Every New Year finds me coming up with a list of stuff to do... goals
E.g. - get married (I didn't), build this or that business (I did) , build apps for this that the other (I didn't) , get into a regular prayer routine (Partially failed miserably in the second half).
Which is pretty much okay - I mean it is what focused people do. They ready, take aim and fire... and more often than not I have pulled off a huge percentage of these things I set out to do and then evaluate at the end of year and here we go again.
I want this year to be different... or rather I want to be different in this year
I WANT TO BE - I DON'T WANT TO DO
Sunrise somewhere in Nairobi
I love taking pictures - I don't own a camera... I use my phone.
Now I realize the depths in those moments... many of which I don't get to experience twice because things change - landscapes change, people move or die...
I WANT TO BE DIFFERENT IN 2015
I want to be different in 2015... to not be scared of not achieving, to not be scared of financial Insecurity or physical insecurity - it is a reptile's life being scared... I will not be afraid (What will I be?)
I will not be afraid - relax... I am alive
I want to be different in 2015... to not to rush seeking for the next target... struggling to achieve... struggling to make it so that I have that big car, afford that restaurant, get my wife this home... I will not lead a mammals life - seeking the things that give me pleasure and satisfaction... I will not be discontent (What will I be?)
Looking at life from a higher perspective - no more struggling
I want to be different in 2015... to not seek approval from others... getting affirmation... being liked... I will not be so pathetically human seeking attachment... I will not be selfish (what will I be?)
Sunset on Lake Victoria - seeing the smallness of my humanity
I WILL BE IN 2015
I will be a child of God - I will know I have nothing to fear in this life except fear itself... because fear will deny me the complete experience of life
I will be one with humanity - I will do and give things to contribute to humanity instead of taking things to me pleasure and contentment. We are one humanity.
I will Love - because love gives meaning to life. No more attachments... no more me... I...
The richest 1% of the world own half the world's wealth that is inequality.
But why would 99% of the world sit around and some in dire poverty and maintain a status quo. Why not demand affirmative action
Affirmative action is defined as
Affirmative action or positive discrimination (known as employment equity in Canada, reservation in India and Nepal, and positive action in the UK) is the policy of favoring members of a disadvantaged group who are perceived to suffer from discrimination within a culture.
PERCEPTION
As a first step to overcoming inequality it is important to understand who is the perceiving party. Does the person who appears to suffer from discrimination feel that they are disadvantaged or do they need us to tell them that they are badly off and life could be better for them.
Within a culture - cultures are different. Colonialists in Africa believed that they were more civilized than their colonies hence a justification for colonialism. In Wikipedia defined as
"the distinct ways that people, who live differently, classified and represented their experiences, and acted creatively"
MY POINT
It is key to have a benchmark such as the 30 Articles on Human Rights (below) before judging that some sort of discrimination is happening and that the benchmark can be reviewed for inclusiveness
It is key to understanding another's perception and another's culture before deciding that they suffer discrimination.
It is key for the discriminated party to feel that they need to change their situation otherwise any intervention will be unsustainable or useless
It is key for the discriminated party to feel they can get this equal treatment or equity by themselves rather than being dependent on other people to get this for them.
EMPOWERMENT
The discriminated party is able to challenge stereotypes E.g. of a stereotype Men make better leaders than Women
The discriminated party is able to identify labels as false or not a complete definition of the human person e.g. Sex worker or prostitute describes my job not my parenting skills, not my personality, not my values
The discriminated party is ready to take on cultural rebellion i.e. represent your experiences differently as you have been taught or as is conventionally represented
The discriminated party is ready to identify themselves as human with infinite possibilities e.g. even if you live in a third world country living under a dollar a day you believe that you can access learning and opportunity and you have a role to change your life
END OF STORY
If 99% of us feel that this story is not right and that the world's wealth is unequally distributed then we can change it.
If 99% of us spend our lives trying to be like the one percent who own the world and do not really feel that this a bad balance then the status quo will remain
If we want to help anyone through Non Governmental organizations and Social entrepreneurship then the greatest help we can give is seeing them want to help themselves and change their story
I watched Churchill live Episode 49 a couple of weeks ago.
I enjoyed the show especially the part of Karis and Tanzanian Musician AY it was really hilarious.
However the interview with Ken Wa Maria really got me thinking... I know TV especially comedy and music is supposed to be fun and we are not really supposed to think about it.
But on the flip side TV and music are a source of information, education and entertainment and it is a media that greatly shapes our perspective and view of life.
If you don't agree with me just think about the last time you read a book, watched an online/offline educational, motivational or life skill video or audio compared to the number of times you watch TV soaps, comedies, news(which is always bad) and then make your own conclusion which of these two categories color your life.
Back to Ken Wa Maria and Fundamentos. I respect Ken and his profession... however I think his thinking on life is flawed.
What he describes in his song as fundamentals of a man and fundamentals of a woman are a reflection of how we have devalued ourselves as human beings. This view of our "fundamentals" also is the cause of much unhappiness in our lives and the cause of strained, broken and abusive relationships.
Not so much from the woman's own perspective of these parts of her body but from the perspective of a perverted man and society. As he asks "what do you have to offer?"
WHY ARE THESE NOT YOUR FUNDAMENTALS?
Clearly in Ken's interview he places a high regard for "fundamentos" for the car he drives and even mentions that some of his jealous ex band members envy his Mercedes Benz and find they can't afford a Toyota Premio. He emphasizes a lot on his educational achievements too which he says he will use to progress in life. At some point he states "life is a competition".
Probably you have never heard of Alfred Merckle - A Forbes top 100 billionaire who ended his life by suicide on a train track when his fortune fell from $12 billion to $9 billion. Of course he went from top 100 to position 174. He had more "Fundamentos" than anyone you or Ken and I know.
My point is if land, the car you drive, money in your bank, your house, your company position are your fundamentals - if you lose them then you will have no meaning in life - you will kill yourself. If you lose control and your fortune plunges $4 billion in one year you won't see the $9 billion leftover you will be filled with fear and end this scary spiral (take your life). If your life is a competition "when do you win?" "who are the competition?" "what is the prize to be won? Fame? More Money? Sex? Power or Position?" "What will you do with the prize after you win it?" or will you wind up in an endless cycle of trying to preserve "your fundamentals" in order to keep the prize? It's a rat's life this kind of life and when its over it's a rats death
If a woman thinks her physical appearance matched against some criteria is her fundamentals then she is in for endless boob jobs, hip enhancements etcetera and if the criteria is changed by the criteria makers then she goes for slimming pills, forced gym workouts etcetera. If your fundamentals are warped belief of what consists of a beautiful body when life takes a toll on this body then insecurity sets in a fear that our spouse will see others who have "better fundamentos"; insecurity results in mistrust; mistrust results in strained relationships; divorce and break ups occur due to "wrong fundamentals".
Wrong fundamentals lead to unhappy people, who are continuously striving to have more, to meet others standards/approval, with a totally warped sense of self and self worth who lead stressful and strained lives to attain what is totally useless - this is the "vanity of vanities".
Here is something that Ken's Italian priests (who taught him music) might have taught him about life's fundamentals but he chose to ignore. The real fundamentals.
WHAT ARE YOUR FUNDAMENTALS?
Our prime identity can be described under two main headings - I am a child of God, I am human.
You are a child of God, a child of the universe you have a right to be here.
This fundamental is the appreciation that we do not hold the world in our hands is very important for a stress free life. We are able to be thankful for our lives and existence and to learn and grow from bad experiences or situations. We are tiny in the great scheme of things yet absolutely valuable, valued and unique.
You are human
This is fundamental helps us appreciate our unique endowments as human beings.
The first is knowledge (sing, dance, write, calculate, talk, listen) and the sum of all spatial, numerical, organizational and literary abilities we have.
The ability to love
The ability to choose or free will
The ability to follow through with a choice or willpower or the will
The ability to think and forecast and estimate the future
The sum of all feelings and emotions that only we are capable of.
WHO WE ARE COMES BEFORE WHAT WE HAVE
If you look at my list immediately above and Ken's list further up you realize that everything in Ken's list is "what we have" and is a result of "who we are" which is in my list.
An appreciation of "who we are" leads us to grateful and happy and confident lives. We know if we lose all our property we have it in us to create more wealth.
An appreciation of "who we are" helps us appreciate diversity in our differences there is no human being of a lower status than we are - we are different and unique and precious. Regardless of what we have in terms of property, wealth and acquisitions we are all equal in "Fundamentals"
An appreciation of our identity prime as children of God makes us comfortable in whatever else we chose to do with ourselves i.e. minor identities. Whether we take up roles as fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, friends, lovers, religious, careers, state in life e.g. single, level of study.
An appreciation of the identity prime as human beings helps to comfortable in our minor identities and roles such as our career choices, career changes. Our secondary identity can change our prime identity never ever does/change.
Ken's fundamentals aren't bad - they are really good things but for these things to be truly meaningful to our lives we have to detach from them firstly - embrace our true fundamentals then all of Ken's list our wealth, money and looks will be a cause for us to be happy. We will be "happy about" these things because we are already "happy in" who we are.
Knowing our true fundamentals helps us lead lives of mindfulness
Knowing our true fundamentals helps us be grateful lives
Leading grateful and mindful lives makes us happy people
Being happy people leads us to be successful people.
Sad fact of life many of us want to do it the other way round - get success so that they can be grateful and happy.
