Mmmh…
Posted by: evesreflections on: September 19, 2008
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Marianne Williamson from A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles
Bernhard Schlink on disavowal…
Posted by: evesreflections on: November 30, 2009
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This passage just spoke to me, so am gonna keep it here, and one day I’ll understand …
“Then I began to betray her. Not that I gave away any secrets or exposed Hanna. I didn’t reveal anything that I should have kept to myself. I kept to myself something that I should have revealed. I didn’t acknowledge her. I know that disavowal is a form of betrayal. From the outside it is impossible to tell if you are disowning someone or simply exercising discretion, being considerate, avoiding embarrassments and sources of irritation. But you, who are doing the disowning, you know what you are doing. And disavowal pulls the underpinnings away from a relationship just as surely as other more flamboyant types of betrayal.” (excerpt from Bernhardt Schlink’s The Reader, p.74)
The ever suffering Kenyan Worker
Posted by: evesreflections on: May 1, 2009
I was still asleep when the Minister gave his Labour Day speech at Nyayo Stadium today. But when I caught a snippet of the happenings during the 4 pm headlines, I thought to myself, what shit are Kenyans really wallowing in? The huge crowd, waiting patiently, just to hear that minimum wage has been raised. And that there are some people who will now have the privilege of going to work every morning waiting for a pay slip of between 3,000 and 6,000 shillings. Kenya shillings. To pay rent, feed families, pay school fees (you all know it’s not free), clothing, bribe public officials here and there… And the person reading out this very encouraging bit of news, let’s not ask how much he took home last Month. How much do they earn anyway? More than 250 times more than Kenya’s lowest paid worker? Great. I earn much more myself. I hope my PAYE will one day actually contribute to someone else earning more. Anyway, I won’t go out to buy the very frivolous piece of equipment I had planned to. It costs more than what someone earns in a whole month and am feeling kinda guilty about that. Maybe tomorrow when I forget… like the middle class is wont to.
Karua and the threat to masculinity
Posted by: evesreflections on: April 8, 2009
How often has my father, a man in his sixties now (he’s not sure whether it’s early or late) narrated the story of his first real life encounter with Hon. Martha Karua. Or should I say, her insolence. There he was, chairing a disciplinary meeting for one of the members of his professional association, when she strutted in with her client, all high and mighty as if she was chairing the meeting (his words, not mine). He relishes this bit of the tale, when he narrates how he put her in her place. Infact in his own words, he shouts at her to sit down, and informs her that this is not a market place where people talk at will (ok, something like that). The point is, the status quo is challenged, the men are thrown off balance. I’m sure my father was, I can always tell from the way he tells this story. So Martha is at it again. I only have one word for her… consistency. Or maybe two: consistency and tenacity. I don’t know if her client took the day, but surely I hope she does this time round, just for the sake of having something else to talk about. As for all the useless fellows, borrow some balls from the lady… with a repayment plan.
Meanwhile on the other side of town, Mungatana follows suit, Kibaki still asleep. Raila, well… appealing to the public as usual. And Ruto.. What?
Where are the happy African stories?
Posted by: evesreflections on: January 23, 2008
- In: Books| Life
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I’m not what you’d call an avid reader. However, last year in November, I decided that I needed to read more African stories, preferably told by Africans. So I started on a journey that took me to nearby Uganda, not so near Rwanda, and distant Nigeria and Zimbabwe. Reading the stories, I felt drawn to those countries. I understood the people, the lifestyles, the landscapes. I found myself nodding and thinking, ‘true, that’s how it is’. I didn’t understand the violent conflicts though. I could not identify with that. Thinking back now, I may have been preparing myself for the unknown. I must have been worried about my own country, as were many Kenyans, and wanted to understand something I was yet to grasp. Am hoping to find a happy African story soon, but I’d recommend these books to anyone who wants to better understand how individuals elsewhere in Africa have survived conflicts. Read the rest of this entry »
