i sit crushed at my table... the inequality and shameless poverty i drive past each and every day rips open my chest grabs my beating heart and begins to squeeze... completely overwhelming me as i signal to the waitress to bring me another Yirgacheffe pour-over [For more Micropoetry that i have been trying out this year, click here]
I know that I am cared for by an abundant Provider I choose to be grateful and trusting, I believe I have enough and that what I need will always be provided. I choose to be content and generous. I know that my choices matter for myself, for others and for future generations. Help me to live consciously and creatively, celebrating signs of your new creation that is present and coming. Creator, who made me [...]
i somehow got into two Facebook argumersations yesterday at the same time. TWO! i can't remember that happening before. i usually try pick my battles one at a time, but somehow, two different articles i shared, generated two different fairly strong push backs. Which i love. i love it when people push back and are genuinely committed to the conversation and engaging and not simply being trolls or palookas. But sometimes [especially when it's people [...]
i have read some REALLY helpful articles about privilege this week. My fear is that the appearance of the word 'privilege' with the assumption of it being specifically 'white privilege' on my blog immediately drives the very people i am wanting to hear and engage with this stuff away. But my hope, which is so much stronger than my fear, is that there are people like Bob [who a bunch of us had this long [...]
This is a hard but necessary passage to share from Steve Biko's 'I Write What I Like' which you should totally get hold of and read in its entirety. Hard, because it is true. Not true that the black man is inferior, but that the idea of the black man being inferior has been so deeply entrenched in so many of us, that it is an extremely hard and horrible thing to admit to when [...]
This rollercoaster looks familiar. i had just posted a link to an article titled Get Real White South Africa, written by Milisuthando Bongela on the Times Lives site. It contained this challenging and eye-opening statement: Only white people can end white supremacy from within their communities - from their churches, schools, dinner tables, clamber clubs, sports clubs, boardrooms, banting restaurants, neighbourhood-watch WhatsApp groups, advertising agency brainstorms, rebranded Broederbond organisations, newsrooms, coffee roasteries, and homes. Which [...]
And we're back - just three bloggerists this time, but two amazing story-tellers joining me for another season of Tandem Blog posting. Join myself, Megan and Dave as we take the same title and give it our own personal and unique flavour... = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = THAT NAGGING FEELING 'Gently does it. Keep your speed average. Not too fast. Not too slow. We [...]
i saw this picture of a giant stack of bacon on Facebook the other day: And fortunately someone hadn't yet shared this particular piece on my wall [although give it time] but it still made me a little angry. It had the message "Tag someone you know who would eat this" and fortunately no one had yet, because you know what? i would not eat that much bacon. Gasp! Shock! Horror! WHAT? Surely you jest? [...]
An empty wall, except for the occasional message graffiti tag that has drawn attention away from the desperate need for a paint job. Mandela Day and the creation of opportunities under the 67 minutes banner for the general public to get involved in goodness. A creative sister-in-law with a vision, a plan and template presenting the basic idea of blocked design she was going for. A raggedy bunch of volunteers from churches, Improv [...]
i was busy painting my block for the uThando leNkosi wall painting project as part of our 67 minutes and a bit for Mandela Day yesterday when things got a little interesting. A lady i had just met, assuming i guess, that we were a bunch of christians helping out with this project, decided to break some ice, by turning to those closest to her and asking, 'What church do you go to?' My friend [...]