Guts. Audacity. Grit. Courage. Backbone. Spunk. these all speak to the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, challenges, tests and trials without fear. Lets call it "bravery."
If an individuals has guts or the bravado; they have an ability to perform and/or face a situation or setting that would otherwise seem daunting in its accomplishment. Call it entering a lion's cage armed with a tree sapling.
Deploying said emotional drive to overcome challenges however is a totally different thing. The ability to present oneself as a "gutsy" individual is usually limited to lip exercise and is seldom just talk. Putting up a front is a daily occurance in everyone's life and living with a constant, transparent veil is common place. Our pretense to certain facets of existence present our lives, as faces caked in Maybelline, Chanel, L'oreal or Yves Saint Laurent. We, as sapiens have mastered the art of concealment. Our true identity is known to none, not even ourselves. We have become so ingrained and etched in our fantasy filled lives we have started believing them as true and as ours. Which then begs the question. Is it ever possible to present a true version of whom you are or are our adaptations of who we say we are the now acceptable true version of ourselves? Is what we tell and show people we are, the acceptable standard of reality with regards to human interaction?
Monday, 12 October 2015
Thursday, 10 September 2015
Blue Lights Flashing
So, that conniving GPS/navigation woman in my phone decides to suggest a "faster route" home from the biokinetist's. I decide to fall for the trap which passes through the rugby stadium, which unbeknownst to me, is hosting a function that includes half of government. I turn straight into the V.I.P lane and all I see is blue lights flashing.
I froze immediately as 17...yes i counted 17 policemen clad in their v.i.p escort uniforms descend on my vehicle like I'm some Columbian drug lord. These guys hurriedly hastened me out of the way...I just found myself by the side of the road as more blue approaches in the view mirror. I just sat there mortified as I glanced to see who was approaching and lo and behold, 'twas the big man himself. Questions flew through my mind.
-Will they search my car and I
-will they think i'm a threat (wouldnt help, the fact that I am foreign) etc
-will i get beat?? (Wink wink)
Oh...and jus to top things off...my passport and driver's license were in another gym bag...so no identification.
After passage of el presidente, I was promptly sent on my way...with my own "one bike escort" till I was back on the highway.
You gotta love Nam cops. #
After passage of el presidente, I was promptly sent on my way...with my own "one bike escort" till I was back on the highway.
You gotta love Nam cops. #
What I Do...
"I scribe words into being. Formulate out of nothingness, ideas. I live
for long hours, coffee fixes, the office swing and brainstorm sessions.
An occasional bretchen at lunch would be nice. A wordsmith at heart,
with the Creator's given talent to let things BE. I am a creative. I
write copy."-A.D
Wednesday, 9 September 2015
Fear of The Unknown
[Its long, bear with me.]
So recently, I had the opportunity to listen to quite a renowned preacher within the city of Windhoek speak about one thing that has plagued me most of my life. Yeah, I know hey (It scared me a bit-no wait, a lot). Sidetrack: If you not the "churchey type" I'm surprised you are still reading this, lol, but keep reading, don't stop, let me not distract you.
Anyway, moving on. Seated I was, listening, as he started speaking to me, about me, and the things that had been plaguing me like the lice infestation experienced in our grade 1 stream, way back, when cellular telephone communicators were but a dream.
He started highlighting why fear exists, and how easily we grab a hold of it, instead of the other way round. We resort to feeling afraid, because we might have things or aspects in our daily existence we are trying to avoid and in so doing, "being afraid of them" becomes the logical explanation. Fear therefore becomes an excuse and leads everyone to one unalienable conclusion: Fear sprouts from the tree of laziness, fact.
Mind blown. I mean especially when it comes to careers, relationships and intra/inter personal goals, the fear of getting to a certain level breeds itself from not wanting to make the effort in any way. The fact that you know you can achieve so much "scares you" and you hold back and end up not giving your all. Laziness.
Personal Story: I try to be as creative as I can in any and every situation, and in so doing, have opened myself to discovering new talents, or dormant ones, making me the envy of most of my friends and family here and there [hey, its my blog, let me brag a bit ;)]. I end up being the guy who can cook up a storm, play 7 musical instruments, speak eloquently and authoritatively in public, sing like an angel, dance to steal the party, write rather decently, take control of the radio airwaves and make you fall in love all over again, arrange and design things that would leave you awestruck, chop down a tree with nothing but a chainsaw (no, not an axe...who still does that), bake carrot and bran muffins for your child's bring and share party at kindergarten...I could go on, but this isn't about me is it?
One big problem I have/had, in the midst of all these "blessings" was/is the fact that I feared my own success sooooo much. It got to the point were I would start a project, no matter what it is, see how big it can get, and the potential it has to influence and touch many people or create a lasting impact, and then, I'd just slink away and let it die, slowly. Another would come up, and same process would occur and I'd respond in the same way. My justification? "I have the fear of success," "I am afraid of the unknown," or my personal favourite "I'll become too great!"
Did anyone benefit from it? Heck no. Who knows, I could have had 5 music albums, a coffee shop, my own newspaper, a radio station, a pre-school, music school (well not doing too bad here tho), been on top of everyone else in my career etc, list of what I could have achieved is endless. And most of us are like this. Its only the "brave few" that step out into the blizzard to get the firewood, and then we say, "no they have an entrepreneurial gift" or any such insecure statements, resigning ourselves to being the sheep as opposed to being the shepherd. The back seat is comfortable, and cozy, and doesn't lead to any conflict, both internally and externally.
Fearing people and their opinions is but a major plague within society as we know it. Enshrined within the United States' Declaration of Independance is one of my favourite quotes which says "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."
So, why then fear opinion, failure, success, life, potential. Why then fear life? One thing I decided, after that "seat and listen and get stabbed in the heart whilst mind being blown" moment was that I don't want to live life saying, I could've had this or that, done this or the next. I want to know I don't have it, after having tried and tried, and tried again, because, as long as I breathe I possess the potential to do ANYTHING.
So recently, I had the opportunity to listen to quite a renowned preacher within the city of Windhoek speak about one thing that has plagued me most of my life. Yeah, I know hey (It scared me a bit-no wait, a lot). Sidetrack: If you not the "churchey type" I'm surprised you are still reading this, lol, but keep reading, don't stop, let me not distract you.
Anyway, moving on. Seated I was, listening, as he started speaking to me, about me, and the things that had been plaguing me like the lice infestation experienced in our grade 1 stream, way back, when cellular telephone communicators were but a dream.
He started highlighting why fear exists, and how easily we grab a hold of it, instead of the other way round. We resort to feeling afraid, because we might have things or aspects in our daily existence we are trying to avoid and in so doing, "being afraid of them" becomes the logical explanation. Fear therefore becomes an excuse and leads everyone to one unalienable conclusion: Fear sprouts from the tree of laziness, fact.
Mind blown. I mean especially when it comes to careers, relationships and intra/inter personal goals, the fear of getting to a certain level breeds itself from not wanting to make the effort in any way. The fact that you know you can achieve so much "scares you" and you hold back and end up not giving your all. Laziness.
Personal Story: I try to be as creative as I can in any and every situation, and in so doing, have opened myself to discovering new talents, or dormant ones, making me the envy of most of my friends and family here and there [hey, its my blog, let me brag a bit ;)]. I end up being the guy who can cook up a storm, play 7 musical instruments, speak eloquently and authoritatively in public, sing like an angel, dance to steal the party, write rather decently, take control of the radio airwaves and make you fall in love all over again, arrange and design things that would leave you awestruck, chop down a tree with nothing but a chainsaw (no, not an axe...who still does that), bake carrot and bran muffins for your child's bring and share party at kindergarten...I could go on, but this isn't about me is it?
One big problem I have/had, in the midst of all these "blessings" was/is the fact that I feared my own success sooooo much. It got to the point were I would start a project, no matter what it is, see how big it can get, and the potential it has to influence and touch many people or create a lasting impact, and then, I'd just slink away and let it die, slowly. Another would come up, and same process would occur and I'd respond in the same way. My justification? "I have the fear of success," "I am afraid of the unknown," or my personal favourite "I'll become too great!"
Did anyone benefit from it? Heck no. Who knows, I could have had 5 music albums, a coffee shop, my own newspaper, a radio station, a pre-school, music school (well not doing too bad here tho), been on top of everyone else in my career etc, list of what I could have achieved is endless. And most of us are like this. Its only the "brave few" that step out into the blizzard to get the firewood, and then we say, "no they have an entrepreneurial gift" or any such insecure statements, resigning ourselves to being the sheep as opposed to being the shepherd. The back seat is comfortable, and cozy, and doesn't lead to any conflict, both internally and externally.
Fearing people and their opinions is but a major plague within society as we know it. Enshrined within the United States' Declaration of Independance is one of my favourite quotes which says "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."
So, why then fear opinion, failure, success, life, potential. Why then fear life? One thing I decided, after that "seat and listen and get stabbed in the heart whilst mind being blown" moment was that I don't want to live life saying, I could've had this or that, done this or the next. I want to know I don't have it, after having tried and tried, and tried again, because, as long as I breathe I possess the potential to do ANYTHING.
Tuesday, 8 September 2015
Quote
“The condition of the human
mind, with regard to how we approach life, ultimately provides itself as a
litmus benchmark with regard to all interactions across the plenary sphere of
human existence.”-A.D
Tuesday, 1 September 2015
Of Books and Covers
The human mind is structured in such a way in which cognitive abilities of others are measured by an outward assessment of an individual, at one point in time, before a relationship is even established between the assessor and the one under the microscope. Such uni-directional perceptions lead to incorrect and inconclusive decisions which a re then translated into different forms of inter and inter-personal messages.
It is in this light that I had an encounter that radically changed the way I view people, and them me. At a rather prestigious shopping mall, I walked in, not looking sharp enough to be considered part of the store's clientele but simultaneously not dressed as a french peasant farmer in Les Mis... I went on to browse the aisles, checking prices and stock within the store (half the time i had my heart in my throat, for my pocket was in protest.)
You know, one of the most fascinating things is when you all of a sudden gain a second shadow as you peruse the aisles of an upmarket departmental store, with the faithful, rather "vigilant" security guard in tow. So, upon realisation of what was occurring, I decided to embark on a cat and mouse game with Mr Watchful (I had to give him a name.) The chase started in the jean aisle where i happily strolled and checked different prices and colours of denim wear, before moving on to the flannel shirts. My curiosity of how Mr Watchful would respond to my shopping habits, I took the game to the underwear section as I shopped on, and guess who was a few steps behind me? Mr. Watchful.
I proceeded to different areas of the shop, and to no surprise, right there, a few steps behind, was good ol' Watchful. I mean he was more present than the shop's sales assistants. Broke as I was, a part of me just wanted to buy something for the sake of it. I continued my rounds but was now getting annoyed because of the stereotypical profiling that was occurring, which did not seem to let up. I purposefully turned, looked at him, and he tried to look away as if he wasan't paying attention to me, and I moved on.
All of a sudden, Mr Watchful is in the company of a sales rep, who seemed to be agitated by my presence there. And as they whispered to each other, from the corner of my eye, I knew they felt my presence within the shop was no longer welcome. Annoyed, the sales rep, approaches me, with Watchful in tow, and asked what I wanted in the shop, highlighting the fact probably nothing would suit my fancy in this particular store, and I should try other "lower end" stores downstairs....
Then I opened my mouth....
It is in this light that I had an encounter that radically changed the way I view people, and them me. At a rather prestigious shopping mall, I walked in, not looking sharp enough to be considered part of the store's clientele but simultaneously not dressed as a french peasant farmer in Les Mis... I went on to browse the aisles, checking prices and stock within the store (half the time i had my heart in my throat, for my pocket was in protest.)
You know, one of the most fascinating things is when you all of a sudden gain a second shadow as you peruse the aisles of an upmarket departmental store, with the faithful, rather "vigilant" security guard in tow. So, upon realisation of what was occurring, I decided to embark on a cat and mouse game with Mr Watchful (I had to give him a name.) The chase started in the jean aisle where i happily strolled and checked different prices and colours of denim wear, before moving on to the flannel shirts. My curiosity of how Mr Watchful would respond to my shopping habits, I took the game to the underwear section as I shopped on, and guess who was a few steps behind me? Mr. Watchful.
I proceeded to different areas of the shop, and to no surprise, right there, a few steps behind, was good ol' Watchful. I mean he was more present than the shop's sales assistants. Broke as I was, a part of me just wanted to buy something for the sake of it. I continued my rounds but was now getting annoyed because of the stereotypical profiling that was occurring, which did not seem to let up. I purposefully turned, looked at him, and he tried to look away as if he wasan't paying attention to me, and I moved on.
All of a sudden, Mr Watchful is in the company of a sales rep, who seemed to be agitated by my presence there. And as they whispered to each other, from the corner of my eye, I knew they felt my presence within the shop was no longer welcome. Annoyed, the sales rep, approaches me, with Watchful in tow, and asked what I wanted in the shop, highlighting the fact probably nothing would suit my fancy in this particular store, and I should try other "lower end" stores downstairs....
Then I opened my mouth....
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