DON'T LOSE SIGHT OF THE TRACK

The most challenging thing for one to do in this life is to discover oneself. It takes a lot of courage to discover and accept oneself. If there is one strange thing I have seen in this world; is we always turn out to be exactly like the people we criticize, focus on or hate. Do you know why? The answer is simple. We master the mess of people so badly that we know nothing better than following in the same mess...

I once read this story of a lady called Jane who got out jogging in the morning. While she was jogging, Jane saw this lady jogging ahead of her. The ladies outfit was quite eccentric. Jane got so caught up in the ladies outfit that her mind got off her jogging. Before she could realize herself, she had jogged far pass her turn. Sadly, she realized her concern for the stranger's eccentric clothes had thrown her off course. The same applies to our daily lives. I realized sometimes how caught up in the life of others that I forget my goals, targets and sense of purpose.

How many times have; what people said, what people did not say, what people did, what people did not do, what people are going to do, what people believe, what people do not believe, swayed us from our goals and dreams. Was what, who and when you dropped you dreams and beliefs for worth it?

I love the runner Usain Bolt. I have watched him run a number of times and I think a great part of his success is focusing on the track. I watched him run once with a close opponent. They were almost at a tie just before reaching the finish line. Usain’s opponent made the mistake of losing sight of the track to see if his opponent was catching up and that was how Usain won.

Many at times; we are drawn in by depression, envy, hatred, low self esteem and other ills because we lose sight of our own race and get fixed on that of others. What is your race? Where are you going? What do you wish to achieve? Fix your focus on the track. Keep your mind on the prize…that’s how you win!

Love!

God bless you!

Stay you!

- See more at: http://camerdream.blogspot.com/2015/08/dont-lose-sight-of-track.html#sthash.yW42PfKR.dpuf

MentorAfrica: OF AFRICA AND OPPORTUNITIES - DE L'AFRIQUE ET LES ...

MentorAfrica: OF AFRICA AND OPPORTUNITIES - DE L'AFRIQUE ET LES ...: There is an African proverb that says if you take a chicken that sleeps on the roof in Africa to London, it will still sleep on the roof. Mo...

OF AFRICA AND OPPORTUNITIES - DE L'AFRIQUE ET LES OPPORTUNITES

There is an African proverb that says if you take a chicken that sleeps on the roof in Africa to London, it will still sleep on the roof. Most times, it is not a change of environment we need, it is a change in how we see our environment. Where people see only rubbish, there are those who would look further and see how they can use the rubbish as an opportunity to create something beautiful to change their environment. While some of us are looking for every means possible to escape the "horror" we call Africa, some are busy trying to use whatever they find in the environment to fulfill their life's purpose and make the society a better place. This is the reason I feature the story of this young Malawian I found on Facebook. We have many young Africans in this category but most spend their time lamenting the woes in the continent. This is a wake-up call to as many that want to do something to impact humanity; the materials you need might just be in the chaos all around you. Have a beautiful day and look more closely and more purposefully at your environment. The same amount of time you spend wishing and pining away can be spent reading and coming across information that will change your life and your community.

Il ya un proverbe africain qui dit que si vous transferez un poulet qui dort sur le toit en Afrique à Londres, il dormirait toujours sur le toit. La plupart du temps, il ne nous faut pas un changement de l'environnement, il nous faut plutôt un changement de la façon dont nous voyons notre environnement. Où les gens ne voient que des ordures, il ya ceux qui regarderaient plus loin et voyeraient comment ils peuvent utiliser les déchets comme une opportunité de créer quelque chose de beau pour changer leur environnement. Alors que certains d'entre nous sont à la recherche de tous les moyens possibles pour échapper à "l'horreur" que nous appelons l'Afrique, certains s'occupent à  la recherche de comment déployer tout ce qu'ils trouvent dans l'environnement pour accomplir le dessein de leur vie et avancer la société. Ceci est la raison pour laquelle je présente l'histoire de ce jeune malawite que j'ai trouvé sur Facebook. Nous avons beaucoup de jeunes Africains dans cette catégorie, mais la plupart passent leur temps à se lamenter les malheurs du continent. Ceci est un prise de conscience au plus grand nombre qui veulent faire quelque chose pour avoir une influence sur l'humanité; les matériaux dont vous avez besoin pourrait bien être dans le chaos autour de vous. Passez une belle journée et regarder de plus près et de manière plus ciblée votre environnement. La même durée de temps que vous passez à souhaiter et à dépérir peut être consacré à la lecture et à trouver l'information qui va vous aidez à changer votre vie et votre communauté.

MentorAfrica: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? - COMMENT NOUS PROGRESSO...

MentorAfrica: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? - COMMENT NOUS PROGRESSO...: I posted a picture I got from Facebook yesterday on my Google+ page and the reactions I got helped me measure, in some way, the feeling of f...

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? - COMMENT NOUS PROGRESSONS?

I posted a picture I got from Facebook yesterday on my Google+ page and the reactions I got helped me measure, in some way, the feeling of frustration of the African youth. Just like those I have personally interacted with, many are angry at their various governments; they feel let down. A lot want to do something about the situation but cannot see anyway they can do this. In this situation some think that nothing but aggression would solve the problem since most governments are oblivious of their pain. Matters of unemployment are treated with levity, basic necessities of life like light and water that can make life a little more bearable as they navigate these rough paths of life are almost non existent. Against this backdrop, all they want to do is vent their anger on leaders who have failed them. Most feel that dialogue is not the answer since leaders are not listening. Be that as it may, we have seen in recent times that uprisings have not really given the desired results. Where do we go from here? This is quite a difficult question to answer, the greatest tragedy of all has been the massive brain drain from Africa. Has this solved the problem? I don't think so. We need to sit down and look at other ways of tackling this problem if violence or escape cannot do it, there must be something else that can be done. Why don't we look at the option of coming together with those of like minds and talking about what measures can be put in place to solve these issues from our very backyards and start developing those strategies so that when the opportunity comes for us to make a difference we will be ready? Thankfully, I think I have seen signs of this happening. With the level of anger and frustration many of us are exhibiting, we cannot be in the frame of mind to think of any kind of solutions. It is time to make up our minds to allow our pain to bring out the best in us rather than allow it to turn us into monsters that would only make things worse.

J'ai posté une
photo que j'ai pris de Facebook hier sur ma page Google+ et les réactions que j'ai eu m'a aidé à mesurer, d'une certaine façon, le sentiment de frustration de la jeunesse africaine. Tout comme ceux que je rencontre personnellement, beaucoup sont en colère contre leurs gouvernements différents; ils se sentent abandonnés. Beaucoup veut faire quelque chose à propos de la situation, mais ne peut pas voir de quelle façon ils peuvent le faire. Dans cette situation, certains pensent que rien que l'agression résoudrait le problème puisque la plupart des gouvernements ne sont pas conscients de leur douleur. Questions de chômage sont traités avec légèreté, les nécessités de base de la vie comme l'énergie et l'eau qui peuvent rendre la vie un peu plus supportable alors qu'ils naviguent ces rudes sentiers de la vie sont presque inexistants. Dans ce contexte, tout ce qu'ils veulent faire c'est exprimer leur colère envers les dirigeants qui les ont déçu. La plupart pensent que le dialogue n'est pas la réponse puisque les dirigeants ne leur fait pas attention. Quoi qu'il en soit, nous avons vu au cours des dernières temps où des manifestations n'ont pas vraiment donné les résultats souhaités. Où allons-nous d'ici? Ceci est une question très difficile à répondre, la plus grande tragédie de tous c'est l'exode massive des professionnels de l'Afrique. Cela a-t-il résolu le problème? Je ne le pense pas. Nous devons nous asseoir et examiner d'autres façons d'aborder ce problème si la violence ou de l'évasion ne peut pas le faire, il doit y avoir quelque chose d'autre qui peut être fait. Pourquoi n'exploitons-nous pas  la possibilité de se réunir avec ceux de mêmes perspectives et discuter des mesures que nous pouvons mettre sur place pour résoudre ces problèmes à partir même de nos arrière-cours et commencer à développer ces stratégies de sorte que lorsque l'occasion se présente pour nous de faire une différence nous serions prêts? Heureusement, je crois avoir vu des signes que cela se produise. Avec le niveau d'amertume et de frustration dont nous nous exposons, nous ne pouvons pas être dans l'état d'esprit de penser aux solutions quoique soit. C'est le moment de decider de permettre à notre douleur de faire ressortir le meilleur en nous plutôt que de lui permettre de nous transformer en monstres qui ne ferait qu'empirer les choses.

MentorAfrica: DEATH OF THE AFRICAN CULTURE

MentorAfrica: DEATH OF THE AFRICAN CULTURE: What do you know of where you come from? I do not mean the nation or country in which you live. What do you know of you roots? What do y...

DEATH OF THE AFRICAN CULTURE

What do you know of where you come from? I do not mean the nation or country in which you live. What do you know of you roots? What do you know of your ancestry, your language, culture and tradition? Someone once asked me a relevant but disturbing question; “In this modern era, of what use is knowing one’s dialect, culture and tradition?” For years I carried this question within me. I only got to know the answer to this question when I left my home country to venture abroad.

As every tree needs roots to survive, so do we humans need roots to have a firm stand. Our roots are made by the fibers of ancestry, culture, and language. Culture is identity, culture lays down the foundation on which families are built and even the nation, a good culture serves to protect and preserve important values. The African culture as a whole is quite an interesting one. The languages, meals, songs, clothes and laws tell stories and have our history preserved in them. Without this history, Africa as we know it will cease to exist.

I worry because increase urbanization, influence of the western education and even religion is gradually wiping out the African culture. I happen to be a product of these threats. Of what use is speaking in different foreign languages without knowing how to speak my mother tongue. How many Africans home and abroad pride themselves in speaking their own language, wearing their African fabrics, and portraying where they come from? It is even sad that Africans who have never left the shores of Africa suddenly have foreign accents and even cuss. It’s sad how our youths easily copy ill cultures from outside when we have such a beautiful culture. Our young men are sagging their trousers and cussing, while our women are frying their hair and bleaching their skins. Learning and trying to adopt other cultures is a beautiful and unifying thing. However losing one’s identity in the course of picking up a foreign culture is rather disturbing.

  

The African media should show Africa for what it is. Our schools should try to incorporate our culture into learning. Our parents should teach us the mother tongue first before teaching us any other language. From time to time, we should return home to share and identify with our roots. As Africans when we travel abroad, we should share our food, language, clothes and everything African with people of different cultures. Times are changing and fashion is changing. Let us incorporate our culture into the new trend of hairdos, music, fashion and even food…If we stand tall and proud of whom we are, the outside world would respect us. The reason they don’t respect us enough is we are more willing to embrace their culture than ours…Africans let us come together and keep our culture alive. I am proud of my African heritage…I hope you are too!

Love you all!

God bless!

Stay You!

- See more at: http://camerdream.blogspot.com/2015/08/death-of-african-culture.html#sthash.4gFZqBSd.dpuf