Dear Darkness - A letter to our fears

Darkness

I have just realised that I am not afraid of you, that you do not run my life for me nor command the things I do. I am not afraid to be in your presence because I represent light, life and growth. The realisation of what you do to life and how you capture us in your deep dark prison has set me free from your chains and showed me who you really are.

Nothing good really comes from you, in your presence there is no growth, no plant grows where you rule only moulds, the green colour of life doesn't radiate where you reside because what grows in your presence adopts your colour and the smell of doubt, the smell of death. In your comfort are those who are ashamed to face the light, afraid to be seen. It is a place where those ashamed of their actions live, where those who cannot stand who they are hide, the ones whom have doubt on how great they are, shadows. Often the things committed in your rule bring no pride nor joy to others, you are a provider to those that take from others, to the one's that tastes the forbidden, the takers.  

I have realized that you rule by fear, by intimidation and lies that we will amount to nothing without you. You provide us with false security and sense of belonging and keep us in your prison by telling us that we are not good enough and if what we do comes out everyone will reject us. You present yourself to us as a place of refuge while you are actually a prison. I realised that I had to set myself free, to change and to win back who I was, I moved out. I found a place of my own, solace, peace, acceptance I am not clean but I'm not hiding in filth with rats and the sun that shines on me, my skin, the rain drops on my face, they give me hope that I will become the best I aspire to be. This is my life, my chance and I'm taking it

Cheers to all the fun - Letter to 2014

Let me start by saying compliments to you 2014, as many begin to see you off I took a bit of time to reflect on who you have been to me and what you have brought in my life. Tonight many will celebrate to see you go and welcome 2015, most will spend what they don't have to celebrate what they don't understand.

Well just to inform you I didn't make any resolutions when you started, to me you were just another year changing. A change over between you and 2013 didn't skip any day in between so it was just a normal day changing to another and that wasn't going to change my fortunes. Well that hasn't changed, I still feel the same way. A year number is not going to change any fortunes in a person's life, it is not going to introduce anything new that we haven't seen nor heard about.

It is the decisions that we make regarding what we want to achieve and moments we seize that will make a difference in our lives not a change over to a different year number. Well 2014 you weren't bad nor good to me, you brought sun, moon, rain, stars, day and night and those helped me to measure and quantify what I have achieved and what I have lost. You were time that I was borrowed to serve me in achieving purpose and I was never going to allow you to become a master to what I was to achieve. Now run along and tell 2015 that I welcome him but there will be no resolutions and yes do tell him that there is a purpose to be achieved, tell him it will be a year of success and challenges as it was the case with you but please warn him that I shall not be threatened nor intimidated. Tell him that he will be known as 20 - faith - in

PS: thank you for the seasons you brought I enjoyed all equally.

Feed Africa to the dogs - Letter to an African child

Dear African Child

I wanted to begin my letter to you by asking how you were but realise that it will be rather an insult as I am aware that you are not at all fine. Your children sleep to lullabies of machine guns and screams of innocent souls murdered and raped by those who feel more powerful than others. Oh African child your beautiful cultural songs and late night bonfire with story telling while sharing meet and traditional beer has turned to criminal meeting where the next targeted victims are discussed and lives concluded. Your beautiful African sky is hidden by smokes of burning villages and teargas that still lingers over your clouds even after so many years in South Africa, the smoke of burning of schools and hospitals that use to be free in Tripoli, the smoke of burning Cairo that cover the historic pyramids of Imhotep and blood of Egyptian children that flows into the nile river.

The benefits of your minerals and resources are enjoyed by a few while the entire population of the African continent  live in great poverty, the rains that falls from your skies brings death as they carry poison that comes from underneath your ground that is polluted by those extracting minerals below. Your oil is used to fund the purchase of arms that kill the defenceless women and children of your soil, your diamonds shine in palaces of those who worry not if your children are wearing any shoes during winter mornings while going to schools that teach them to be obedient to the system setup to keep them as slaves to others.

Oh African child, you have given all you have to the politicians that feed you with lies while their bellies are full with berries of your ground. The politicians whom you offer and pledge your life to defend theirs and their election campaign manifestos then they forget all about when they are in power safe the insult house they build for you to squeeze in with your African size family. You have given your faith not to God but those who have appointed themselves to be his representatives and messengers  but continue to live in luxury while your last penny that should be directed to feeding your family goes towards cementing their wealthy status. African child since when has your preachers status moved from the saviour of souls to billionaire? Africa wake up for your land has been fed to the dogs 

A beautiful Letter

For many years I had given you so much attention and power to decide my life, my love, my happiness. In the quest to gain all things beautiful I have made great mistakes, like many I had made you a centre of my life. But amazingly enough you do not have a constant, no identity as you depend on each individuals' opinion, you actually have no existence on your own. You are shallow, cruel and loyal to no one, how do you survive? oh yes by preying on those who count on you for validation, by destroying those who have made friendship with you, those who think they possess you while you posses them, swallow them until all they become is defined by you, those who define themselves through you.  

Beauty, you become every girls dream and for those which society doesn't see as possessing you, you destroy. You are what parents define their new-borns with, what men describe their lady partners as, but the price many have to pay to associate with you is extremely high. How does one name define so much for everyone, become such a measure for everything? But what are you, what elements define you? 

How I wish many would break free from your chains, that we are able to look deeper than the surface  you settle on, but as mere immortals we leave under your spell. How beautiful we all want to be while we have no understanding of what this beauty is and will achieve for us, yet it is beautiful to possess you. 

Potential - A letter to the gifted

I am not even sure of how to address you as a young person with great potential, talent and intelligence. A young person with beauty and spark, the brilliant one who is always right. I have dealt and seen young people with so much potential like yourself during my school years and also during my entrepreneurial life, the world produces them in big numbers daily and will continue to do, so you and I aren't special really. There is so much people with potential and many will die without that potential realised because they are not willing to learn and definitely to serve, so writing this I know you will ask who made me an expert but I am not, I am one that has walked the road, carry the scars and that may not mean anything in your world but in the one we all live in, it counts for everything. 

Many that you see successful out there will tell you that, talent will propel you to a greater hight but it is discipline that will sustain and keep you there. Our failure is in our arrogance, the inability to humble ourself and pay the dues. Ofcourse we feel much smarter than everyone but the truth is if we were then we wouldn't be where we are because the world is actively looking for those that are different to everyone, the one's who carry brilliant ideas and rewards them with patience and greatness. We often feel faster, stronger, cleverer, prettier, more deserving than everyone else but time has taught me that there is always someone out there that has it more than us and mostly want it more than we do, so where does this put us?

You probably will reach your dreams, you will become who you aspire to be if you know who you want to be. But the biggest question is not on whether you will make it but rather will you stay there, on top? In life there are no short cuts, work hard and earn it, beauty can only get you in bed with someone who probably don't even care where you will end up, learn from your failures, be humble, not all people will like you, when things are well your world will be full of cheerleaders but the minute you go down all will flee and not even take your calls. Many have already closed this letter, some will respond with emotions than applying their mind, but someone's life will be impacted and changed, that is a choice. I don't know much but I am certain that principled efforts produce positive results.

Man to Man - Letter to my younger brother

Oh Brother

How I wished this day never came, a day where I try to give you guidance and pretend as if I know or have figured it out. But well I realise that dad is not going to do it, I have since been waiting for him to do it with me, no, no actually I have since waited for him to read me a bedtime story or was it to teach me to kick a soccer ball? no wait I remember now - it was for him to come and see my school report. See I can't have you waiting, I cannot let you go through the hurt. I cannot let you turnout like me.

Every-time when you are angry at me you point out that I have never made time to play with you, to be a brother, I'm sorry but you needed a father more than a brother and I had to choose a role. Now, man to man brother, I have made so much mistakes in my life which I wouldn't want you to go through. Writing this letter I risk a lot of things and your respect for me being the first, but your well-being is much more important than how you see me. In my mistakes many have been hurt, lives changed and my life? well that is not important at this stage. While growing up this is what i have learned and need to share with you.

Love gets confusing more as you grow and at a stage it moves out of the heart into the mind, where you need to start doing what is right and forget a bit about what you feel. You will meet many women all different with very special attributes, it will get confusing to you as your body will begin dictating over your mind, try to remember that pleasure lasts minutes the wrongs you do will hurt others for a lifetime. Little brother you will be disrespected and maybe cheated on, never raise your hand to any woman, I have and the results where not an increase in respect but hatred. Love and its pleasures will bring kids in your life and at that stage you become a father and not a boyfriend so in your anger you cannot remove her out of your life. Being a father is difficult, it is not about you nor how you feel but about the life you have brought in the world. The richer you get things don't get easier they get harder, more challenges and troubles, don't add women in your life but wisdom with success. Forgive easily otherwise you introduce the worst cancer in your life and it will consume you. When you help others do not expect them to thank you, be grateful if they do. Spare some time to enjoy the beautiful thing in life, play in the rain, walk bare feet on wet grass, listen to the ocean sing, spend time with those you love lest they forget who you are beneath the hard-work. My brother learn each day and teach others.

Take time in life to think of yourself, love yourself, leave a bit of care for you to also enjoy it. Emptiness is the most painful space in one's heart, fill your heart with love, remember I love You. My brother break the chain

Letter to my naked sister

Hi

I know I have no right to say anything but truth is I don't care about any rights because I am writing this letter because I care, I care about your wellbeing, about how you present yourself and about how you feel inside. I find myself too often taking our photos when we were kids to remind myself of a self respecting proud young girl that was defined by her character, personality, beautiful smile, creativity and the intelligence that use to put young unfocused boys in their place.  Well I often have to visit our family memory box because every week there is a photo of you trending from the weekend event you went to and every week the dress gets shorter and tighter. 

Yes it is none of my business alright and you don't tell me how to dress but are you not proud to point at me in a place full of people and say "that is my brother?", well maybe that's all I wish for, don't you think i also deserve it? Maybe all I long for is to hear guys whispering words that reflect your humanity, intellect and flawless beauty but all that I hear when they look at you is "damn look at that ass" and "If i get a chance I'll tap that ass so hard", maybe I long just for you to be seen as a woman and not a piece of meat you present yourself to be, but maybe that is too much to ask of you. All I wish for is for everyone to know how great you are in science, how many amazing inventions you have come up with in technology, the great piece of poetry you wrote and to hear the melody of the piano chords from Bach compositions you play flawlessly. 

Names cross my mind like Rosa Parks, Hatshepsut, Florence Nightingale, Jane Addams, Ruth Fulton Benedict, Queen Modjadji, Angela Davis, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Waries Dirie, Maya Angelou, Shukria Barakzai,  and Mom. Who are you sister? what defines you? are you only your bum, your boobs? In the era of great women rising above all the odds are you going to get internet hits only by showing your overly sexualised bum to the world? Is sex the only thing you can offer to the world? Is it the size of your boobs and not the size your mind that will dominate your history, oh dear sister have your dreams and vision of greatness turned as short as the dress you are wearing? Oh dear sister have your prayers turned to being about a man coming your way to guarantee a future we use to dream of every time we closed our eyes? oh dear sister have I failed you by posting pictures of naked movies and music stars on my bedroom door, the naked women magazine I hid underneath my bed and the big breasted women video tapes I stacked in my closet, well that is not who I hoped you become, they were just fantasies of a foolish young boy. I'm Sorry, now can I please have my sister back....