She gets out a flashy phone and starts texting and chatting with her friends. Every so often she laughs out loudly at some joke only known to her. Her face is a variety of emotions passed on by the people she chats with. One moment she looks almost ready to cry and I can only imagine she is chatting to someone who is not so happy. Then she bursts out laughing and I get confused.
My ride from town is made interesting sitting next to this young lady in the matatu. She seems to be in a world of her own, only looking up from her phone briefly when paying fare. Otherwise the whole journey home is punctuated with giggles and all manner of expressions as she exchanges all manner of info on her phone. Her speed on the Qwerty phone is somewhat enviable. She sends out endless chats as she switches from one account to another. She seems so engrossed in her world I dare not interfere.
I think about her long after the matatu ride. It concerns me because hers is not an isolated case. I see it all around me, young people who take up any available opportunity to communicate on their phones. As much as I have nothing against the use of the mobile phone it is the seeming addiction to it that bothers me. It seems young people are talking more to their phones than to other people.
When all is said and done we still need to talk to one another on a personal level. But that is changing fast with the elevated use of technology. Nothing wrong with using it to improve our lives but what concerns me is the fact that the warmth of one on one communication is fast getting extinct. It is possible to express my feelings over a chat or sms but miss out on the physical touch that is present in a face to face chat. I cannot dismiss those valuable clues and hints i get when chatting with people, the warmth of having someone's feelings flash across their face as we talk.
At times it makes sense to put all those devices down and stare out of the window of a moving vehicle instead of being immersed with the phone. When home it also makes sense that you bond as a family during those lively chats after dinner. Nothing can replace the warm laughter of family members who have come to an end of the day and gather together to share their experiences. It is the very essence of bonding.
But young people never ever fall shot of amazing habits. I have witnessed young men who sit in a shared public seat like they are the only ones aboard. This leaves the other person dangling onto the little space left for them as the man taps away on his phone. I often wonder if such a person who is so engrossed in himself can have a healthy sharing relationship. Some habits are very telling, you know.
That said, there needs to be a balance in life so that we do not loose touch of the important things in life while chasing after what's new and seems appealing to us. Those phones and gadgets should not take the place of healthy communication. When not regulated these gizmos serve to break down the very fabric of relationships which is healthy talking with whole hearted attention given one to another. Otherwise we risk loosing out on the very things that make us human beings with all emotions to show for it.
18 April 2013
25 March 2013
An Alcoholic Generation?
Yesterday I happened out just after 9pm and what I saw broke my heart. While stepping out of a chemist where I had gone to pick some lozenges, I was shocked to hear a loud shouts coming from right across the street. I stood there for a while and what I saw unfold before my eyes broke my heart to the core.
A group of five young girls who looked like they had just cleared high school stood right in the middle of the road. With them were three young men who seemed composed despite the rowdy noise from the girls. I could tell the girls were very drunk and two of them were smoking. They kept harassing the boys to go along with them even though they were reluctant. What I was watching was a clear show of girls in control.
I stood there a while longer watching the group. Vehicles had to make their way around them as they were right in the middle of the road. It was a good thing this was an estate shopping centre otherwise they risked getting run over walking right in the middle of the road. I wondered if their parents knew what they were up to, and even wondered more how they would go home to their families intoxicated as they were. Every once in a while they would hurl insults to passersby and follow it up with loud laughter.
This is not an Isolated happening as over the weekend I saw so many people both young and old passing the hours around tables laden with alcohol. It is now not necessary to drink alcohol in the confines of low light pub as there are now outdoor pubs in the form of tables. Here you find groups of men drinking in the company of ladies who occupy whatever sitting space is available, mostly on the laps of the men. They sit there discussing politics or football as they while away most of the weekend drinking.
In both these scenarios, alcohol is in use in large quantities. It seems nowadays if you are not drinking you are not with it. Alcohol has become the social medium in our society so that if one does not want to be left behind then they need to frequent these alcohol clubs often. It is pathetic watching so many people wasting away their lives in what appears to be a frenzy to outwit each other in intoxication. But what exactly is turning our society into a drinking society?
It is a society gone bad when socialising is done in pubs. I always wonder even more when I see women competing with the men at downing drinks with abandon. Women are not meant to drink. Alcohol makes one loose their focus and we need mothers who are alert to deal with the matters of bringing up a family. So while these women are drinking late into the night who is left with the children, who is mothering them? No wonder we are seeing more and more kids brought up by house helps who may not have the necessary parenting skills. Someone needs to tell ladies that there is nothing cool about sloshing down countless bottles of beer and getting back home late to sleeping children.
Yes life is tough and not getting easier. But when a man or woman chooses to drown their cares with alcohol it does not help anything. No one gets a medal for being an alcoholic and abdicating their roles which is what alcohol does to most. We are seeing more and more men turning into alcoholics day by day and who seem to only work to go out and drink some more. If everyone has turned into an alcoholic, then what is the future of our society? Is there no other means of letting it out except through drinking?
No wonder we are seeing an increase of broken homes. And with that comes broken children who also turn to alcohol to try and cope with life issues. There is also an increase of criminal cases performed under the influence of alcohol. Not to mention unwanted pregnancies that result from the one night stands induced by alcohol consumption. Alcohol brings with it a chain reaction and if left unchecked we could be turning into a drink dependant society. Then woe unto our children!
Alcohol will not solve any problem and that is clear. The effects of alcohol need to be brought out more and more even on national television so that people are reminded what it is they are getting themselves into. Religious leaders too need to call for sobriety and bring forth campaigns on the vice. Sweeping the menace under the rug will not help our society rather we all need to point alternative recreational means of letting off stress. Surely there are more beneficial forums of socialising that do not dent the pocket and cause breakdown of relationships. If we all seek to find them.
A group of five young girls who looked like they had just cleared high school stood right in the middle of the road. With them were three young men who seemed composed despite the rowdy noise from the girls. I could tell the girls were very drunk and two of them were smoking. They kept harassing the boys to go along with them even though they were reluctant. What I was watching was a clear show of girls in control.
I stood there a while longer watching the group. Vehicles had to make their way around them as they were right in the middle of the road. It was a good thing this was an estate shopping centre otherwise they risked getting run over walking right in the middle of the road. I wondered if their parents knew what they were up to, and even wondered more how they would go home to their families intoxicated as they were. Every once in a while they would hurl insults to passersby and follow it up with loud laughter.
This is not an Isolated happening as over the weekend I saw so many people both young and old passing the hours around tables laden with alcohol. It is now not necessary to drink alcohol in the confines of low light pub as there are now outdoor pubs in the form of tables. Here you find groups of men drinking in the company of ladies who occupy whatever sitting space is available, mostly on the laps of the men. They sit there discussing politics or football as they while away most of the weekend drinking.
In both these scenarios, alcohol is in use in large quantities. It seems nowadays if you are not drinking you are not with it. Alcohol has become the social medium in our society so that if one does not want to be left behind then they need to frequent these alcohol clubs often. It is pathetic watching so many people wasting away their lives in what appears to be a frenzy to outwit each other in intoxication. But what exactly is turning our society into a drinking society?
It is a society gone bad when socialising is done in pubs. I always wonder even more when I see women competing with the men at downing drinks with abandon. Women are not meant to drink. Alcohol makes one loose their focus and we need mothers who are alert to deal with the matters of bringing up a family. So while these women are drinking late into the night who is left with the children, who is mothering them? No wonder we are seeing more and more kids brought up by house helps who may not have the necessary parenting skills. Someone needs to tell ladies that there is nothing cool about sloshing down countless bottles of beer and getting back home late to sleeping children.
Yes life is tough and not getting easier. But when a man or woman chooses to drown their cares with alcohol it does not help anything. No one gets a medal for being an alcoholic and abdicating their roles which is what alcohol does to most. We are seeing more and more men turning into alcoholics day by day and who seem to only work to go out and drink some more. If everyone has turned into an alcoholic, then what is the future of our society? Is there no other means of letting it out except through drinking?
No wonder we are seeing an increase of broken homes. And with that comes broken children who also turn to alcohol to try and cope with life issues. There is also an increase of criminal cases performed under the influence of alcohol. Not to mention unwanted pregnancies that result from the one night stands induced by alcohol consumption. Alcohol brings with it a chain reaction and if left unchecked we could be turning into a drink dependant society. Then woe unto our children!
Alcohol will not solve any problem and that is clear. The effects of alcohol need to be brought out more and more even on national television so that people are reminded what it is they are getting themselves into. Religious leaders too need to call for sobriety and bring forth campaigns on the vice. Sweeping the menace under the rug will not help our society rather we all need to point alternative recreational means of letting off stress. Surely there are more beneficial forums of socialising that do not dent the pocket and cause breakdown of relationships. If we all seek to find them.
28 February 2013
SILENT TEARS
She tries to hold the tears in check
but they fall unreserved from her eyes
eyes that have had more
than their share of crying.
Anyone seeing her would not know,
the pain inside her heart
the uncertainity she carries along
unsure of what tomorrow brings.
One might be fooled by her smile
the one that never leaves her face
no matter that the storm rages
it remains fixed for all to see.
But when alone where noone else sees
alone with only God watching
she will let it all out
she will gain relieve in the tears.
Noone told her growing up
of the silent tears she would endure
tears that would come from her heart
understood by noone else.
She has heard of the saying before
strength of a woman they say
despite what might be going on with her
to brave it all and smile.
but they fall unreserved from her eyes
eyes that have had more
than their share of crying.
Anyone seeing her would not know,
the pain inside her heart
the uncertainity she carries along
unsure of what tomorrow brings.
One might be fooled by her smile
the one that never leaves her face
no matter that the storm rages
it remains fixed for all to see.
But when alone where noone else sees
alone with only God watching
she will let it all out
she will gain relieve in the tears.
Noone told her growing up
of the silent tears she would endure
tears that would come from her heart
understood by noone else.
She has heard of the saying before
strength of a woman they say
despite what might be going on with her
to brave it all and smile.
19 February 2013
REGRET
The night held promise of an exciting time for all the students that would be attending the dinner dance that day. It had been a tough first semester for the first year campus students and this was a welcome distraction for them. Most of the afternoon was spent in preparation for the evening.
Joy sat in her campus room wondering if she should go. All her classmates would be at the dance and had kept urging her to join them. Someone had even gone ahead and offered her an outrageously skimpy skirt for the evening. She wrestled with thoughts of remaining locked up in her room but could not imagine being the laughing stock of her class as everyone would be discussing the event the following day. She could however not forget the talk that she had had with her youth pastor on guarding her faith while at campus.
When the Clock struck seven she was all set to go. She decided that she would not be left behind but would go to the dance. Donning a pair of formal pants and a t-shirt she made her way to the hall where everyone was rocking to the music already. She opted to sit farthest from the dance floor and sat there sipping a cold soda as she watched. She could not help but notice how some of her seemingly gullible classmates seemed to have let their guard down and were going at the party full force. Most of them were drunk and went out of their way to identify by trying out different antics on the floor.
Someone offered to dance with Joy but she declined feigning a headache. She knew that she must not compromise her faith and was only here for show. It was not a wasted evening for Joy however. Sitting there at her little corner, she realized the need for her to represent Christ on campus. Watching many students give in to pressure from their colleagues, Joy got an even better understanding of her role in representing her faith to her fellow students.
It was a sober joy that went back to her room that night. Her resolve had been strengthened from her experience that evening. She felt proud of holding strong to her faith and was more determined than ever to stay strong. What Joy did not realize was that she was had just stepped into her ministry on campus. She would try and fill the gap for the missing link while at campus. She did not know yet was the number of students who had watched her quiet composure that evening and could not wait to find out her source of strength to defy pressure.
The following morning was a maze of misery for some students on realizing just how much they had compromised their values that previous evening. Drunkenness and loss of moral values was top on the list of what Joy would be dealing with on campus. Not to mention the guilt.
http://www.faithwriters.com/Boards/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=92&t=36504
Joy sat in her campus room wondering if she should go. All her classmates would be at the dance and had kept urging her to join them. Someone had even gone ahead and offered her an outrageously skimpy skirt for the evening. She wrestled with thoughts of remaining locked up in her room but could not imagine being the laughing stock of her class as everyone would be discussing the event the following day. She could however not forget the talk that she had had with her youth pastor on guarding her faith while at campus.
When the Clock struck seven she was all set to go. She decided that she would not be left behind but would go to the dance. Donning a pair of formal pants and a t-shirt she made her way to the hall where everyone was rocking to the music already. She opted to sit farthest from the dance floor and sat there sipping a cold soda as she watched. She could not help but notice how some of her seemingly gullible classmates seemed to have let their guard down and were going at the party full force. Most of them were drunk and went out of their way to identify by trying out different antics on the floor.
Someone offered to dance with Joy but she declined feigning a headache. She knew that she must not compromise her faith and was only here for show. It was not a wasted evening for Joy however. Sitting there at her little corner, she realized the need for her to represent Christ on campus. Watching many students give in to pressure from their colleagues, Joy got an even better understanding of her role in representing her faith to her fellow students.
It was a sober joy that went back to her room that night. Her resolve had been strengthened from her experience that evening. She felt proud of holding strong to her faith and was more determined than ever to stay strong. What Joy did not realize was that she was had just stepped into her ministry on campus. She would try and fill the gap for the missing link while at campus. She did not know yet was the number of students who had watched her quiet composure that evening and could not wait to find out her source of strength to defy pressure.
The following morning was a maze of misery for some students on realizing just how much they had compromised their values that previous evening. Drunkenness and loss of moral values was top on the list of what Joy would be dealing with on campus. Not to mention the guilt.
http://www.faithwriters.com/Boards/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=92&t=36504
14 February 2013
Valentine.
I treasure the words from my first ever valentine card. I was in high school and my hubby sent it to me.
It happened when I saw you smile,
Your eyes looked into mine.
I've loved you dearly since that day,
Please be my valentine!
I could recite those words even in my sleep.
It happened when I saw you smile,
Your eyes looked into mine.
I've loved you dearly since that day,
Please be my valentine!
I could recite those words even in my sleep.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)