Monday 24 May 2010

Philosophies born of duress: I

As I write this, I'm being broiled by conspicuous means of a danfo
bus. Passengers look like an advert for any popular drink. Looking at
us 13, you'd be possessed of a near demonic thirst. I barely notice
the attractive woman who sat 2 seats from me just now. If I wasn't
blogging, I'm certain I wouldn't have even noticed her (no, I'm not
thinking of flirtation in her remote direction. You must sympathise,
sweaty & philosophising isn't the swag for the ladies. It's unfair.)
*** Opebi. 16:10
Right now, I'm watching the sky get ready to unleash a brutal beat
down on my end of Lagos. It's going to take balls to choose to stay at
work instead of going home to sleep. The challenge of self-employment
is discipline. I could catch 40+40 winks at the office, but things
must be done. This cold has to go to waste. What I stand to gain far
outweighs any thing that sleep would do for me right now. By far.
*** Sabo 15:43
I am hungry. I've been up since 4:30 & I'm going through my indomie
ritual. Power is yet to come back to comfort us on my line. It's
terrible. I've the new installment of Football Manager (2010), movies
on my laptop that I haven't seen yet, clothes I haven't ironed... I
think that on more levels than one, we're being taken for granted. My
family of one considers this possibility. Run for office. Or back a
runner for office. Slow revenge. I'm bothered by this stagnancy in
events. I think I'd like a large chicken burger. Or warmed up soup &
rice. Above all, I'd like a more visible answer to the problem of
easier living.
***AKOKA 5:02.
I'm surrounded by Lagosians who believe negative confessions are a
sign of intelligence. The police are crooked (power corrupts, duh!),
traffic is terrible (the state's population is larger than Accra),
area boys are a nuisance (so are the mafia, the yakuza, al queda...),
people are insane (I hate to break it to you, but Lagos is a mental
institution aimed at desensitizing its citizens till they can survive
any where else in the world), politicians only look out for their
pockets & themselves (we are all waiting for our opportunity to chop &
clean mouth)...it gets tiresome. Still, I will always have respect for
anyone who points out solutions instead of the obvious problems. I
have even more respect for anyone who sees the heart of the problem,
not just the symptoms. We can't all be brilliant in the same things.
But we can all be brilliant. It's a given that the diversity in our
race is expressed in the diversity in the things we appreciate, value
or honour. So I imagine that the first scientific mind, political
mind, athletic mind...were unappreciated. It is sad. But introspection
must have forced a school of thought to come to be. What school of
thought will be born of the Lagosian state of being? Who will be its
pillars? What will be the heart of it? Well, I think the problem of
our problems rests in the solutions offered. A european stew for an
african stomach? The diet needs to change before anything positive can
be achieved. This has been proven by a handful of leaders who have
made being african attractive, a thing to be proud of, a means to ends
greater than the men who bear that mark & it is not a stigma. It never
was.
*** Akoka 18:34 (23-05-10)
It is an untidy mind that submits itself to loss of identity. Some
people researched the mitochondria of the cells in the eyes of
randomly chosen europeans & africans. They discovered that the
europeans had a common ancestor, an Eve, if you will. When it is said
that we are a family, it means so much more than skin-colour. It means
that we are all african, no matter how far removed we are from others.
Really. It was misinformed people who assumed the worst about their
mother & her sisters. We are not God's afterthought. We are so much
more. I'm not going pan-african. I'm not even a positive humanist. I
just think that if we see things as they really are, instead of
planning our lives & futures on another (dead) person's assumptions,
we will have an easier time living.
I'm going to do something that I feel I will gain from, even if it is
painful. I'm going to stop smoking in a few hours. Not sure for how
long, but I'm sure that I will make the necessary efforts. Why?
Personal responsibility of my life is not a democratic function. It is
a personally thought out decision. Shit! This is going to be muy
uncomfortable.

--
Sent from my mobile device

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