Happy New Year 2013

As we move into the New Year 2013 so soon has the Old Year 2012 become history.

This is the web of temporal events in which we as humans are caught in.

As time passes , events come and go! As time passes , men come and go!

But only one thing remains unchanged....the presence of the supreme one in the universe.

He came to stay and will always be. He has always been with/by us and will always do so.

Therefore as we repeatedly celebrate the cyclical events that remind us of his existence,

so should we think of the essence for which he created us !

He created us to serve....to serve mankind of all walks of life,

both the weary and the strong, the young and the old, the black, whites and the colored and

the men of all families, ethnicities and races on the surface of the earth.

He created us of his own image to serve and not wait to be served,

to build bridges amongst his people rather than breach the bonds amongst his men,

to live a life serving by example with the expectations of no returns ,

and  being part of  the change we want to see.

To enjoy our differences rather than complain about our dissimilarities,

.for there is always strength in diversity.

Flashing back into time, one will quickly realize how one has been/is blessed,

Many have been disabled by diseases that have left them in destitution and dissatisfaction about life,

Many have been stressed and strained, worn and torn by the psychotrauma of wars, draughts & inundations, famine and other natural calamities.

Many of our peers lost their eyes, limbs and even their entire lives, some even as recent as the dim of last year's dusk; yet we have been granted the unmerited favor to see the twilights of the New Year’s dawn .

Let’s Count our blessings one by one and see just how much God loves us.

Let’s be contented with what we have rather than complain of what we ought to have

 for God’s time and plan is the best.  

Although the occurrence of events might have fallen short of our humane expected sequence,

there is still every reason in this season to say “Thank You Lord for My Life and Our Lives”......

for life doesn’t always evolve in proportionality.....

it waxes and wanes with moments of joy and moments of sadness,

moments of luck and moments of mischance, moments of successes and moments of failures......

But in all these, the most important is to learn and take the lesson to prevent repetition of history.

Thank you God for my Life. Thank you Lord for Our Lives! Happy New Year to Every One.

 

Birthday Reflection

Over the years, I have cummulatively learned from the sweet & bitter experiences of life and have come to the following conclusion:

Always stay in your zone of safety and stretch not so much beyond limits!

Be contented with  & make use of the little you have  rather than complain  and

frustrate yourself about the much you ought to have, and more will come your way ,

For in  real life 1+1 is often  greater than or less than  2 and seldom equals 2!

Take the risk if it costs nothing and the benefits are rewarding!

Be positive but not too optimistic for it easily leads to frustration!

Go not to places where you will be humiliated or down-graded!

Request not for unmerited favours for such are never free of attached strings!

Be the first to serve and expect not any immediate nor direct benefits,

But fail not to demand for your due  accepting no surpluses nor minuses!

Be confident,hardworking and disciplined but also be wise and smart,

So as to utitlize every presenting opportunity for repetition is not a rule!

A little  aptitude with great attitude will project you to the desired altitude!

Be yourself no matter what they say,for you are created unique

Do everything to avoid poverty for it is the buttress of all evils! 

Men are created Different so as to Enjoy NOT Suffer

 

If men would consider not so much where they differ, as wherein they agree, there would be far less of uncharitableness and angry feeling in the world says Joseph Addison.

Men were created different so as to enjoy, not suffer. Men are created different so much so that even identical twins still exhibit elements of difference. But why this difference poses a problem to many still beats my imagination!

This afternoon while I stood near a grocery feasting my eyes with the multiplicity of fruits displayed for sale, I curiously noticed that as people came  and went  ,no one found fault in the other’s choice of

purchase though each bought a fruit of a different colour,flavor...some went for the apple, some for the banana etc.

Making an inference to human nature I find it quite hard to comprehend why human differences are accepted by others with difficulty. From the very beginning men were created different as well as every

other thing on the surface of the universe.
This difference ought to be explored at man’s advantage, for man’s happiness and for men to enjoy and not the inverse. Imagine an artistic work of just one color...how dull it will look!

From my observations and experiences, differences culminate into squabbles, conflicts and wars when one tries to force one’s ideologies, beliefs etc on others .A difference becomes perceived as a problem when arbitrary classifications are made based on our natural differences placing some at a relatively higher position and others at the lower end.

No doubt colors initially created to beautify the world have now been tagged with different connotations-some with a negative and others with a positive Pygmalion effect.

White-Clean-Pure-Good-Superior etc

Black-Dirty-Impure-Bad-Inferior—etc

Judge not as not to be judged. When one assumes the role of the creator passing judgment and condemning others simply because of a difference, then the very essence for which we were created different so as to savor becomes lost.

Let’s explore, exploit and employ our differences for the service of humanity. Let differences be seen as complementary portions that need to be assembled to form the whole.Let's learn and enjoy our differences. Let’s use our differences to make the world a more convivial place to live in.





MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD

This picture speaks volume. Looking at it takes my mind down the memory lane. It reminds me of my childhood. Though lots of details have escaped my mind and remain too remote to be recalled one thing keeps on beating my imagination….how I survived with all the risky adventures I was engaged in.The twin hill standing tallest was my highest mountain in the world.With my associates we will ascend and descend tens of times a day aimlessly in excitement.We just spent hours chasing tiny little insects called grasshoppers.Most of the times the hunting was fruitless but we never seized to continue in same unyielding exercise may be because we hadn’t other sources of distraction…no toys to play with ,no internet to browse, no television to watch.From the top of this hill one could have a telescopic view of the whole village….the undulating hills encircling a vast valley….that was our world, our heaven and earth.


The plantain and banana trees were our hide and seek ground when we returned from the hill.
The coffee farm around our family home was the biggest plantation one had ever set eyes on.Just like the little girl starring we used to wonder what the world beyond could be offering and it never occurred in our wildest imagination that there was any place on earth more beautiful than our neighborhood… True None Is!!!.The narrow stretch of untarred road which served concomitantly as our football field was the only street known to us as our parents limited our perimeter of freedom not beyond this .

In the evenings we will gather by the three-stone-fire-side in one of the houses to listen to the mind moving stories recounted to us by the aged. Stories of the history of our land, Stories about heroes, stories about mysticism and black magic. All these sank down our minds and as as niave as we were left us in bewilderment.

One never thought of ever leaving this beautiful creation of God untill curiosity and the quest for the knowledge finally took one out of this garden.

Looking at this picture again reminds of my parted friends with whom we shared this common childhood…May their souls R.I.P.

Looking at this picture reminds me of how much I owe this little hamlet that gave me all I needed to realize my dreams.
 I hope I will be able to give back one day.

LUCK OF SUCCESS

When people succeed they attribute it all to hard work and negate any element of luck but when they fail all the blame is shifted to some malediction.This is a common occurrence in human life.We give ourselves all the credit when all goes well without even giving a second thought to the fact that some force(s) could have been behind our success.
I am of the school of thought that the luck of chance has much in common with success other wise how can we explain that million of people worldwide toil and moil  ,day in day out ,under the hot blazing sun and cold chilly nights but never see the light or we can simply say they were destined  not to succeed? These people are smart,hard working and even more ready to take the risk but are never at the right place at the right time...they aren't lucky.Contrariwise, we see some people within the twinkle of an eye make it and make it really big!The later usually narrate an irreproducible smooth life story of some sudden idea from some space which they rapidly transform into reality.With positive results they are termed the smarter ones as no one cares about the means as long as the yielded results are seen.But a critical investigation into these "success cases" usually reveals they had some natural advantages over their  unlucky peers.Some are from rich families that make provision for the starting income.Some are born in places with environmental advantages.
This in no way rules out the fact that hard work to some extend is a prerequiste for success.One has to work hard but no amount of hard work will bring success without opportunties whose timing  is determined by some forces beyond human control.....LUCK.We usually say "opportunity comes but once" with the implication that if wasted  there is no second chance.I beg to differ as life is a long journey with many hills to climb and those that reach the summit being the ones who fell but rose,those who persisted and perserved believing they were going to make it.Opportunities thus come many times not once,they do so several times everyday but simply shift to the next person when they meet us unprepared.

THE POWER OF NEGATIVE THINKING

Our perception, thinking, judgment and interpretation of the happenings within and around us has a great influence on our lives. When this happens in the positive direction, our state is shifted to the right but when the contrary occurs then begins a vicious cycle of negativism. Negative thoughts about ourselves or the world around us negatively impacts on our output reducing our efficiency and effectiveness. This in turn affirms, confirms, reaffirms and reinforces our preconceptions and old beliefs deepening and worsening our condition. Mind rooted clauses like “I knew I wasn’t going to make it” or “I am always unlucky” subconsciously dampen our impetus and zeal to forge ahead. With such partis pris, our motivation declines and more and more we move towards supineness. We lose our ego, start hallucinating, having illusions and delusions. If we do nothing or no one does anything about it we finally go emotionally flat....becoming philosophers of life!
As humans we are endowed with a mind filled with unlimited and an overwhelming creativity. But this innate gift from the Great One only becomes dominantly expressed when one thinks positively …when one thinks positively about oneself, when one thinks positively about others, and about one's environment. An finally if I may borrow from the words of an anonymous wise one “in the end, life is not about what the world does to us, it’s all about how we react to the challenges we encounter along the way. Failure is a word; of itself powerless. Only we can allow it to become a state of mind”.Be a Positive Thinker

I am Proud of My Heritage..I Love Cameroon

Welcome to Cameroon.The most fascinating place on the surface of the Universe.Baptized with
the appellation "Africa In Miniature" it is situated at the hinge of Africa spanning from the arid north through the central savanna green-land to the thick equatorial forest of the south.
With barely 20Million people in this microcosm,more than 250 different languages are spoken a few of which are mutually comprehensible.It is a center of great civilization integrating an umpteen of folklore all over Africa.
It is unique place to visit or live in with an immense geological,cultural and religious diversity.Cameroonians are very welcoming , hospitable and loving.
The following video elucidates some of the salient features of this "Garden of Eden".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABROLkGLmYs

DON'T QUIT

http://www.thedontquitpoem.com/

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won, had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.
Anonymous

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Dr. Ben Carson-THINK BIG

Think Big

THINK BIG is Dr. Ben Carson’s philosophy which promotes outstanding academic achievement and dedication to helping others. Children, students, and adults have all found that when they THINK BIG, they are on their way to achieving their goals.

T is for Talent/time: Recognize them as gifts.

H Hope for good things and be honest.

I Insight from people and good books.

N Be nice to all people.

K Knowledge: Recognize it as the key to living.


B Books: Read them actively.

I In-depth learning skills: Develop them.

G Dr. Carson’s "G" is for God. Everyone has their own beliefs. When you THINK BIG, what does the "G" stand for in your life?