favourtells

  A woman was asked last week on CNN why she thought it important to come out and be vaccinated. Here is what she said “I have kids. I want to be able to hug them, kiss them, and be with them”. Some children were playing outside their apartment with their friends. Sighting them from afar, their mother screamed “Come on, go inside; you are not the ones washing your clothes!” Every morning, I walk towards my aloe plants to see how they are doing. I gave them actual names, acknowledging them as lives. I was laughed at and jokingly called crazy. In some months, my aloes began to flourish-fat, green and pleasant to behold. I reflected on why I showed this intense care to my plants and I realized that I wanted to see what it felt like to care and be cared for. I loved it . ‘Why we do the things we do’ is a question we all must answer to get in touch with the power of our motives. What matters and doesn’t, depend on our answers.   The woman taking the vaccine was inspired by lo...

  While Kamala Harris made history by being the first black woman to become the US Vice President, Amanda Gorman also made history by being the first youth inaugural poet ever. Awe, amazement and wonder filled the minds of many- home and abroad. It was not just about the poem read but the wisdom and craft contained in it. In fact, a political commentator, Van Jones, described her performance as powerful and eloquent. He made further statements saying that the society is filled with so much data but  “data ain’t wisdom”. It is the reality of our society that data outweigh wisdom. This is the reason why I thought to highlight five themes from Amanda's poem that we could absorb into our lives in the midst of the data-filled world. I call them 5 VITAMINS because vitamins are essential for healthy living. Many a time, unforgiveness cloud our sense of judgment. It becomes difficult to see things as they really are. It could lead to biased thoughts, misinterpretation of actions,...

    "W here is my blood? Where is my blood?" a woman cried. She was sitting on a plank (usually used by traders to advertise their goods) in front of a closed shop. She folded her arms, wiggled her legs, and after about two to three minutes of biting her lips and nodding her head, she spread her arms in the air and screamed "Where is my blood!" The second time, she will bite her fingernails, thump her chest and say "My blood, My blood. Where is my blood?" and become silent.   People in the street regarded her as a mad fellow and no one identified with her as a neighbor, relative, friend, customer or a familiar passerby.   Days, weeks, and months passed, yet, each time I walked along that street, she repeated the same behavior. The owner of the shop she stayed in had travelled (so I heard from people).   Different situational analysts began to spread rumors about her condition. Some said out of sincere sympathy that she might have be...

  Lengthy talks compressed into fewer words. Here is the key. Decode. The mind comes into the world tabula rasa. It is a clean slate. The mouth is the pen; the words, the ink. The mind is the paper; the access, the medium of hearing. The mouth comes in contact with the mind. Boom! If the ink be bad, it blossoms. If it be good, it blossoms still. If the ink be bad, it is dangerous. If it be good, it is safe. If the ink be bad, it is poisonous. If it be good, it is life-giving.   These two seem to be involved in a daily, weekly or lifetime combat about who will prevail and what will stay. But, The mind is not totally helpless like a literal paper. It is not totally at the mercy of the external.   The access depends on its carrier. It   examines the ink   about to be used on the paper. It separates manipulation from collaboration.   It separates bias from fact. It differentiates between objectivity and subjectivity. It sep...