One thing about having children is figuring out what their interests are and dreaming about their future careers.
As a Ghanaian, certain careers SHOULD be on top of my list. Doctor, Lawyer…….., Mad Scientist. (Just kidding. However, Ghana having a mad scientist could solve a lot of our problems)
As an artist however my career choices for my sons steer in the direction of unconventional and have caused my wife to give me the raised eyebrow and eyes popping out look that you see in Total Recall with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Professional Video Gamer and stuntman is what I usually see when I visualize my first son’s future career.
I have to be honest though, the Professional Video Gamer is something I wish for him and not one that his life currently has revealed any evidence of being fulfilled.
The stuntman on the other hand……..
Let’s just say I am not that enthusiastic about it because of the thought of medical bills.
Now stuntman is not something I wish for my son but this kid does some cliff hanging moves that will make Tom Cruise proud.
This is not some of the time this is ALL the time. Our living room is like an action movie set with him jumping from chairs and balancing on head rests.
He had a toy car he used to drift with and I just bought him a motorcycle of which he is pulling moves that will have Mother’s wondering whether I am being a good parent by not getting him of the bike.
I however believe in encouraging and allowing kids to explore their interests. While I am not thrilled about stunts, I do acknowledge that it maybe his destiny.
It’s hard to believe me if you have not seen my son do the things he does. So here is a link to the video of his latest stunt. Remember he is a 3 year old.
This is how my Monday morning begun. Have the little TV people who live inside our TV gotten tired of entertaining us and want to break free?
Maybe
“There is sound but no picture”
Ok so the little TV people are still working but maybe there is “dumsor”*, load shedding or lights out in TV land.
“I think Bobo cracked the TV”
Bobo is the nickname I gave my first son. One thing I can say about having kids is that everyone dreads them destroying a TV.
I sometimes wonder whether our parents ever had that concern. It’s like they come down with a TV and smartphone screen mess up configuration, operation “crack the screen”.
I didn’t want to believe this news so I asked for my wife to let me on the details of what actually happened.
According to her she was in the kitchen when my son came through screaming “TV” repeatedly. She came into the living room to inquire, only to hear sound and no picture from the TV. She then went closer to see a crack on the screen which lead to the wail, “OH BOBO!”
Not to put my wife on the spot but judgement had already been passed down on the boy. I also concluded after assessing the screen that he was guilty.
His track record didn’t help either. He had already messed up one TV and there was his telephone set that he liked to bang on the wall by the TV.
This son of mine is in need of lawyer and his phone call.
Needless to say I was pissed. I was only glad that over the weekend wifey and I watched Game of Thrones Season 8 finally on the big screen. Watching via laptop wouldn’t have been epic.
I had not budgeted to buy a TV this month so I was thinking that maybe the screen could be fixed. It was when I was doing my research on fixing the screen that I actually found out that my son was innocent.
Our TV is a Samsung Plasma TV. A 2011/2012 model I believe. Apparently there were a number of similar stories to mine of TV’s having a crack from one of the units within the TV blowing up internally.
Upon careful inspection I even realized that the crack was internal and not external. Meaning my son was innocent.
I guess the guys from TV land were pissed.
I was happy however that it was not my son who spoilt the TV. I learned a valuable lesson as a parent and Christian that day.
Our past does not define our future. My sons actions in the past were not sufficient to make him guilty. I should have reserved playing the blame game till I had all the facts.
Though rough in his play, I have never seen my son throw stuff at the TV or tried to hit it with something. He loves his TV and cartoons.
The first TV that got messed up wasn’t hanging on a wall. It was on a cabinet and he pushed it over accidentally.
I don’t think we did well as parents in our perception of our son. I guess God used this to show us a valuable lesson about judging.
Thankfully we did not scold him or beat him. I would have felt pretty guilty if I had.
That however, is the life of a parent. We learn along the way and through our mistakes. Let’s see the lessons life presents us and share our experiences to help make the world a better place.
Now on to figuring out how to get Teletubbies back into my sons lives.
Easter for Christians is a time to reflect on the death of Christ, our sins and the salvation that resulted. For others it’s a time where the Easter Bunny comes out and plays a game with chicken eggs or chocolate eggs.
Whilst I don’t subscribe to the Easter Bunny, it reminds me of the rabbit hole that Alice in the story, Alice in Wonderland went through. Though she followed the rabbit out of curiosity, just like Alice, we find ourselves in our own rabbit holes. Places we don’t want to be but due to some error on our part or someone.
I sort of liken this to where people are before they find Christ. However, not everyone is a Christian. It is usually the story of Christ’s death and resurrection that gets one into becoming a Christian.
Romans 3 tells us that we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That our righteousness or good deeds are like filthy rags to the Almighty. Not everyone connects with this line of thought nor the concept of Heaven and Hell. However, regarding the concept of being broken, I believe we all can connect.
There is a point in life where you are going to do something, right or wrong, that will either embarrass, bring pain, loss, or result in you being broken in spirit, in need of encouragement or hope.
Sometimes we are lost. We think we know why we on a certain path only to realize that it doesn’t quite lead to where we thought it would. Unfortunately this lost feeling can lead us further down the rabbit hole, leave us stuck in the hole or find us climbing out.
One can only climb out with hope of a better tomorrow. Unfortunately, not all find hope easy to come by. Those stuck in the rabbit hole choose to stay there or plunge further below because it sounds like an easier way to deal with the humiliation. No one after all likes mockery or an “I told you so” moment.
No one in my opinion has suffered the shame and humiliation that Jesus faced in his journey down the rabbit hole. A man who rode into Jerusalem a week ago to praises and celebration as a king to be arrested on false charges and mocked for being a king a week after. Beaten and traded for a criminal with the people, some of who said praise him now shouting “crucify him”.
All this occurred to show us that we should not fret when similar situations befall us.
Jesus performed powerful miracles, raised many from the dead and made powerful declarations. At the cross however, it seemed the man who had all this power and authority could do nothing to save himself. Even one of the men He was crucified with mocked Him.
It sort of reminds me of Hulk in the Avengers Infinity War movie. Bruce throughout the movie struggled to bring Hulk out and it was perceived that was because of fear or wounded pride on the part of Hulk due to his defeat during the fight he had with Thanos in the opening scene. It was rather because Hulk was tired of only being called out when Bruce needed saving or needed to be a hero.
Jesus could save Himself but chose not to because in His death, He gave us the greatest gift of all, Salvation. Jesus went down the rabbit hole to get us out. After all the pain, mockery and suffering he took on, he was raised on the third day. He achieved more than waking up from the dead. He conquered death, made it possible for us to connect with God more directly, freed us from the clutches of sin and gave us power to become better people to make the world a better place.
It was only once these things were achieved that He came out of the rabbit hole and showed us how we too can get out.
People may be seeing you the wrong way. Deep down you are person who wants to live right. Circumstances find you living a life you don’t want to live but don’t know how to change.
We have the hope through Jesus that we can change. No matter how many times we fall or plunge into the hole of shame we have in us the capacity to rise up and rise up victoriously. This hope is available to ALL.
As a Christian, I invite you today to share in this hope. I am not inviting you to be religious. I am inviting you to have peace. You are not a failure and can rise like Jesus out of whatever situation you find yourself in. No situation you are in is exempt from the hope that Jesus provides.
People use stories and movies as inspiration. Today I am offering something similar, only true and with a precious promise should you be willing to believe and accept.
Jesus went through all that suffering for you and I. He rose to prove to us that he is the way, the truth and the life. If you are in need of hope look no further. Keep it One Hondred and come to Jesus. He and the Easter Bunny May be the same after all.
Have you ever lost something important? Money, passport, ID card, bank cards, receipts, certificates etc
Its an awful feeling that makes one wish their body had a rewind button to retrace their steps. You search high and low for the item and wonder where it could have gone.
Such situations literally suck the life and fun out of a day. All because you are forced into a game of hide and seek that you don’t seem to be good at. The stress and worry about something that for the moment does not want to be found is indeed staggering.
Today I am going to share with you my secret on finding such items. This is after you have thrown a search party and still are unable to locate the missing item.
Stop worrying
This is the first step to finding the item. How is worrying going to help in the search for the item? Not worrying rather let’s you carry on with life and presents more opportunities for you to walk right into the item than worrying.
2. Pray
I know what you are thinking. God probably has better things to be concerned about right?
No matter how small or big a deal this missing item is, it matters to God as well. Commit the search party into God hands and relax. This is similar to playing those video games where you have an option to release an amazing move at the tap of a button when you are at your wits end.
God our Father is all knowing and all seeing. If He cannot find it then it’s not meant to be found.
3. Remind yourself to STOP WORRYING
Since you are human, you are likely to worry despite leaving things in God’s hands. The situation is in a professionals hands. You couldn’t do a better job if you tried. Stop worrying and relax.
4. Accept your fate
More often than not you will find the item. Sometimes it will take a while before finding the item and other times you will never find the item.
Whatever the outcome, accept your fate and live a happy life giving praise to Him. There is a reason why things turned out the way they did.
From personal experience this is what I do and always find what I am looking for.
Recently I lost my Passport and a number of important documents as they were all together.
For the life of me, I could not remember where I had left my little bag of vital documents. I had looked everywhere and decided that it was likely to be in the office.
Alas, whenever I entered the office, I got so busy that I forgot to look for it.
I had retraced my movements on the day I noticed it missing and remembered where I had been but doubted that I left such a thing behind. If I did I trusted a call will come through informing me.
Now it has been almost a week and I have not yet found this bag. I was a bit worried for my passport and ID cards were missing but I chose to stay cool instead.
Today as I got to the office I looked around for it and still did not find it. I committed the bag into prayer and continued my day believing that I would find the bag.
On my way home from work. I said a short prayer and left things in God’s hands. As I approached home, the Holy Spirit prompted me to look in a place in the house that I could have sworn I checked out. Behold, as I looked there, there it was. I was overjoyed in God’s unfailing track record.
For a week I could have stressed myself out and panicked. How would that have benefited those around me?
I instead trusted in God to have my back and went about my life knowing that I had a dependable entity on the job.
Faith in God is displayed in various ways. Use such situations to build your faith in the Almighty. If God cannot help you find whatever it is that is missing how do you expect Him to deal with your salvation or finding you when you lose your way?
Just keep it One Hondred and give the Big Man a shot. It’s a free service after all .
“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”
In the past weeks I have had a lot of discussions on local languages in Ghana. Many times in my youth, I have felt non Ghanaian due to my inability to speak a local dialect fluently.
I am not proud of my inability to speak a local language fluently. It however doesn’t justify making others like me feel bad.
I love the Ghanaian languages. I am however unimpressed by its relevance in the modern world. I see very little advancements in the languages regarding literature or accessibility to help on the internet.
There is a move to get Ghanaians to speak local languages. I however do not see how being the best Twi or Ga student ranks up with other subjects. What are the career possibilities? Is it something that is desirable?
Forgive me if my questions or stance offends you. I am just trying to get better answers than “learn it because it’s good for you”.
The only reason why I wanted to learn both Twi and Ga was to communicate with friends and share in the humor. I was not particularly interested in reading or writing the language and I have never had a reason since leaving Primary School to do so.
There is a reason why English, French and even Spanish are desirable. I believe our languages are equivalent yet are behind in terms of importance.
Maybe our population is small. It still doesn’t justify why we are not making room for the language to be useful beyond the marketplace or local scene.
In the discussions I have been having it dawned on me that there are not even word games for the local languages. Crossword puzzles and scrabble for instance made me want to brush up on vocabulary. Are there crosswords in our local languages? Is there a local languages version of scrabble? If there is, would it help in teaching the language?
I believe it will. Something has to be done.
It’s sad that I am making this argument in English and not in a local language but that’s what we are familiar with. If even there was an autocorrect in our local languages to aid us in writing on our phones on applications like WhatsApp it would help.
I can’t do much but write a poem on the matter. Hopefully this conversation and others will spark a movement that will see the future being better for Ghanaian local languages.
I’m A Great Scrabble Player
I am a great scrabble player
My two word and three word vocabulary is off the charts
I am a force to be reckoned with and busy myself with keeping abreast with language so as to see hidden words within my tiles
I am proud of my skill and talent; and like the scrabble board, I look for double and triple letter word opportunities to showcase my abilities
I am a great scrabble player
But no one will play with me
They laugh at my skill and talent
I play words they don’t understand
They say I am too local for the game
A game of words wit and strategy
Their tiles don’t have some of my letters
I can’t form some words
I am handicapped and frustrated
How am I a great scrabble player if I can’t play in my own language?
Part of my problem with the world today is society’s uncanny attitude to stigmatize things.
It’s 2019, the internet seems to be working all right making us connected to a truckload of information and yet we are not as open minded as one would think.
Cultural, social and religious reasons are why some of us find it difficult to change our view on concepts.
Today however, I want to challenge you to reconsider your thoughts on a type of behavior that has long been been viewed as bad.
The dictionary will add other spices to the meaning but society largely views selfishness as thinking only about ones self.
But what is wrong with that?
What is wrong with being selfish?
Largely, selfishness has been viewed in the negative light as behavior not in the best interests of society. Ironically, all around us, including governments and churches, we see many instances where people and organizations have acted selfishly to the detriment of others.
I however believe that this is the popular side of the coin for selfishness. The side that goes about being selfish to the detriment of others. What is on the other side of the coin of selfishness?
How many of us are living lives that have been planned, dictated or orchestrated by others? Living a lifestyle just to please someone other than yourself.
How many students have been forced to pursue a course they were not interested in but was what their parents wanted?
How many have married the wrong person not out of love but out of society or family’s STRONG recommendation?
How many are pursuing a career path to please others and not themselves?
At the core you are not happy and continue living this lifestyle which plunges you deeper into sadness and sometimes depression.
What good are you to anyone if you are not yourself?
Often times we think about everyone except ourselves and are not honest enough to address the problems that exist in order to live better.
I am not advocating for people to be selfish without considering the consequences. I am challenging all of us to examine our hearts to find whether we have overestimated our capacity to love.
Maybe there are some things we have to come to face with. Some realities we have to address in order to be that person who can genuinely think of other people.
We all would love to be helped by people and loved ones who GENUINELY wanted to help. There are many people who are doing things for other reasons not in any way good.
It reflects in our daily life. We see it in customer service and other aspects of our lives which end making a difference between us having a good day or a bad day.
We see it in the attitudes of people and it is present in today’s world because we hear the word “stress” a lot.
Take a minute today to search yourself and honestly consider focusing on bettering yourself.
This may involve saying “no”.
It may involve resting.
It may involve prayer.
Whatever path you choose do it to become a better person. For you are no good to anyone if you are broken.
Be real with yourself and consider being selfish today.
Diplomatic immunity in lay man’s term is an individual’s “you can’t touch me” card. It is sometimes used in conjunction with M.C Hammer’s “You Can’t Touch This” hit single to make situations the more irritating.
People with diplomatic immunity are usually foreigners. They are in a land other than theirs and are not susceptible to lawsuit or prosecution because they are diplomats.
You may have seen the term floating around the news or in tv shows and sometimes wonder why it even exists. I am no lawyer to explain the reasoning behind diplomatic immunity but I know it is important, just sometimes abused.
Yesterday at church, the preacher touched on God’s assurance of protection. In my spirit what resonated in me was diplomatic immunity.
Are you aware that Christians have access to diplomatic immunity?
If you view it as we are foreigners here on earth, then as ambassadors for Christ, we have diplomatic immunity.
Psalm 91 amongst other bible verses speaks about the protection God’s children/ambassadors have access to.
To access this protection Psalm 91:14-16 states this:
““If you’ll hold on to me for dear life,” says GOD, “I’ll get you out of any trouble. I’ll give you the best of care if you’ll only get to know and trust me. Call me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times; I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party. I’ll give you a long life, give you a long drink of salvation!””
Psalm 91:14-16 MSG
These are amazing words of assurance. Way better than what a Government can provide. We all have the opportunity to take hold of this assurance for we are all God’s children.
However, only those who hold on to him or take Christ as their Lord and personal savior have access to this. It’s similar to how only the family of diplomats have diplomatic immunity. You have to join the family to enjoy the benefits.
This is not to say that God doesn’t love those who are not Christian. Rather, it’s Him stretching His hand out to help all enjoy the protection he offers.
Some Christians may question whether this actually works. I humbly ask that we all look into our faith and ask whether we truly believe that God is in our lives.
Have you really let go of your burdens?
Is Jesus your Lord and personal savior?
These are simple yet heavy questions that draw the line between being a Christian and being a person of the world.
All I am asking is for us to reflect on our relationship with God and be sure that His is with us. For many claim to be Christians and yet don’t act like Christ.
And while that’s a tough act to follow and we all fall short, we do not seem to trust God and His ability to change our ways.
We live in a world where no one is safe. One could be struck with illness, cancer a tumor or die suddenly. An accident could occur and no human or insurance company can assure you of prevention.
Wouldn’t it be a good idea to ensure you have God’s assurance that He has you and your family’s best interests?
Read Psalm 91 to get a full grasp of what God is offering. I prefer reading it in the Message version. Try and read it as often as you can to strengthen your faith in the Lord.
As long as you are holding onto God and believe this scripture I believe you will live a blessed life.
I am a proud die hard Manchester United fan. By die hard I don’t mean I watch every game, enter arguments or get THAT emotional when things go bad for the team. After all I am not getting paid like the players but I will support the team in good times and bad times. I guess you could call it a marraige.
I decided to become a Manchester United fan in 1999. It was a couple of days before the UEFA finals that year and there was a lot of talk in school about whether Manchester United would beat Bayern Munich.
People were taking sides and at that time I didn’t have a clue of what was going on or the history that the two teams had built for themselves.
I am not really a soccer person but it felt wrong to not be bothered about this game and the ticket to participate in the discussions, arguments or pride talks was to choose a side.
Manchester, I believe by the UEFA finals had already won the Premier League and the FA Cup and were in route to obtain the UEFA cup making it a treble. I on the other hand had no clue about this and did not utilize this as a reason to choose Manchester.
I only leaned in the direction of Bayern Munich for patriotic reasons or so I thought. Samuel Kuffour, was a Ghanaian defender on the Bayern Munich squad so my thoughts initially were in favor of Bayern.
I did not make a decision till the day of the match. My younger brother was a Manchester fan and I guess on the day I decided to trust in the colour red and trust in my brothers tastes. We had sibling rivalry like any other normal family and I didn’t think soccer would have been a good reason for us to fight. So I went with Manchester.
Bayern were the first to score that day and I remember asking myself in thought whether I had made the right decision. But I stuck to my red colour.
In the closing minutes of the match I did think of announcing my divorce from Manchester. After all, this was my first match as a fan. I felt the rules would permit me to leave as a fan and move to Bayern as long as the match is not over……..but I stuck with Manchester.
In extra time miracles occurred. In quick succession, two substitutes that came in before extra time delivered the saving goals that saw Manchester win the treble and saw me become a fan for life. Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were the substitute players who saved the day to the shock of the Bayern players and fans who believed they had won.
Fast forward almost 20 years later, Manchester find themselves in similar waters in the UEFA cup. Honestly, I didn’t watch the match between Manchester and PSG but followed the highlights. I wasn’t surprised by the performance of the club. Such optimism hasn’t been felt in Manchester for a while but when the manger leading the team on is no other than Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, an individual who has seen the team persevere time and time and again and has a spirit of hope, anything is possible.
I won’t bore you by breaking down how Manchester we’re victorious that night but rather shift the tone of the conversation a bit.
Part of the reason why I am a Manchester United fan is because on and off the pitch the team has a never say die attitude that has seen it become the most valuable soccer team.
This is a team that almost went bankrupt; had a fair share of financial problems; had its stadium bombed during the world war and lost an entire football squad in a plane crash amongst other disappointments. That coupled with their battles on the field which sometimes prove difficult make them a team that gels with my spirit of optimism.
If you are going to be optimistic then you have to have unshifting faith. Had I at the last moment moved as a fan to Bayern Munich, I would not be able to revel in the joy celebrated in victory minutes later.
Sometimes we have fought or struggled towards a goal always believing that things will change; only to give up at the very minute that things were about to change for good.
The question is how do you know when that change is coming? My answer is you don’t. However, the benefits of hanging on to what you believe outweigh giving up. (If you’re fighting for a good thing)
Things may be bad for you and yes, it may seem as if you are destined for failure. Nevertheless, you have to believe in yourself and keep fighting on.
This is always easier in my opinion if you have Jesus with you. He always knows how to provide the right word or send a person your way to encourage you.
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of Life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” – James 1:12
So don’t give up. It’s easy to think that the successful are successful because they’ve always had it all but that’s not the case. Everyone started from somewhere including great Manchester United.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:9
You too can accomplish the mission deemed impossible. As long as your intentions are pure and you are right with the Lord. It’s just cooler when you are a Manchester fan and more importantly believe in Jesus.
One of the reasons why poetry is so powerful is because it’s multi dimensional. People often limit it to books or performance but there is more to poetry than just words.
I have begun to explore the different dimensions of poetry with social media and art.
Yesterday being Ghana’s Independence Day, I decided to try sharing my poetry differently. So playing with graphic design applications I posted my poem “One Love” on my Instagram feed.
27 individual posts made up the poem. Majority of the posts have an individual message but play a role in the big picture which can only truly be embraced by viewing my profile page.
The poem though short touches on Ghana and her desire to unite its people under the banner of love. The piece touches on how the concept of love is interpreted to mean different things and asks questions as to whether we are truly seeking love as a nation and people.
Over the month of March and more, (depending on how long it will take) I plan on using my blog to break down the poem and discuss the elements within. I will touch on why I used certain images and why I used certain lines to further expand the details in the poem and show people how powerful poetry is.
A screenshot of one of the 27 posts of the poem “One Love” on Instagram
I urge you to search me up on Instagram @hondredpercent to view the poem and share your thoughts. This is quite the experiment I am embarking on so I am unsure as to what will result from this and what both audience and I will learn from this process. I however look forward to it.
Keep it ONE HONDRED!
Here is the poem:
One Love
Ghana raised Wanlov but we don’t have one love
Our independence made us free to allow one love
We fell in love with democracy and not one love
Corruption came along with that and that’s one love
to the one bud that got the power
To him that’s one love
Selfishness is his curse and that breeds love
But not the kind we need to make it as he does
In Ghana the real question is how do we love?
Cos we love to talk a lot and that breeds doves
of hope and conflict. The parties know it. Yes we love
a back and forth but that’s our fault cos we lack enough
as it is already to stay as we are
I am tired of this already but that’s not enough
Cos maybe its only me and that’s not one love
Maybe you are tired too and maybe that’s two love or true love but time will tell if we are really all for one love
Ever since I turned 30 I feel I have moved from walking on the streets of life with my chalewote (Ghanaian term for flip flops) and moved onto life’s treadmill of which I keep falling off.
I am a husband, father, employee, boss, rapper, poet, entrepreneur and pastor trying to balance or should I say juggle the many hats I wear while keeping my head shiny and my beard looking as neat as possible.
These roles are pretty new to me and though I have been rapping and performing poetry for a while, it has become quite the challenge alongside my other duties and passions. Writing is harder and memorizing and practicing performance difficult because between work and telling a boy to stop crying, the comas do not pause long enough for rehearsals let alone a haiku.
One minute I am jogging on the treadmill and next I am running towards pain instead of getting off the bloody machine. Why? Because I am keeping up appearances. Making an attempt or doing what everyone is doing because………
That’s the new normal!
Well, I AM TIRED!
Enough Is Enough
I am not the son of krypton and neither a super hero in the Marvel universe. Even they are met with situations that cause them to reconsider how they approach their fight.
Paul and Hondred Percent are the same and that often puts me in situations where I am doing things like others and not how Paul should be doing things. We are each different and go about things differently. We tend to forget that sometimes and feel that’s a one size fits all solution to things.
Keeping Up With Social Media
To be more specific, as an artist I have struggled in maintaining a social media presence. I am glad I uninstalled Snapchat because I couldn’t get my head around it’s purpose other than taking cute silly pics with my kids.
My audience hangs out on social media, thus in making a difference, it is a platform I can’t ignore.
That being said. Keeping up with social media is a rat race and there is a tendency to do stuff because the world is doing it or because it will bring about interaction such as likes, follows and comments. There is also a sort of sacrifice you give in the form of selfies, posts, videos etc to show you are relevant.
I tried to do this some years back by trying to write a blog post everyday. It was a good challenge and brought out the writer in me but got me forcing creativity and its natural flow.
I made several plans and executed but never got that post to stick on the wall.
Sometime last year my son destroyed my phone and forced a creative hibernation on my life which was much needed.
Catching My Breath
With a smart phone out of my life I was forced to take a breather.
I had been pushing and looking hard for a way to maintain a social media presence that I never considered the alternative of rest.
“What is rest going to do? What we need is to try something new”. This was my thought process and boy was I wrong.
The treadmill put me on this path of “don’t quit, get up and try again”, and frustrated the poetry in my life. I was not happy and stress was building as my pillow each night I slept. Not only because of my social media presence but other things of which I refused to get off the treadmill about.
I did not want to stop running. The world is running so I too must run without asking why? Or pausing to understand the why?
I believe I am not alone in this running on the treadmill saga of a problem. Because we enter the gym of life with the treadmill already turned on we forget that it has an off switch, that we can slow it down or get off and that seems like weird choices because the whole gym of life has others just running on treadmills in their nice outfits with earphones going faster but to where and for what, it’s not really clear.
I don’t know why the world is running but my running is not helping me reach my cause so I am stopping to catch my breath.
Alright Stop! Collaborate & Listen
Stopping didn’t mean I had quit. It just meant I was figuring out the best way of continuing. Sometimes this could take months and years. In this space I let God reveal what my truth is and how I can exist without faking it.
In the great words of Vanilla Ice in the hit song “Ice Ice Baby”, you have to stop, get in tune with your self, environment and God and listen to what all are telling you.
We’re 90% Done – Conclusion
It’s not easy and I am still figuring out this journey of life. I am however running on my own terms and want to make a difference to those around me. I want to share my struggles and successes with the world and help them in becoming the best person they can be.
I believe this is possible only with Jesus. You may agree or disagree and that’s okay. I believe that if you are truly seeking truth you will meet Him.
Don’t be caught up in the race the world is running. It’s okay to stop and catch your breath. Don’t worry if others keep running. The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong. Pause and reflect on the journey ahead. Ask for help and let truth help in finding the best way to continue running.
