On being a Pencil "IN BETWEEN"

Mother Teresa once said; We are all "little pencils in the hand of a writing God, who is sending love letters to the world". I am unsure of how my love letter will end but i know it will conclude whether today, next month or 20 years from now it will inevitably end. If there are two things in all the world that i am extremely sure of, it is that we are born and that we die.

That being said the "in between" is where all the living really happens. It is where we learn; where we teach; where we get to see the world through books, through travel, through each other and the thousands of movies we watch.

The "in between" is where we learn the differences between love, hate, disdain and compromise; it is where we build relationships that either grow into life long friendships or into fond memories. It is where we grow, change, evolve and on occasion get to recreate ourselves a few times over just because.

The "in between" is where we meet God, where we debate the varied realms of religion, faith and the ever contested afterlife. It is where we have these personal journeys to find self, loose self and then eventually find the 'real' self all in one life time. It is where we find purpose. 

My take is that the love letter is probably all of the "in between" moments lived, the subtle moments that stays with you through out the journey and not just the ones that have you saying "AHA I get it".

Something every MAN should hear!

The politics of the Underdog

When did our political system become such a joke? 

There has clearly somewhere already been a decision made that Zuma should not pay back the money from his massive Nkandla Estate, built with millions of tax payer money. These ad hoc committees seem to clearly be going nowhere slowly, with MPs walking out because witnesses cannot be called in to give account to this spending and with the ANC members being solely left at the table to decide the fate of the man who inevitably signs their pay checks. Why are we giving one party so much power; I thought we lived in a democratic country where the "people" in principle rule through the parties that we vote and place in power. 

I am also a tad confused at how many committees and reports are in circulation at the moment on this Nkandla Estate. Do we really need that many and to waste more money. In my head it is rather simple, the president committed a crime so he should return the money. I am sure he, his many wives and children (with all those lucrative jobs) has the money jointly to return it to the government coffers. 

That money could have been used to improve our education system-transport those damn textbooks, it could have been used to pay for 3 years of University for approximately 34 underprivileged students, it could have probably fed 24 500 and more families who live under the poverty line for a few days. It could have been used to refinance some of our dormant industries and would have in turn created the much needed jobs people between 18-40 yearn for in communities. 

I am grappling to understand the notion of unquestioned power which is clearly what we give these political figures. 

Standing in the Dark - Lawson

It might be an old one but definitely one of my favorites!