What Needs to Change?

It's said that the more things change, the more they stay the same. A lot has changed since 2020 when the Covid-19 hit globally and altered how we do business, interact with others.

In Kenya, the turmoil and upheaval that was occasioned by the Corona Virus has been exacerbated by severe drought, runaway corruption, plunder of public resources and imprudent political decisions - all of which have led to a very high cost of living that a generally starving public has to grapple with.

These words from 'Changes' by 3 Doors Down may very likely encompass the depressing feeling shared by many:

I'm feeling weak and weary
Walking through this world alone
Everything you say, every word of it
Cuts me to the bone
I've got something to say
But now I've got no where to turn
It feels like I've been buried underneath
All the weight of the world

Now I'm going through changes, changes
God, I feel so frustrated lately
When I get suffocated, save me
Now I'm falling apart, now I feel it
But I'm going through changes, changes.

 

Thankfully, all is not lost.

* * *

Many years ago, we wrote on The Walkabout, a post that was inspired by Sn05 Ep14 of the ABC TV show 'LOST.' There is a scene in 'The Variable' where Daniel Faraday talks to Jack Shephard about the ability of people to change in order to shape destiny.

 

This scene contains a valuable insight about making a distinction between the things in life that can change and those those cannot. We focus so much on the constants in our lives, and not the variables that are necessary in making a difference.

* * *

Lots of ungood things have happened to a whole lot of us in recent times. It may seem like you wake up to a bad day every morning. But all is not lost.

* * *

Dignified Dissent vs Disgusting Discontent

“There's only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”
- Oscar Wilde.

“There's no such thing as bad publicity,” according to P.T. Barnum. We inhabit a world where the end justifies the means and any means of getting attention is acceptable as long as the message gets across.

* * *

But does it matter how the message gets delivered?  

Does infringing  on the rights of others through damaging property, or occasioning public disturbances that make it difficult or impossible for others to go about their business acceptable? Would it be right to use indecent or disgusting acts as a means of attention-seeking?

There is a very comprehensive, longform article in the New York Times about how disgust explains everything.

"Disgust shapes our behavior, our technology, our relationships. It is the reason we wear deodorant, use the bathroom in private and wield forks instead of eating with our bare hands."

* * *

In the 'Generous Orthodoxy' episode of Revisionist History, Malcolm Gladwell outlines the concept of having respect for the body one is trying to heal. This makes it necessary to maintain decorum and dignity even when aggrieved. And the need to stay in line with properly laid-down procedures in registering one's displeasure.

In a society where unbridled expression in the name of free speech is allowed, there will be little to no regard to the rights of others. We need to live and let live.

* * *

Let us all strive to become better people. That way, the world becomes a better place for you and me. Both now and always.

Things Not Seen

"And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise..."
- Hebrews 11:39

* * *

My friend and neighbor, John K. died on Friday afternoon, November 11. And when I heard the news about 6:30pm that evening, I was devastated. Yes, he had been unwell for a while. Yes, he had in the past recovered from worse afflictions and bounced back to good health. It was however, different this time around.

* * *

The Bible calls us to hope. To persevere, and have faith in things not seen..

"They were living by faith when they died," Scripture tells us. "They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on Earth."

This is how President Obama began his remarks in Eulogy for Reverend Clementa Pinckney who among others, was gunned down in a mass shooting at a church in Charleston, South Carolina.

* * *

John died of meningitis.

In worldly, materialistic terms, he died at the worst possible time. Having known the guy for more than a decade, this year was to be his best.

He had recently built a very nice house but had only occupied it for less than a month. For the first time in years, the guy had good cash running into some million shillings in the bank. He was looking at very steady, recurrent income for years to come.

All the planning and execution of grand plans that the guy had made in the last two or three years was only now beginning to bear fruit. In our view, 'huyu jamaa sasa alikuwa amefika.'

But all that was not to be.

* * *

Speaking with my sister about John's death, we explored the place of hope and making long-term plans when death can - in an instant - take it all away. Winni opined that much as there are no guarantees that we'll see another day, we each have a reason to hope. And to willfully do good things that will most likely benefit others.

The thing about not knowing when one will die is what makes life pretty interesting.

We know of people who have given up on life and extravagantly spent up all their money with the belief that they'll die in a few years... Only to live for decades in self-afflicted misery.
We also know of people who pass on at the prime of their career, or just after seemingly 'making it' in life.

This is because each one of us is subject to his or her own timeline in this life. In my view, much of what we do in this life is in fact meant to benefit us for a while, and others for much longer.

* * *
 
I have this poem that I make sure to share soon after I make a new friend:

"Each day is a new beginning,
Another chance to learn more about ourselves,
And to care more about others."

It is true that life offers no guarantees. But we can shape an uncertain future through our words and deeds. We can ensure we continue to have an impact after we die. We can continue to live for years if we seize the day and selflessly do things that will, long after we are gone, benefit others.