Life is full of happenings

Somewhere, a child is born
Somewhere, a life is lost
Someone is making a fortune,
Another is losing it all
Someone is leaping for joy,
Another is wallowing in tears
Someone has too much to eat,
Another is starving to death

Is it fair to say life isn’t fair?

Someone is living in sound health,
Another accustomed to pain
One baby is welcomed into riches,
Another into misery
Someone is living in a peaceful land,
Another in a war zone

Life seems to have multiple sides,
Different folks see different views
You never know what a person
is going through
Our experiences in life differ as
we all journey through
That’s why it’s important to be kind
No one has it all figured out.

If you can move past this eerie night
The coming morning promises to be bright
Allow your clouded mind shed some tears,
if that would possibly help,
The atmosphere does the same when
it has too much water to bear, we call it rain
My friend, don't wallow in the pain,
It might not even last one more day
To feel pain is not to be frail
Whatever the issue is, it hasn't come to stay
Face this phase, eyeball to eyeball
The bright phase is very nigh,
you can't afford to give it up, no, not now!

Growing up as a lil' kid,
I had no father figure to look up to
He wasn't dead, he wasn't just there
I watched my mama hustle like she was 2 in 1
Looking at me now, I hope she can boldly say she's won
And I'm just getting started mum
I've got my hands on the ladder, moving northwards

As a kid, I missed out on all the cartoons
(No Tom & Jerry, No Lion King)
I was always on the street with older dudes listening to Biggie and Pac
I guess that's where I found my love for rap
I was told that I once rapped to 2pac in my sleep

I have huge love and respect for my mum
A single mother that played dual roles
She deprived herself a lot of things
in order to provide for her son
No parties, no friends, no expensive clothing or jewellery
Her son was/is her most precious jewel

School fees were uneasy to pay but she paid
One hurdle after the other but she scaled them all
Oh boy, what a brave & go-get-it woman!
She instilled in me the go-get-it mindset
No one can take her place in my heart

But I still have big respect for my dad
Even though he's back, he still watches from afar
He's a provider, adviser from arm's length
But I guess half presence is better than nada

Isn't it sad that there're countless
similar scenarios all around the globe
Mothers shouldn't be fathering kids
Absent fathers delay societal progress
There are cases of runaway mothers
So no party is exempt

Kudos to all the parents around the world
that are playing their parts
May you excel in raising your kids to excel
And at the end, may you reap the fruits of your earnest labour.

I woke up this morning and
I started counting my blessings
I found out that I'm more blessed
than I ever thought or imagined.

Even though I don't have a million dollars
in my bank account, not even 10% of that
Neither do I own a fast or luxurious car
But blessedness is not confined to that.

I haven't been in a hospital bed in years
I realized that I have a family that cares
I've never not have a roof over my head
Every night, I lay on a comfortable bed.

I have clean water running through my taps
My freedom is not restricted by bars
My mouth hasn't been short of laughs
Even the dark times were filled with stars

It dawned on me that
I have a lot to be thankful for
It's a question of where I put my focus on!

We're all different yet we're still equal
The only superior race is the human race,
to which we all belong.

Religion, sexism, social class, wealth, nationality... just to name a few of the
walls that we've built to divide/separate us.

Trampling each other on the road to power
Crushing one another, a show of power
Hey humans, Love is the answer.

We're all organisms of the same kind
Regardless what a person looks like or
where an individual is from,
we should be ONE in Unity.

Living in a world full of standards
Here is what you should be
Here is what you can't be
I don't play by none of those rules

My real yardstick is the person I was created to be
So even if I live like you better than you
Still, I'll be a failure to the person I was meant to be

I don't want to reach the end of the road
To regret it all because I lived another's life
So, my success has nothing to do with your standards
Success is being me with no compromise.
Success is to genuinely live as me till the end.

When you write my story
Ensure to title it Grace
Looking back at every lap of my race,
I will surely be an ingrate
if I don't give God the praise

How could a castaway stone
become the cornerstone
What many deemed impossible,
In my own case, more often than not,
they became feasible

But above the big accomplishments of life
I cherish the simple everyday blessings

Like the air that I breathe
The warmth of the sun as felt on my skin
The comfort of my bed when I lay on it

I'm grateful for every single hand that
I've lifted up
A blessing is now,
being in the midst of beautiful people

What is fame and wealth in the
absence of a sound health
What are accolades and awards without genuine friends and family to rejoice with

Milestones are friends turned family
Milestones are daily recorded
when life is lived with simplicity.

Forgiveness initiates the healing process
Especially and importantly for the forgiver
Even though forgiveness might not take the pain away immediately,
Remaining in that state of forgiveness would speed up the healing faster than any drug/medicine

Free the punisher, forgive the abuser
Don't lay the blame on yourself either
The pains/regrets would try to resurface
They could even bring tears to your face
But strive to not walk out of forgiveness
Even if you can, say a word of prayer for you and the person(s) in question
That's how you hold on to your peace & freedom.

It is quite far-fetched to impact the
whole world as a single person
But it's more practical to impact
the world of just one person,
And if that one person would
reach out to another individual,
Then the sphere of impact grows bigger

Only one soul positively affected can
revitalise an entire family
Then that one family can spread that
vitality to their own community,
which could cause a ripple effect on a city
Who knows maybe we can then collectively impact the world positively.

How shallow it is to judge beauty
by just outward appearance
It's comparable to calling everything
that glitters diamond
True beauty is found at the core of a being
Who would want to house a gold-plated bomb?
Who would say no to gold bars because
they're wrapped in tattered cloths?
Before calling someone ugly or beautiful,
Seek to know the nature of their heart and soul.
Even at that, who says it's our call to judge!
God made all humans pristine & beautiful,
And that's (wo)man's truest nature,
only contaminated by worldly impurities
Yet at the very core of every being,
there exists purity as it's created to be.

I lay my heart at Your feet
I surrender my life to Your lead
I offer my mouth, use it as Your flute
Let my mouth be a conduit
for Your word to go through
Let my worship come to You
as a sweet smelling fragrance
Let my story be that of Your grace
Let my actions speak of Your love
Let my heart be clean towards all (wo)men
Let my gaze be on You primarily
May I not be carried away by earthly things
May I rely not on my own understanding
nor think that it's by my own might
May you forever by my Lord!

I'm super rich in love
But I can't afford to hate
I keep my mind open
Yet I protect its peace
I welcome challenges,
'cause I'm aware of its
underlying opportunities
What you see is not all there is,
I've embedded this into my principles
My kindness is sometimes
mistaken for foolishness (no regrets)
I've found gratefulness to be
a boost for happiness
I love the easy life and I'm content,
But I repel slothfulness
God is my foundation,
The solid rock on which I stand
God is my support,
I keep Him always in my thoughts
I believe my destiny lies in my hands
Hence I keep my hands clean
Life is beautiful,
Your perception can change the reality.

If you've ever represented your school
in a competition, you'll remember that
Months/weeks/days before the day of contest,
You're subjected to exercises/tasks that
were more rigorous than your peers'
Timed challenges, tougher goals
Sometimes, lesser resources were provided
However, that is not considered torture but training
While your peers were sleeping/playing,
You were going through something "unpleasing"
The good news is, no matter your place in the contest (won a prize or not),
You're potentially better and more experienced than your peers.
You would have learned things your peers didn't know.

Maybe the things you're currently going through
Are preparatory grounds for greater wins that await you ahead
Maybe God has permitted the challenges
to come your way, not as torture but training
And God does know your breaking point,
It's not His desire to watch you break.
Embrace the "unpleasing" tasks today,
Knowing that there is a glorious win ahead.

I'm grateful for the air that I breathe
I'm thankful for the soil on which I stand
Blessed are the foods that I eat
I'm immensely grateful for my health
Thankful for the lessons I was privileged
to learn from my past
I'm full of gratitude seeing the beauty of this present moment
I'm thankful for my five senses (and the sixth)
I'm grateful for the manifested and
the yet to manifest blessings
I'm thankful for the blessings hidden in challenges
I'm thankful for life in its fullness

Dreams alone are somewhat lifeless
Plans and actions are its heart and blood
You would also agree with me that
It takes more than those two (heart & blood) to keep a person alive, dreams alike.

Life is a big stage, full of happenings

Somewhere, a child is born
yet in another, a life is lost
While someone is making a fortune,
another person is losing it all
Someone somewhere is leaping for joy
while someone is wallowing in tears
Someone has way too much to eat
while someone somewhere is starving to death

Is it then fair to say that life isn't fair?

While someone is living in sound health,
another is accustomed to pain
One baby is born into riches,
yet another into misery
Someone is living in a peaceful land
Yet another's land is a war zone

It seems like life has different sides,
Different folks are seeing different views
That's why it's important to be kind,
you never know what a person is going through
Certain things are just beyond explanation
Sometimes, life feels like a mystery.

Lots of great minds leading subpar lives
Becoming static or barely moving
owing to the fear of failure
Never taking chances, always taking the easy way out by chicken(ing) out
Starving everyone the fruits of their gifts, hidden within them as seeds
which they are ignoring to cultivate.
Ignoring purpose makes life less meaningful
Fulfillment is doing what one is called to do
Anything short of that opens the doors
to a life of frustration.