General

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Venting out

I had a hectic but rewarding week. Phew! I am glad that the dust is nearly settling. Question then is: what happens next? As I got told yesterday, the paranoia phase is next!

But is it really paranoia when one happens to believe that the war is not over? In my books that makes me a realist but if others label it as paranoia, so be it! Yes I may be young but not as young as I was yesterday. Therefore, I can’t also be labeled as myopic! I know the change that I so desire might not happen in my life time, but this can’t be an excuse for me to assume that the war is over!

The war is still on and action is needed to sustain the momentum of change! For me, to fail to take action is to deny my own humanity. I refuse to standby and watch others suffer and say it is not my business or I know not the person suffering. I refuse because I do understand that it might be me tomorrow suffering; and frankly I wouldn’t want people to pass by and say: ag shame! Yes, I do appreciate that taking action means I might discover that I was wrong. But I believe for me that would simply be a case of being right even when I am wrong –because while the action could have been wrong, it would have been right for me to act.

So despite and inspite standing the chance of being wrong, I will act according to my own convictions because as one of my late uncles once said: “Motho oa ‘ne a hate masepa a ntse a shebile”! Translated, a person can step on sh@t whilst looking!

Therefore, all I can ever pray for is to remember why it is the meek who stand to inherit the world, so that when I do act, my action will allow me to see the next day. And who knows? That could be the day I declare change of heart or actually inherit the earth!

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All that I am

Church yesterday was filled (not to capacity) with young men from St Andrews’ College. It was truly a treat! One hymn that still plays in my mind this morning is ‘all that I am’. I think I was taken to another level of worship that made me believe that all the twenty tenors due to perform as part of the world cup festivities were in church… the singing was really that good and of course the lyrics themselves were profound. I cannot capture the voices in writing but the lyrics I can! Here are the lyrics:

ALL THAT I AM I lay before You;
All I possess, Lord, I confess
Is nothing without You.
Saviour and King, I now enthrone You;
Take my life, my living sacrifice to You.

Lord, be the strength within my weakness;
Be the supply in every need,
That I may prove Your promises to me,
Faithful and true in word and deed.

Into Your hands I place the future;
The past is nailed to Calvary,
That I may live in resurrection power,
No longer I but Christ in me.

James Wright
Copyright © 1994 Thankyou Music

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Cancer blessing or curse

Today I ask myself whether being predisposed to having cancer is a blessing or a curse? Personally, I think it is a blessing but I have those who disagree with this point of view. The side-effects of treatment can be cruelling that much I agree on! But there is also the rallying together of family and friends; the opportunity to reflect on the important things in life; and the unexpected smile or laughter that may come even seconds after shedding a tear. All these to me are the cancer blessings!

One of my aunts got a cancer scare and while some were devastated. I wasn’t because I remembered all the blessings that came with the journey. I remembered for example laughing so hard after my mother finally woke up after her mastectomy. An hour long surgery that lasted over 4 hours because it was not possible to wake her up. Once she woke up, she claimed she had hopose (hops) ! Now that made me laugh and in just that one laugh, all else didn’t matter – the tears shed or whatever else that was happening around me. In just that moment I appreciated the gift of laughter and smiling.

And I guess in that moment of appreciation I began to realise that blessings indeed exist in every situation. The trick however is to learn how to notice them. I know this is not easy but I hope with each day we make it a point to count our blessings. Blessings to all!

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A measure for functional illiteracy

I always marvel at how many literate people actually qualify as functionally illiterate in my books. After marvelling for a long time, I think I have finally found a litmus test for determining who qualifies as functionally illiterate in South Africa.

My test is very simple! But to many organisations that understand the value of having front-end staff that is literate enough to understand that first impressions last and contribute to the overall reputation of the organisation, the test can prove to be as good as sliced bread.

This simple test is about spelling my name. If I tell a person that my name is Mathematics without the matics and my surname is Malema without the l and the person still requires me to spell my full name out, then my conclusion is the person is _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (fill in the missing word or phrases 😉 .)

To all who may be interested in me helping them to weed out such people in their organisations, just ask me to call your office and leave a message for you. There will only be a small fee attached to it but consider it an investment of sort. First you get to know a little bit more about the person who would have answered the call. Secondly, you get to help cultivate the entrepreneurial spirit of a young beautiful person, named: Mathe Maema !

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Reacquinted with David Bullard

Well I suppose my rants are not in vain 🙂 . Got an sms from a friend with a link to a website called Richmark Sentinel. There I got reacquainted with David Bullard. So much entertainment for me…yeah for Mathe!!!

If anyone is a fan of entertaining writing that occasionally makes ones blood boil (with excitement, anger, etc.) visit the website. Further, feel free to consider yourself a person I can dine and wine with, anytime and anywhere 😉 !

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Quick comment on the letter to the white liberalist ..

Barns forwarded me this link today. It is an open letter written to the white liberalist person by a gentleman called Sipho. He sent it because I think he knew I will say: I too get it! Indeed I get it.

Our white liberal friends are genuinely interested in making an effort to demonstrate that we are all human beings irrespective of colour. However, they sometimes do get a tad arrogant by thinking that their wish is a command…..(this is worth unpacking because these liberals are my friends. However, I won’t go into much details partly because I think I don’t have the right words to explain. In my mind, I think their arrogance stems from their inability to properly listen whilst they play the role of self-appointed advocates of what is right and wrong in this planet of ours, called Earth. Thus, inadvertently misrepresent my true feelings and/or views as a black person. I know often they mean well but it doesn’t change the fact that I feel like screaming: walk in my shoes then talk!)

Life is not rarely as we wish it. We all wish the world can be a better place but it simply can’t be if we are going to hide behind silence or refuse to engage with thorny issues. It is not okay that whites are being blamed for the past (when clearly they were a few good liberal ones) but it is also not okay that generations before us were blamed for being born as black. Actually, once in a while we of the new generation still have the pleasure of receiving the ‘if you were not black I would have treated you with a dose of humanity but blame the colour of your skin‘ treatment. Believe me, it is not a kosher experience but we embrace such treatment with a healthy sense of humour and sometimes with a bit of anger; but it is all part of the journey we are currently on! You will be blamed and we will once in a while be treated with unwarranted contempt – even from you, our dear white liberalist friends. This will continue to happen precisely because we are still all in the healing stage and learning about each others sensitivities and so on.

In the meantime lets engage and laugh at ourselves…it will pay off. Thank you Sipho for the letter to the white liberalist – it is truthful and yet fun to read due to those tiny embellishments that confirm that with enough sense of humour, we shall all make it irrespective of colour!

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On two wheels …

Whoever thought they would see me on two wheels? There was a time, a long time ago in the BMX era when I wanted a bike but I was told I would get one if I passed class 7. That wasn’t difficult except when I did pass …. I got introduced to the world of disappointment and years later I was declaring how I can’t see myself on two wheels … blah blah blah!

In December, I decided to get myself a scooter for my birthday. It was rather an impulsive buy, which I wouldn’t have otherwise made had I never met Charles. He shared with me his story and also introduced me to the world of water-walking. In this world, one easily gets inspired to try something new – especially if that something enables one to leave the boat.

In my case, leaving the boat was to leave my past where it belongs and a scooter was symbolic of that move. After getting the scooter, I fell really reeeeeeeealy hard …. and doubt and fear reigned in my life. Like a believer I am, after my fall and many others that followed, I got back on the saddle!

Now, I am loving being on two wheels although I still feel a lit bit vulnerable…. In the future, I actually see myself getting one of those seriously powerful motorcycles and enjoying the thundering between my thighs with each ride. And of course, the gentle caress of the wind 😉 !

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My thoughts on valentine

A simple visit to the stores to get milk around this time of the year can make one pause for a minute to consider the true significance of valentine. Perhaps it only happens to those of us who are not yet ready to get a cat as a companion or those of us who get overwhelmed by valentine’s day marketing. Whatever the case may be, I paused and I think while the idea of celebrating valentine is good, the capitalist spin to it de-values it completely.

Valentine’s day is about celebrating love. If it is true that money can’t buy love, then it should follow that celebration of love should not involve money. Ok that might be slightly flawed but my point is money shouldn’t play much role in valentine’s celebration. So the challenge for valentine should be to celebrate the day as cheaply as possible but with meaningful gestures that show affection.

The gestures differ with each individual. For me, a cup of coffee in bed with a chocolate croissant would do the trick 😉 . I wouldn’t also mind a hand written love letter but that can wait until I meet that frog which I can turn into a prince with just one passionate kiss … (that may cause the prince to turn my frock into tatters 😆).