselves, I got different answers, some of them don’t know, others think those who lie to themselves need a professional help but my own opinionated thought is that those who lie to themselves wants to feel good, actually to feel better, to paint this perfect picture which sends a message that’s favorable to them, to people around them. They live a falsified life. But where does it get them to?

Don’t think those people will really get somewhere with lies but they actually constructing a vicious descending sequence that makes it harder for themselves to achieve their set goals. For sure if you lie to yourself you’ll lie to others as well. Meaning you will live a false life. Lies lower one’s dignity. You will not get respect from others and definitely from yourself. Would you walk in the street with a connotation of lies within you, will you?

I believe a man who lies to himself has a problem. I mean, just think of the monomania one gets. Lying to yourself is one of the biggest problems people do and it prevents them from doing things they really want to do in life.

It is a poor idea to lie to oneself because you don’t take a path to righteousness, I mean in your career, your life and to other important things in life, so don’t lie to yourself.

Not all who wander are lost

This is so very true. Not all those who wander are lost. As human beings we all have dreams and want to achieve them. We thrive to elevate to our destinations. However it might happen that on your journey to your desired endeavors there will be ups and downs in a way that some of you find yourself being controlled by obstacles, wandering. They find themselves taking a different path from what they intended to, maybe because of these obstacles.

It might be that some of us are wandering because they want to; they treat life as it presents itself to them, while others are wandering because they simply don’t know what is right for them. They don’t know what to do. While some wander because they are timid to take responsibilities, they don’t want to be accountable.

Some wander because they have reached a deadlock, they perhaps have tried everything they dreamt to have but nothing worked. Not all who wanders are lost, some achieve their goals while wandering…they try anything that comes their way and make the best out of it.

I don’t think there is any individual with no purpose in life, there might be those who are lost or wandering but it might be a temporary thing. Everyone wants to get some where in life. That is why I say not all who wander are lost.







Picture by Jean Skipper

How do you step from the top of a 100-foot pole?

100-foot pole is very high and scary too….but thinking of this now will not help me at all, will it? Of course it won’t. But I have to come up with a plan, a strategic one I guess, because this seems unfeasible to me.

Though I think if you found a way to get up there, there is definitely a way down as well. Unless you don’t know how you got there, then you just have to do a shortcut, just have your eyes closed and jump and have a connotation that you will reach the ground. Bless those who take such extreme risks!!! I will never.

I am sure be 100ft high is no delightful at all….its tough…scary and torturing and while you got to maintain the balance, force of gravity will take its course too. And you can not just look down because you’ll be dizzy unless you are not afraid of heights.

I think everyone can do it as long as you can put your mind into it, and if you really want to step off the pole. And there are different ways of stepping off, you can either: dive, jump, or slide, or otherwise.

Personally, I will rather slide down and have a very thick mattress at the bottom of the pole so I don’t get hurt.

We are what we do

This is one of the fundamental topics that one needs to assimilate carefully when putting things into black and white, oh! well, in this case in your own colour of choice because what you are about to articulate right now might define you. Might define who you are.

I wholeheartedly agree that we are what we do, what we say or what we do is a mirror of ourselves. We portray our true colours through our daily activities, the attitude we have defines who we are. Even little things which we sometimes don’t really pay attention to and we find ourselves doing leave a statement. And that statement will define who we are.

Though other people around us have different views about who we are because of the things we do in different environments, occasions. Some of us are known as best dancers because what they do on a dance floor is just magnificent. I mean people associate us with the things we do and more importantly what we say as well have an impact in others when describing who we are. This, however, doesn’t mean you must stop doing things the way you do, don’t assume what people think of you because you are in making…sure you are who you are today but you are aiming to be someone better tomorrow. What you do today tells who you are going to be tomorrow.

Are we afraid of the wrong things?

Well, I looked at this topic with a microscopic view and I tend to agree with that we are afraid of the wrong things. Wrong things obviously have wrong or should I say negative consequences. So we refrain from doing wrong things and to those who do them for a simply reason; we don’t want to be correlated with them.

As human beings I think it’s a good thing that we have fears, hence we are living in a society where there are so many diseases, and crime is escalating among other wrong things. Fears alienate us from doing the wrong things. We must not allow fear to take control of our dealings though, as it can make us to be afraid of the right things as well. Being afraid keeps us alert to whatever we are doing.

Certainly you will back me up on this: as much as we are afraid of wrong things, we are more than afraid of the results or effects that wrong things can bring to us. Think of stealing for example, should you get caught…what will happen to you? Punished, definitely. And punishment can differ depending on a case. Again I can say that we are afraid of the unknown….unknown in this manner means that you don’t know what would happen should you be found doing something wrong. So yes we are really afraid for the wrong things.

What colour is the wind?

I have been pondering, trying to figure out what colour is the wind….believe me or not I am of the opinion that the wind doesn’t have a specific colour per se. This is a debatable topic anyway. I think one associates the wind with a mood, depending how your day is like. When a day is beautiful, sunny with a clear sky, everything is bright and fresh you are definitely going to link it with blue. Blue in German is a symbol of romance, it appeals for desire and love. This means the wind is bold and colourful. Blue compliments a number of colours though, one of them being yellow which also makes one stands out, come across as bright, funky and rejuvenating. So in this essence the wind provokes the light and is dominated by energy.

But should the day have dark clouds, certainly the wind is black. They say black is powerful. This is a colour that can result from a combination of several pigments that collectively absorbs all other colours. It gives you respect and you can back me up on this when you have black on you look bold and powerful.

Overall, we can come up with opinionated ideas as to what colour a wind is, but the Almighty created the wind neutral (clear) to emphasize that not everything is the same. As human beings we all unique and so is the wind.

If I were the boss

If I were the boss.

I would befriends with the stuff.

It's helps be closed to your stuff so that you will know what they have to say about you.
>Attitude
>Personality
>All the good and bad things they got to say.

I would come in the office late....hence I am not a morning person.

I would ensure there's a good production and that all the employees are on track with current projects.

Being a boss though does not mean you make all the decisions....you got to listen others inputs as well.

We'll have an entertainment section....with music, tv, games, pool, darts etc. the list goes on.

I mean everyone must feel at home....work office is a second home. So everyone have to feel the part in all the occurences.

They must be keen to wake up and come in everyday....cause they'll enjoy themselves.

But the bottom line is to produce better results which will be of benefit to the company.

If I were the boss I would lead, listen to others, take initiative and involve others.

If I were the boss

Even in these hard times of global economic meltdown, managing a company could be the most strenuous thing one has to do. However, “if I were the boss” I would do my best to ensure that there is transformation in a company. Transformation in this regard will, of course, be inline with saving money, cutting the unnecessary costs and to have quality production. I mean the credit crunch had a negative effect to most companies. But I think it lies in management hands to make sure that the company continue to produce and delivers more than the clients’ expectations.

Regardless of the economic meltdown, as a boss I would be diplomatic in my dealings. I would maintain diplomacy with everyone in my work environment regardless how much trust they have in me. The degree of trust is of utmost importance in any work atmosphere, though I won’t necessary befriends with them but I will conduct business during the working hours. Trust between the boss and employees have to be legitimate, meaning you should have hope that everyone would do their tasks. I need to be sure that I can count on everyone, and that no one can let me down and whatever needs to be accomplished will be, in time.

The trust does not come as manna from heaven though, you create it; you have to mingle with your employees – get to know them, their personality and attitude. This will even make the flow of information within the departments or people flourish. I won’t take myself as a boss as such, but I will get my hands on wherever needed. Honestly speaking I hate the word “boss”, not because it gives some authority but it gives people a degree of inferiority as well. So as a manager I would take responsibilities, I would make everyone feel at home, I mean work should be a home away from home since they spend most of their time there.

I would be strict though when someone violates the company policy and take advantage of me – being a nice person that I am. Say one don’t show-up for a meeting and continually fail to do tasks that are expected of him, I would take actions against him. Same applies with someone who does not demonstrate co-operation in any respect. The actions will be based in on the company policy, and disciplinary procedures will be followed thereafter to minimize workload from other employees’ shoulders that’d have to carry out his duties.

South African bands rocks

South African bands rocks. Prevalently, they date back in the early 20th century and even to date they still live and kicking. These revivifying bands brings back a true culture for our country. A culture where every individual feel a sense of belonging. Though to some people it might not make sense when band members showcase their talent and their feelings through music. My friend says they are outrageous and just make noise, interrupting their sleep or whatever they might be busy with at that particular time. But to me they mean the opposite, its a true reflection of our country's culture. I mean those drums, the guitter instruments and their live acts just intrigues me. And what interests me more is the liveliness on the stage, the entertainment they possess is just stunning. I wish one should see the expression on these members. That is a reason tourists are so interested in visiting our country, the bands forms part of it, hence some of the band members categorize themselves locally and internationally.