I have been having a bit of trouble processing the amount of information which has been flooding my screen lately. At the core of my inner turmoil are the contradictory emotions I have been feeling, some of which have been simple knee-jerk reactions to external visual stimuli, while others have been slow-burning deep repressed feelings…
Black People Need To Be Loved
A conversation with my sister had me in tears today. She wanted to know how I was doing, really. I’m fine, I said. Have you had a chance to scream, to shout? she asked. Nope, too busy, I said. Next thing boom! you’re down, she answered. What do you mean? I asked. The fact that…
We Are Responsible For Who We Become
Early on into Former US President Barak Obamas’ presidency, a Harvard Professor, Henry Louis Gates was arrested for trespassing in his own home in Cambridge Massachusetts. This incident caused national outrage. Barack Obama weighed in on the issue and pronounced that the “Cambridge Police acted stupidly by arresting someone when there was already proof that…
The World Doesn’t Stop For Your Grief
This week has been a tough one. I felt a lot of grief which I could not place because it did not mirror my life in anyway. I would have moments in my day when I was asking myself: Why am I feeling this way? What am I sad about? Is everyone at home okay?…
When I had To Forgive Myself: Not Easy
Sometime last year after a rather bruising encounter with a friend where she felt I needed to apologise, not only to her but to myself – I felt my body bubble up with rage. I didn’t understand why she would ask that of me. I mean, I could accept that I needed to apologise to…
It’s Been A While….
To the woman who loved me without a career, a job, or the ability to dress myself, eat, drink and even walk. To the one who loved me just because there’s no because. To the one who doesn’t place my value on external achievements, who loves me irrespective of what I do or don’t do:…
Even Friends Will Let You Down Sometimes
A writer friend of mine recently called to share some of her frustration and disappointment upon learning that her friends were not supportive of her new venture in life. My friend had been a ghost writer for a while and this week penned a rather brilliant column on her perspective of Covid-19 and baking bread…
When Your Family Lets You Down: Chin-up
For those of you who are regular readers of my blog, you will know that my family is very important to me and we are to a large extent, as close as any family can be. But I have to tell you that there have been many times when my people – the ones I…
Age: Nothing but a number?
April is my birthday month. The only time I “celebrated” my birthday on my own was on my first year on earth. But I don’t remember it. I imagine what it must have been like from the stories my mother used to tell me about this event and I think I was a very different…
2020: When Keeping Your Distance is Loving
I am late. I have been running behind on my “I have learnt” blogging challenge to myself which was inspired by a reading of Brazilian writer Paolo Coelho’s blog post earlier this year. The blog lists 24 universal truths he (or someone who wrote them) has learnt. After going through the list, I thought it would…
