A Rainspiration.

The exhilarating smell of rain hitting sand,
The soothing feel that the wind proceeding rain feeds our soul and body with,
The sweet panic and nostalgia the raging winds ignite,
The build up of beautiful unpredictable  rhythm of rain like a music genre not categorised yet,
The anticipation and hope rain builds up in those that enjoys its blessings,
A force of nature that changes plans, lifestyle and people when it occurs,
The raging winds that shake up the earth , strip the land of some of its burdens and replace it with it's essence,
The musical genius  that eliminates rival sounds , takes over the environment when it hits the earth,
Rain,  an element that spares nothing in its path,  a generous one that splashes its essence all over surfaces it touches with no bias to the food chain or societal stratification,
Rain; a bloom to some and gloom to others,
The element so gentle yet destructive all in one session,  you don't get a chance to choose how you want it,
Rain; a blessing,  curse, escape , distraction, but in all an element whose presence, absence and significance can never be undermined.
Rain;  an element that brings nostalgia and makes the heart seek warmth,
Rain; a blessing to me, an inspiration,  a fear,  and an element of wonder 

Rain

     The intoxicating smell of rain hitting sand.
      Rain , a beautiful force of nature that sends creatures into nostalgia and seeking for the warmth of a home.
Rain, an element so pure its cleanse the worries and soothes the soul.
          Rain, an element of bliss that adds life to everything it touches with wind to precede its beautiful showers.
          Rain, a force that makes even kings scramble for warmth and shelter, uniting people together momentarily under umbrellas and shade.

Zaitum's Gratitude

         I honestly can't even begin to say how beautiful things have been even in bittersweet times. I'm grateful for all I've achieved, experienced, lost,learnt and people I've met who were kind or otherwise.               
        I've rediscovered myself and learnt to be tolerant and accept that I'm flawed in beautiful ways.                 
         God the most supreme has been truly merciful and magnificent in my life.            One thing I know for sure is I'm created for a significant importance to our world.             Zaitum is a special lady.

BLACK IS WHITE, WHITE IS BLACK.

When we talk about weapons and ammunitions, we think of guns, military tanks, explosives but we forget that the most dangerous & volatile of them all is the human mind. The human mind is the originator of ideas from cultures, values, problems, experience, environment amongst others which we may classify good or bad as we deem fit. Wars have been ignited from ideologies that have been successfully manipulated into the thoughts of “weaker minds “by stronger and more deceptive ones. What is your idea of purity? What is color you do attribute with virtues, vices, evil and peace?
Over the years black has been used to categorise evil, emotional trauma, mysteries, and most things unclean or dangerous. Looking at it critically when faced with societal constructs we perceive as good and evil, there is something called choice that we end up making or forced to indulge in by circumstances.
Humans engage in classification or stereotyping to feel safe and as a defense mechanism to threats to our survival. When we face a new situation, we rely on knowledge, experience and intuition to handle the situation. Humans are very competitive for survival though we would rather deny it because of the concept of love, kindness, empathy, values, religion and culture we are entangled in.
Black isn’t as bad as we perceive it, white isn’t as pure as we value it and the same can be vice versa. Night is the perfect example of black; a time where some people dread because of power it is believed to possess, a period where everything is shroud in darkness and we can’t predict what is next. A time where people let loose their inhibitions, inner beast and hidden personalities because they are liberated from the scouring spotlight called DAY. The socially delinquent hide under the unpredictability of this darkness to oppress and harm people, while others see it as a continuation of their normal lives.
White limits the true person that we are. It is little wonder when we wear white, we become cautious about everything and everyone so it doesn’t get stained, creased or appears unclean even at the expense of forfeiting some daily activities till we take the white off. On the contrary when we wear black, we are less cautious about getting stained. All of this would be debatable depending on who we are.
Color profiling and character classification is one the factors limiting our productivity and degenerates our peace. The ability to make decisions, adapt to situations and be productive is what makes us human after all. People have gone further by associating this good and evil concept of colors on people. We let our fears of the unknown and potential competition of people we don’t know obfuscate our clear thoughts. We let color profiling of both white and black scare us into harming them, stereotyping them as enemies and miscreants overwhelm us.
  Would you say white is deceiving? White is evil? White is conceiting? Because when we are in the spotlight of the day, people show kindness, empathy, orderliness and other societal construct of good but when it gets dark, people exhibit the characteristics of social construct of vices because no one is watching.
Black has its beauty too. There is no limitation in people’s attitude because there is no need to put on a façade like they do in the day. Even the beginning of darkness starts with a beautiful sunset then proceeds with occasionally starry skies and moon that is a beauty to behold.
Colors shouldn’t be a landmark  for rating a person, thing or concept because humans will act according to concept of good and evil they believe in. we should start looking at what is beneath the color because a lot could be discovered. People could hide behind the purity of white till they are no longer in the spotlight and the same goes for black.
            Be the light when you are in an unfamiliar situation you would refer to as dark by approaching it with an open mind. Learning to prevent our fears from controlling us when shrouded in the mystifying darkness or black is a step forward in understanding the true concept of good and evil. White and black could be whatever you allow it to become.
           The danger we think we are in is most times just a mirage. When we get confused, sad or feel low, we see ourselves in a dark place which can be the best place to be if we are open-minded, ready to learn and be empathetic. We use the excuse of the vast space of the dark state of our mind to engage it in ideas that are destructive, physically unproductive and exhausting. The dark place of our mind is where we can seek solitude and answers to collective peace and survival because we need everyone’s positive innovations, ideas and inventions to develop.
We need to exercise our minds, gain control of our thoughts, give it solitude to welcome new productive ideas then prove our humanity by acting on the ones that would unite us, promote our wellbeing and development as a planet.
In the end, color profiling of people and behavior  is often a defense and survival construct of our minds. We should focus on being the best we can be without harming people or environment around us. Our judgement is often a reflection of who we really are.

A Pluviophile's peace.

My soul has found peace in the pit pat sound of the rain,
             The smell of rain on forage promising good harvest,
            The fierce winds that sends chills down the spine and dominate everything in its path,
            The frightening yet beautiful lightening that illuminates the sky for seconds,
            The scrambling of creatures to find shelter and food,
            The element of nostalgia that reminds you of warmth ,comfort and peace.
         Rain may be gentle or heavy,  but it always leaves an impact where it falls

HOARD THE FORTUNE.

       Our daily activities revolves around survival, strive for success & luxury and different ambitions.  Everyday is another opportunity for us to get closer to achieving our dreams and desire whether they are resourceful or destructive, greedy or selfless, socially accepted or illegal. As strange as it may seem, our dreams are achieved by direct or indirect intervention of others which could be in form of exploration or mutualism.
          No one succeeds by their actions but this may be debatable because we believe we put in all the work and that's why we succeeded. Without people acknowledging our "hard work " , patronising and recommending them for implementation, production and consumption,  we can not achieve the success we desire. Whether it is an idea, plan or product, we need other people to see the benefit of it and want to use it or pay for it.
        The term exploitation only comes to play when we feel cheated but we see people exerting more energy and resources for us as being smart and wise. Goals and actions are driven towards achieving wealth, fame, recognition and sense of accomplishment . We may not mind doubling the price of our commodity and services when we see the demand for it is growing but will get furious when we feel someone is trying to make us pay exorbitant fees for a  service that don't cost us as much. It is business when we are getting cheap labour and high income but exploitation when we have to pay for a service that shouldn't cost more.
        Taking advantage of people's ignorance, social status and transparency for our gains isn't uncommon. The desire for power and wealth is sometimes overwhelming that naive people are seen as opportunity to amass wealth. Our humanity withers away at the thought of being at the peak of the social heriachy but we forget we need each other for our plan whether beneficial or disruptive to succeed.
        We fell trees without replacing them forgetting we their shade , end product, oxygen and protection against harsh winds. We promote discrimination and genocide of other people forgetting that despite their diverse religion, skin pigmentation and beliefs, they have a role to play in our development ,peace and success .we hunt down wild animals for sport forgetting they are part of the ecosystem that sustains us.
        The cost of a product or service depends on the business owners, regulatory board and demand for it. Violating other's Human Rights for our gain is where we need to draw  the line. Employing cheap labor with long hours of hard work for stipends in an organisation that earn millions is repulsive by some people's standard and being a good business person by some other people's standards. What is right and wrong is an endless hassle with our interest as priority.
      Humanitarian acts also involves people giving out of the excess or little we have which may be convenient or depriving. There are people who still find a business opportunity in selling the supplies and relief materials given to people in needs. Exploitation have varying perspective depending on our principles, beliefs, culture and social status.
             Whatever our products or ideas ars we should always reevaluate the effect on well-being of others, peace, human rights,social development and our well being too. We may exploit others directly or indirectly because we need people to appreciate our efforts, implement them as necessary, gain wealth and societal recognition.
      Using beliefs, culture, laws and religion as a guide to draw the line between survival and exploitation seems to be the only which is still inconsistent. What is exploitation to you?

THE ENSLAVING FREEDOM.

            The media is abuzz with a lot of injustice, oppressions and other information being disseminated to the public. People are taking sides on what should be right and wrong, while others are indifferent about any changes around them. We are in the era of revolutions and fight for justice, a time where people speak out or find compassionate people to do so on their behalf. Freedom is now more accessible but it has slowly become our doom and limitations.
        Recently, people have become more aware of the normalized oppression they have been subjected to and everyone is fighting back the system that enforces this unforgivable act. The more freedom we get, the more we still crave that it has become a drug of dependence that resists any rehabilitation.
        Drawing the line between freedom and insensitivity is almost impossible to achieve. Even if we build walls as high as the heavens around our cities to keep the different ones amongst us, it still won’t stop people from demanding a right to something we find repulsive, selfish, out-of-the-norm or absurd. The complexity of the human mind has made it impossible for us to want the same things and choose to see things in the same light.
       In the course of our everyday activities, we desire new things and achievements that we set our minds to or work towards achieving. When we face a limitation in achieving what we want, we begin to think of ways to overcome the challenge which may include desiring the thing restricting us. From this moment of limitation, we begin to crave authority over what we perceive as a restriction hence the desire for freedom is ignited.
     The freedom of a group becomes the shackles and discomfort to another group but we don’t really care about that because our life is a survival of the fittest and the privileged. The struggle for freedom has been a tug of war between human rights and moral guide, the desire to allow people have their freedom to be the best they can be and the moral value of it not offending another social group is the origin of a lot of unending feud and discriminations.
       Freedom is a beautiful feeling that may even bring one to euphoria, hence it is addictive. How far are we willing to go to achieve a life without restrictions to anything that crosses our minds? We are all different after all, so why should we still let the society dictate what is right and wrong to us? Is there such a thing as too much freedom? Are moral and religious guidelines necessary in defining freedom in this era?
        Our diversity, ambition, principles, beliefs, culture and religion have an undeniable role to play in how we live “our” lives. Even the liberal ones amongst us who claim to live with no restrictions and principles, fail to realize that decision alone is a principle itself as well as the moral guide that influence actions. Even if we have an open discussion on what should be legal or illegal, we can never eliminate all the injustice of the world because of our endless needs. Reaching a compromise is the best we can do on enforcing the law without consideration for those who may feel restricted and repulsed at the society indulgence of such right.
  Even in hate and discrimination there is tolerance and compromise. The ability to meet up with people who share resentful views as you, reach an agreement on how to invoke chaos and execute the evil plan is enough to show even the worst among us is capable of tolerating others. We need to open our mind to the diversity around us. Diversity is the reason for our growth and development as a race and whether we admit it or not, most of the privileges we enjoy are as a result of diversity, hard work or exploitation of some other social group.
Embracing diversity, love and tolerance doesn’t necessarily make us become who we despise. Learning to respect others and treating them the same way we would like to be treated doesn’t make us less human, it only improves our chances of survival because we learn new ways and views on how to achieve our dreams and attain self-accomplishment. Tolerance, love and dialogue are the only way and everyone is capable of embracing these qualities. We are born into the societal unit called family who learn to love, care for and tolerate us. When the family isn’t capable of giving us all these, we seek companionship and survival in friendship and other associations where we indulge in a symbiotic or parasitic relationship with other people.
Desires that may harm another social group or cause loss to their lives and properties should be reevaluated. We truly have our own lives to live as an individual but our actions have an interwoven consequence to us and people around us. Some revolutions have yielded freedom to an oppressed social group whose freedom was a “threat” to another social group while other revolutions have the same devastating effect on different culture, religion and people.
Freedom is mostly subjective because we are sometimes too greedy and biased about our comfort to realize we are oppressing other people. The desire for freedom is insatiable from birth to death, we will always desire dominance over everything around us.
Everyone has a personal desire and differing perspective about things that even identical twins can’t share. Dialogue and tolerance is the only solution and solace we can get in this world of chaos and discriminations. Tolerance is the only true freedom people underestimate and obfuscate. We are selfish beings who desire to be at the top of the food chain and in control of all the elements around us, the terms some of us refer to as SUCCESSS and POWER.
Defining freedom is a heinous task that will keep make us turn in circles. As we grow and develop as a society, we wanting more and it is a continuous cycle that tests our resilience. Dialogue is the only way we can discuss and detect the freedom that liberates and destroys us.
          Kindness, love and tolerance, dialogue and embracing positive change is a practice we can use to keep freedom from limiting and leading us to destruction. Our individual uniqueness and ability to adapt to situations is what defines us as humans; a race with diversity due to topography, climate, skin pigmentation, culture and beliefs that must unite to develop.