Heal yourself

Momma used to tell me: maybe before you go about healing others, you should check if you're in good health yourself. She'll say: pretending to be the healthiest of a sickly bunch doesn't necessarily make you healthy.

So I do this all the time, even after she left for paradise. I try to listen to my conscience before doing anything, and even before writing the things I write on here, because I hate not only to be carried away, but to be rebuked to shame.

But that's a thing of 'Jom' - that's a Wolof word, similar in meaning to self-esteem or self-honour.

Professionals in diapers...

I feel thoroughly confused that grown arse adults in corporate circles can behave like jealous high school bitches, or like toddlers to gifts. You know, when buying candy for a group of toddlers, you must make sure that even the wrappings are the same to avoid protest, but that's because toddlers aren't fully formed to overstand the concept of equity and equality.

Here, I have seen people who call themselves professionals, being in a constant state of competition with everyone at work, including those that their line of work has no relationship of rivalry with. I have seen them lose remembrance of their own benefits and advantages the moment it is someone else's turn to benefit. Like enemies of progress, they'll not perform well, but ever ready to raise objections about performance based raises of deserving colleagues, rather than being happy for them, or being inspired to work on improving their own appraisal points. Folks cannot see their mates flourish without putting a degrading name to their success. If you're a lady and you're beautiful, you're automatically a victim, because they'll disregard your hardwork and accuse you of using what you have to get what you want. But never mind, because unless they repent, they'll all die and go to hell. So screw 'em.

The stagnant ones will team up with the philosophers of pessimism to create cliques within the workplace, and to talk trash, or to tell lies about progressive colleagues. They'll tell you, "let's tolerate each other and make work fun," but their way of making work fun is to prevent others from having fun. All their salaries are Haram because rather than going to work to work, they go to work to get others worked up. They'll invariably see others being caused to reap the evils they sow, but no twist of event is a wake-up call for them, because they're stupid like that.

And despite all these counterproductive nonsense, come Eid or Friday, they'll pray as follows: "yalna jaama yaaga" (may peace be lengthened in time). Mtcheew! Jaama my skinny arse. You don't expect me to fake an Amen, because I'm not. Wickedly ungrateful souls! 

Age of decadence...

After the demise of intelligent civilisation comes the age of decadence, when lies will cut in, and falsehood so established that truth will no longer be afforded the power of speech. Emotional aversion to realness will be manifested throughout. True heros and heroines will be vilified whilst fuckery, jerks, jackasses and their jackassery celebrated. Wrongs will be relative, depending on the likeability of the doer. Peoole will hate the people they attempt to equal or be the same as. Physically, morally and mentally 'fugly' people will act all gutsy by calling other people ugly, or criticising them for things that they themselves do.

Those that are intolerantly devoted to their prejudices will call others bigots, but will still go about passing judgment on people without sufficient examination of the facts. Generally recognised hypocrites will claim to be victims of hypocrisy. People will willfully wrong others and then blame it on the devil. Ill-gotten gains will be frowned upon, but only by those that are denied access to it.

If you think I'm making a statement of what will happen in the future and not what is in existence, I strongly recommend that you start paying attention to your immediate setting, notice things, watch events as they unfold, listen and attend closely to every detail and read this piece again. If you don't see all these happening around you, call me an idiot, but if you call me an idiot just for the heck of it, know that I have a wide diction of pejorative nouns and adjectives for you.

GLOSSARY - Fugly is slang for extremely ugly. Jackassery is that foolish behaviour of a jackass, and fuckery is nonsense, or any unfair or morally wrong action.

Know when to mind your business...

Tolerating contrary opinions, new ideas and alternative ways of doing things is a virtuous thing to do. So if you ask me, even if you don't have what it takes to keep up, keep on your cool, or just keep the fuck off. Don't let your personal assessment of people's motivation for doing a thing be based on how that thing would've affected your behaviour if you were in their shoes; people are different.

If a thing is none of your business, keep out, or keep to yourself. Butting in to provide more heat than light will naturally push someone else's buttons, get you dissed and fuck your feelings. If you can't take the pressure of a certain situation, then you need to seperate yourself from that situation. Excuse the 'eff' word. I'm not so euphemistic.

Note to self...

Listen! What if that guy whose name has now become an idiot-anthem is better than what they say about him? Couldn't that supposedly shameless lady be a complete opposite of what you think of her? What if there are things that you do not know about them? Wouldn't you be sorry if you come to realise that they aren't as terrible as you think they are? What if it is you that is not as perfect as you think you are?

But if you think you you're perfect and you're going to maintain that state, completely devoid of fault and mistake, then go ahead and pass judgment. As for intelligent civilisation, the goal is to work on becoming a better person. And part of being a better person is to be able to refuse the urge to form opinions without just cause.

Some problems shouldn't be shared....

"A problem shared is a problem halved." That's the claim, but I don't think it is a general rule, because not everyone is a problem-solver. Sometimes a problem shared is a problem worsened.

However, if it will make you feel better, be my guest and talk about it, but really, talking about your problems when you can be initiative is an all wrong, for half the people you'll talk to may not give a rat's behind, or they may even be happy that you're in deep shit.

There's a Wolof saying that not every supposed willingness to help you put down the load on your head is out of sincere desire to help. Sometimes the helper just wants to see what is in the thing that you're carrying.

"Jappal ma enni la, du sawar la enni, laygo layg buga xam la nga enu la."

Knowledge is no one's monopoly...

It is baffling to see 21st century folks tending towards that arrogant mentality of ancient Rome. Where you're not expected to make sense if you have no noble or scholarly title attached to your name, where wisdom was monopolised, and commoners were supposed to be seen but not heard. So they dare not speak even if they had something great to say, lest they'll be foolishly asked about their credentials or with what authority do they speak.

But this was because they didn't want to accept the fact that you don't have to be an academic or a noble to be an intellectual, that like Leonardo Da Vinci or Kothie Barma Faal, some people don't need to be tutored in the classroom to be knowledgeable.

Unlike ancient Rome, we need to stop limiting the scope of knowledge to what we think we know, and come to terms with the fact that autodidacts and naturally clever people do exist. As brother Ebrima Sarr puts it, "most knowledge is information, it's how you process this information that qualifies you as an intellectual or just a reader."