Sunday 30 June 2013



A change of tongue


Each country has its own 'thing.' In more ways then one. This includes the manner of speech we use for our daily conversations and interactions.

South Africans have a particular word which we use for everything!
It is the word "Shame."
Your car broke down? Shame man!
Your dog died? Ah shame!
You got caught in a rain storm and now your hair is wet before your big interview? Ah no, shame!
Mandela is in the hospital! "Gasp! Shame!"
Your broke your toe? "Shame pumpkin!"

I am sure you get my drift.... the shame list is endless. 
A friend of mine who is in ministry recently pointed out this 'shame' reality to me. She began by asking what does the word shame actually mean?

Shame is defined by the dictionary as; a painful emotion caused by awareness of having done something dishonorable  or foolish. Disgrace. To be shame faced. Dishonoured. Humiliated or defiled.

Wow! When I began to realise the depth of the meaning of this word. I began to question myself and the use of the word shame. Why do we use it so often and so flippantly. Why do we tell others that they need to feel shame in simple things? Why do we express ourselves through the use of the word shame?
Well, I dont have the answers but I sure know that I am stepping back and stepping out of the boat. There will be no more use for the word shame in my life because I will not use it anymore. My journey to rid myself of this 'shame' talk is hard. This small but loaded word is in built in to the tongues of South Africans, but let us denounce it! Undo it and discard it. 
We are a nation whose past has been marred by shame, let us make our everyday speech joyful and uplifted.. let us steer ourselves away from shame and all it means.....
 

Friday 14 June 2013

Pink blossoms and inner peace....


I just watched The Last Samurai, for about the 20th time.
And each time, depending on where I am at in my own life; I connect to something new.

For me, it is a story about peace, inner peace, the kind of lasting peace that as the narrator rightly states - that all of us search for and few ever find. It is a story about destiny and honour, about honouring what defines us and what builds us. Destiny and peace. Two of the pursuits of life - that I wonder about often.
True - the main character is far removed from civilisation in order to find true and lasting purpose and destiny. Is there something we should learn from this? Is this the only place where one can find these pursuits?
I do believe that true lasting peace comes when people are not around, when the scattered masses of voices are finally silenced and you are alone in a field of pink blossoms with the Master Teacher. Whose voice is soothing and calm, He understands what you don't say and why you cry.....

Imagine.......
True and lasting inner peace..... coupled with destiny.

"Do you believe a man can change his destiny?"
"I believe a man does what he can, until his destiny is revealed."

And so I wait, pursuing that peace and destiny and wondering about them both....