One by one they run, different colors and size, all in poor shape and weak.
Crossing the finish line they tumble to the floor, hitting the wrong mark over and over again.
I feel empty, exhausted; perhaps my thoughts need more training.
Copyright Martins Zemlickis
Empty: when you know what you want to say but your words fail you, hitting the listeners ears with a loud clang bringing no illumination but only confusion.
Assumptions are a part of everyday living, which unconsciously fosters on us and those we interact with a fake personality or lifestyle crafted in the mind and unfit for daily happy living.
First assumption, those who receive state benefit are lazy, greed, dishonest, uneducated, simply the worst cheats on mother natures earth.
Effect: people receive benefits, but try to live a life that refutes that assistance. People become defensive at the mere mention of the word benefit. People get stuck playing the role society has labelled them as and stop trying to achieve anything.
Reality: receiving some sort of benefit is noting to be ashamed of or ridiculed about, this is similar to drowning and fighting the life guard because you want to show off your swimming skills. And ridiculing people on benefits, is similar to watching someone drown and rolling your eyes at them rather than helping them. True they’re cheats and lazy people out them, but it’s not enough to judge everyone by the same measure.
Second assumption, all foreigners came here for the benefits and even if they didn’t when they got here they jumped on it straightaway.
Effect: foreigners are viewed as worthless scroungers, unimaginative and unproductive. Foreigners become defensive at the mention or suggestion of benefits by a non-foreigner.
Reality: legal migrants have a lot of restrictions and limitations on their passports for years, set-up by the same politicians who mouth them off as the bane of modern Great Britain. A lot of benefits, training, apprenticeship, jobs, and the likes are off limit to foreigners except those who can afford to pay for them, trust me they are not cheap. Most foreigners have learnt to work for every penny as a lifestyle, but there will still be cheats and dubious people among the foreigners and non-foreigners.
Third assumption, all breastfeeding moms are aggressive braggarts, all formula feeding moms are defensive breastfeeding drawbacks.
Effect: a needless war exists, one side charges with arms saddled with bottles, a sterilizer and hot water, the other brandishes the engorged breast and a free hand. Each forgets the nursing baby at their bosom.
Reality: Unpleasant people will always finding something to have a cat-fight over, thus the fact that you both breastfeed or formula feed doesn’t necessary mean you won’t find lines to differ on in the future. We all brag about stuff or give up on stuff: an unpleasant personality will shine through either side. Not every breast-feeder is rude, stuffed up or out to annoy you and not every formula feeder is ignorant or insecure or rude.
Fourth assumption: the price tag, and brand makes it unique, elegant, worth it etc We can’t find it elsewhere.
I’ll let you fill the space on this one.
Effects:?
Reality?
Inferiority/superiority is the foundation for a fake life,
assumptions are the walls which hold it up,
and emotional/physical and mental deficit the roof that shelters it.
A house hunting itself.
Accept when your assumptions have been wrong, don’t brazenly stick to them enabling someone else’s mistakes in the future.
You made a conscious decision to let into your life.
There was a sales at the shops that day and fate brought us together.
Not very romantic many would say,
it’s not all about how or where you met each other, it’s why, where and how you choose to go from there that defines true romance, at least that’s what I thought back then.
We had some great fun together didn’t we.
Spending hours together,
protecting each other. I was always concerned about your health and safety
You worried more for my appearance, vain much? I think so.
But I didn’t care because it came from a place of love.
And even now as I lie here heartbroken, worn and haggard
I still carry you in my chest, I know you didn’t mean to hurt me
carelessness has always being your greatest flaw.
Careless words, careless temper,
careless assumptions of your own self importance.
Careless …
Footsteps brought us together,
Footsteps have taken you away from me.
I lie by the roadside,
hoping a good Samaritan will choose to help me heal my bruised soul.
For the month of April I will be participating in the A- Z blogging challenge 2016.
I have decided to go with a theme during this challenge, which means that for the month of April all my posts will revolve around that theme. This includes my writing prompts and haiku challenges as well.
My theme: Adjectives that describe home (referring to both a building and my birth country).
I will also ensure that my posts stay within a hundred and fifty words (+/- 25 words).
So no long posts in the month of April.
The challenge doesn’t include Sundays, which means I will not be posting anything on Sundays (hopefully).
Outside my window a jogger runs by focused on his path, dedicated to his aim. And then I wonder, how easily distracted we are as we run the most important race – life’s race.
Rather a spectator of life’s race than a runner cloaked in flashy branded outfits, envy labelled shorts, subtle competition tee-shirts, exasperating self-appraisal sneakers and scornful headbands. All in a bid to be sharp – to stay one step ahead. At some point the race becomes secondary and the track misplaced as the outfit takes center stage.
“You will never find the real truth among people that are insecure or have egos to protect. Truth over time becomes either guarded or twisted as their perspective changes; it changes with the seasons of their shame, love, hope or pride.”
― Shannon L. Alder
’till tomorrow reveals it was but a fleeting moment.
Anchor not your chest on peaks of success
Drown not your heart in valleys of distress
Each I say is but a fleeting moment.
A year after graduation I came into a relatively large sum of money: large from the perspective of a young adult who hadn’t prior to that time worked or earned a living professionally.
Before your minds go into overdrive I didn’t steal, kill or do anything illegal to acquire the said sum of money, I earned it during the mandatory one year service to the country known as NYSC (National youth service corps.) It was a fun year which sadly didn’t end on such a fun note. The money though a blessing threw in a huge spanner into the wheel of my career prospecting process.
Pictures from Ibadan and Lagos conference.
Should I start a business? There was the choice to write and publish an annual magazine or register and grow an NGO I had started in Uni.
Should I invest it? Shares, land, etc
At the back of my mind a reminder nagged at me: no matter how big the sum seemed it would inevitably run out, thus I kept thinking I definitely had to get a job. What job should I pursue, at that time I definitely didn’t want a career in the course I studied at school.
I am sure it’s fairly obvious that at this point I was a massive web of confusion.
Looking back today, I wish I had calmed down and separated the thoughts in my head, shut out everyone as nobody seemed to have a clue what the best course of action was. If I could go back this is what I would have done.
Conference by TYM (Training young minds) in Apapa Lagos.
I would ignore the money, by ignore I mean leave it sitting in the bank, not letting it influence my thought process. Then concentrate on making a firm decision on what career steps to take. Easier said than done, but I honestly believe it would have been the best course of action in that moment.
I would go back to my roots, the thing I love doing the most: speaking to young adults,generally public speaking and writing. I started in my fourth year in uni. I organized four conferences and did a lot of school visits targeted on motivating young adults. Ironically when I needed to listen to my advice I didn’t, a mistake I never want to make again.
I would have gotten a teaching job to further explore my enthusiasm to make an impact on upcoming generation.
Conference by TYM (Training young minds) for six secondary schools in Apapa Lagos.
Through it all I have learnt that everything and I mean everything in life lasts for a fleeting moment. There are no permanent success stories, there will always be new hurdles to cross, new mountains to surmount. The only thing that stays with us are the lessons we have learnt and the attitudes we adopt through life, but even those things are subject to change by our personal choices.