Sometimes I Dream of Her

Sometimes I dream of her.

I dream that we are talking at home,

At an event or discussing an issue like couples do.

It has happened more than a couple of times.

Last night, I dreamed that we arrived home from town 

And she received a bad news – 

Someone she knew had died.

She began to cry but I comforted her. Told her not to worry.

I wiped her tears.

When we first met we were like 

Aliens who knew eachother on

Another planet before meeting on planet earth.

But that was three years ago.

She chose material wealth over peace and happiness.

So why am I still dreaming of her?

What is my soul trying to tell me?

What’s Your Story?

I sat across a table from her.

A table with a glossy black surface.

We sat facing eachother and

There was a bottle of sparkling wine.

“Do you take alcohol?” She asked.

“No,” I replied.

“Do you smoke?” Definitely not. 

I replied again.

“You are handsome, intelligent and 

charming,” she said. 

So why are you single?

I was confused.

(is it a date or a counselling session?)

But I think it was a compliment.

“So what’s your story?” Tell me.

“It’s a very long story.” I replied.

“Tell me. I want to hear it.”

“It will take years.” I replied again.

“I still want to hear,” she insisted.

At this point there were many 

Voices in my head:

It’s a story of tragedy, pain, despair 

But also triumph, joy and hope.

It was bad but also good.

Where do I begin? Which part of the

Story do I tell and which part do 

I omit? I like her.

I don’t want to lose her.

So I poured a drink in both glasses

Raised my glass and said 

“Let’s drink, let’s get wasted.” 

She is a mind reader.

After a sip, she said “you don’t have

To worry. I know your story.

It’s not that bad.”

Homeward

Our worst fear is not that

We might be disappointed.

But that our souls might find

A home in other souls.

Immortal Love

You and I, our love is immortal.

You have no idea how much

I want to look into those dark

Iris of yours and kiss you

Gently on the lips.

When two real “selves” are in love

They become immortal and 

Everything else is secondary.

Yes you and I,

Our love is immortal.

I nearly died of CO poisoning

This year has been difficult for me. This is because I left my job at the university, suffered carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and lost all my investments. I don’t normally talk about challenges in my life. But for the first time in eight years I have decided to blog about my misfortune which occured in June this year and is still affecting me.

When I left my job I started a school where I offered ICT programmes for the youth. I put all my investment into the school. My office was in the heart of Accra and little did I know there was a gas station with a silent generator plant right behind my office window. I was unknowingly breathing in CO about eight hours a day. Then I started experiencing headaches, shortness of breath, severe weakness and was rushed to the hospital on the sixth day. I received oxygen treatments. 

I have closed down the school and haven’t worked since and have moved to the outskirts. Luckily lessons had not actually started so no student suffered the effect of CO. My investment in the office rental, equipments, advertisements etc. is all gone. But I’m glad I have my life back.

CO poisoning makes you feel like your heart is about to fall out of your chest especially when you crouch. CO is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas which makes it very difficult to detect by the senses. I didn’t suffer any permanent tissue damages otherwise it would have been very bad for me. One of my American friends says in the U.S. the gas station will be made to pay my medical bills and compensate me for all my losses but that rarely happens in Ghana. 

Since I left the hospital and came home, I have not been able to recuperate my losses. As the year gradually comes to an end I have become very depressed. 

Wavering Dispositions

There are two conflicting reasons, presumably, why dispositions waver:

Fear: The fear that you might not get what you want and the fear that you might get what you want.

Tears: Tears of sorrow and tears of joy or pain on one side and joy on another.

Anger: Anger at the world and anger at yourself.

Love: Real love, unreal love and unrequited love.

Progress: Progress of the true self (hidden among other selves) and competition from the other selves.

Peace: Inner peace against outer conflict or vice versa.

In this way the soul becomes a bungee, pulled in opposite directions, thus making the individual temporarily confused, spiritually wearied, not knowing which way to go. But all this is normal and temporary. This only happens to one whose consciousness is self-healing and reconstructive.

The key to healing is to keep company with people who love you, who truly care about you and who help bring out the best in you.

Invidia

There was no woman so

Perfect in his eyes than her.

And there was no man so perfect

In her eyes than him.

And it came to pass that his 

Soul was glued to hers.

They loved eachother with

A love so pure.

The moon and the stars sang 

A chorus to their love.

So that half the angels in heaven

And half the demons in hell

Envied them.

We are all victims of love

Are far as love is concerned

We are all victims.

In love’s presence we are 

All powerless – subdued.

I want to be a victim of love.

In fact, I kind of demand it.

African Culture and Philosophy: A Look at Libation

At almost every ceremony especially marking the different stages of the journey of life (i.e. birth, puberty, marriage, funeral etc.) a drink is offered in Africa, to the invisible forces – Gods and spirits. This is called libation. Libation was usually carried out by a chief’s linguist, a priest or in their absence any elderly person knowledgeable in the customs of the community. The liquid poured could be alcohol, palm wine or even common water dependending on what is available and it was poured with calabash. The people gather in a semi circle behind the linguist, looking on. The linguist then proceeds by addressing the prayer hierarchically to:

1. The Supreme God as creater of life, followed by several appellations by which the supreme God is known such as Mawu, Sogbo-lisa, Mawuga etc.

2. Mother Earth for supporting life. In the language of the Ewe, sky god and earth god were called Sogbo and Lîsa. Together they ensured rain and bountiful harvest.

3. Ancestors for their protection, blessings and guidance.

4. Deities etc.

Sometimes names of specific ancestors or deities are mentioned in the libation but it is generally a prayer of thanksgiving. The person pouring the libation may follow the thanksgiving with further requests for protection, peace, good harvest, many children etc. In this way one can get what “purpose” means to the indigenous African or what the African aspires to and those aspirations were no doubt humanistic. For instance wealth meant a large family size.

After libation the remaining drink was poured for everyone present to drink. A word of advice here: if the ceremony was an important ritual (concerning outdooring, apprenticeship agreement or some kind of contract) one’s partaking in the drinking means an approval or witnessing of the occasion. You drink means you approve of or agree to whatever happened. It’s not heavy drinking – just a sip. So the best sign you will see of those who diasapprove of the ceremony is a refusal of the drink without any excuse or worst still failure to show up. Assuming a problem occurs later after the ceremony, you could be called as a witness. If you claim ignorance of the problem, the elders would ask: “Were you not there, did you not partake in the drinking?”

Perhaps the most important observation of African traditions is that godism was a way of life. One does not wait for saturday or sunday before going to the shrine or pouring libation. Religion was fused with practical life. 

But for colonialism, African culture and philosophy would have evolved and flourished in a unique way benefiting its people. Africans would still have been influenced by the outside world but in a positive way. They would have learned to improve their own indigenous inventions, philosophies, customs, economies and way of life. In a subsequent post I shall demonstrate that there was authentic spirituality and moral laws in Africa long before any missionary entered Africa with the Bible. Because the implied hypothesis (even among some Africans) was that had the missionaries not come to Africa Africans will know nothing about morals or God.

To be continued….