Introspection

Usually, we become disengaged whenever we are being counseled against our moral wrongs, oversights, and weaknesses. So we say: you know what, live and let live, judge not, each to his own; even to the sincerest of reminders. And the one reminding us is seen as smugly moralistic. We are so blind yet so confident that we have all the time to live rowdy and wild, and as if our longevity is assured, myself included.

Suddenly tragedy happens, especially one involving loss of souls that we were so closed to. Then we want to re-assess our living, become a lot more religious, out of fear than faith, more like. My type will start to contemplate marriage, at least to have children to be remembered with, you know... anyways, may Allah's mercy be with the beautiful lady that just passed, and with all departed souls. May He continue to guide us and not cause to die unprepared.

The slave...

In fact, Kunta Kinteh and the others weren't slaves per se, they were subjugated. A crime was committed against them and I don't think I care if anyone disagrees. According to me, a slave's innately slavish. A slave's that person who by his conduct is everything but a freeman, yet thinks he's acting on an unforced choice, simply because he has no shackles on him.

A slave's one whose devotion to another person is as if he's the property of that person; someone whose thoughts and life is subject to someone else's volition; someone who has absolutely no power of resistance, even when resistance is all what's required of him; someone who is ever ready to act on another man's services even against his own will, and against the wellbeing of the people he claims to love.

A freeman will respect his spiritual leader. He is demonstrative of his sense of duty to work and to the one he works for. He's reasonably dutiful to his elders and to honourable political figures, but he bows not to no slave master, because at the end of the day, he sees everyone as a human being. That's why the Rastaman is a freeman. Be free, man!

Growing up...and now.

Growing up, my crew wasn't a model of propriety, I know that. In fact, we almost never bowed to conventions of society, often berated and alienated for being so. But one honourable thing about us was that we remained an undivided entity; we had principles. Ours was a brotherhood founded on sincerity and trust. We rode, even where the ride was for a fall, without hesitation from anyone, because each was genuinely regardful of the other, leading to a greater sense of faith that each will always have the others' backs no matter what.

Today that I have grown into... this, all I see is the politics, ruthless schemes, expediency above principles, self above service, of professionals who can tell the difference between right and wrong yet act like they don't, who'd make calls against their consciences because they wouldn't want to jeopardise their personal ambitions, standing for causes that they don't even believe in, calling each other friends when times are good, only to fall out when things get difficult or problems crop up, y'know, faithlessness in the people that we expect to know/do better... but, perhaps it's normal; maybe it's just me that's not built for it.

Word!

Before you leap, look. Before you speak, think. Before you retort, overstand. Use context to construct meaning and don't just assume. Where the context isn’t as straightforward, ask for clarification. If the speaker means well, it shouldn’t hurt to clarify.

I am saying this because every now and then, our prejudices tend to goad us to misinterpret people’s remarks, and then we feel unreasonably offended, when in fact the problem was lack of overstanding. May we all be afforded the gift of grasping context. It’s important.

And another thing:  All who keep exciting consciousness of guilt in people, just to embarrass them, or to injure their dignity and self-confidence, and only to feel good about oneself, though under the guise of genuine criticism is a bully and oppressive.

Just thought I should say this...

It's not uncommon to have someone, some friend, partner, or family that you think you're stuck with, someone who seeking to uplift requires so much endurance, strength, and patience that I can only imagine.

I know, it can be so demanding if not annoying. But before you quit on this person, I'd ask myself: "what if I'm his or her only hope?" See, wouldn't you rather just hang in there and manifest some hope in humanity?

Random thought...

It’s not as unique to your area as it may seem. As a matter of fact, from New Zealand to Swaziland, from Langley, Virginia to Ecowas Avenue, The Gambia, and from Walmart on Georgia Avenue to J-mart Furniture & Carpets on Kairaba Avenue, anywhere you go, you’ll find self-serving snitches, volunteer rats, servile flatterers, and lowlifes willing to use people than their intelligence for advancement. Wherever you find them, this is what you do: DO NOTHING, because they’re already self-destructing - social suicide in the long run.

It's doesn't always have to be painful to be gainful...

In this our era that's characterised by the increasing importance and availability of information, especially by means of computers and the internet, except for the passionless, all who seek shall find, and as fast as unlike previously that you'd be caused to travel hundreds of kilometers to know. Today, you look up information for instance, within a minute you're there, with links suggesting further readings, and that's education for you: access to information.

But because the above seems fairly easy, some say it has no Barakah, because we're so addicted to hardship that acquisition of any kind has to be slavish to be perceived as beneficial. So an apprentice stays at one mastercraftsperson's, running errands and brewing Warga like no one's business, receiving all sorts of insults, and cannot complain because that mastercraftsperson went through the same or worse. How's that serving to educate or even progressive? But then even our cures, the believe is, if it doesn't hurt, it doesn't heal.

This was why once upon a time, you set out to acquire knowledge, say knowledge of Islam for instance, you'll be caused to trek the whole region before you can finish the 30 Ajiza of the Qur'an. After every Juz, your mentor will refer you to another guru. You finish that, you're sent further into the wilderness to learn the Hadith, then even further to learn Fiqh or some other course.

In all these places, your pursuit is coupled with servile obedience and hard labour, and because our gurus are that stingy with knowledge (reason why our graveyards are full of men with unshared knowledge). Now, before you're recognised as having completed the requirements of your studies, you're 35 but looking like 46 already. You come back, all the fine girls are married, and you'll be offered the community's reject, under the guise that a lady her physique is good omen. But why wasn't she taken?