Freedom and liberty

Freedom. That's my word of the day as we reflect upon and commemorate Liberation Day. But before I proceed take a pause and reflect: are you free? Yes, you walked home late last night without being touched. For many years nobody has probably broken into your house and stolen your stuff. You sleep soundly every night; life is generally good. But are you free?

I don't know if you are but I know that freedom cannot be delivered on a silver platter. Freedom is something worked hard and fought for. Yes, somebody may create an environment to orchestrate the attainment of freedom but in the end freedom is a destination one must arrive at through personal travail.

Bishop Festo Kivengere was indeed a free man

Freedom, as it is, has many facets but the greatest is mental freedom. In this unpredictable and intensely competitive world, those with mental freedom will always have an edge over the unfree. Sadly, the truly free are the minority, and have to bear the burden of guiding and saving society from descending into total depravity.

It does not help that the age we are in gives preeminence to quantity at the expense of quality. Through the theory of ends and means, fame, power and riches are pursued and the conscience is seared. The true men and women of integrity and courage (these are free indeed) are despised, harassed and sometimes ostracized for refusing to bow to the dictates of their society. But their candles never burn out; they flicker on, guiding the marginalized, inspiring them to keep hope alive.

Thus to be great and lead a fulfilled life starts with mental freedom. Read about the lives of personalities like Martin Luther Jr., Kwame Nkrumah, Festo Kivengere, Benjamin Franklin etc., you will understand the freedom of the mind, how it’s attained and the things it can stir you to do for the greater good.

The first law of words

The other day I called an OB of mine I've not seen for a while. "How are you doing man," I greeted enthusiastically, "how is your New Year going so far?"

I heard him sigh at the other end, and then his voice cracked through the silence lifelessly, "Man, poverty is killing me!"

Of course poverty is not killing my friend! He has a good job, a beautiful, jolly, loyal, down-to-earth wife who is the mother of his two lovely children. Plus he lives in his own house though it's not fully complete yet. What my friend said is a common response from most guys to mean that they are a little cash strapped. But having no money in your pockets does not mean you are impoverished and dying.

The first law of words dictates that you should not use negative words even jokingly because when you say something, you give it life to work for or against you. If you want to know how true this is, try making friends by criticizing and putting them down. You are guaranteed to make enemies instead. But try being nice; encourage people, help them, complement them, tell good jokes, be polite even when you are firm and you will make more friends than you can count!

That's why even in times of gloom I choose to bloom with optimism; believing that things can only get better. That's why my favorite psalm is Psalm 23. That even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil. My cup is full and overflowing; although some tough situations in life can temporary stop the flow, one has to pick oneself and find his groove again. 

And one does not do so with a negative mindset. This is the year to think positive and stay positive.

Sowing and reaping

Whenever I travel upcountry I return with a sackful of avocados that my dad and I planted when I was still a small boy. It still fascinates me that the five avocado seeds we buried in our compound years ago sprouted with vigour and continue to produce many fruits every season, nourishing our big family.

In hot weather those avocado trees also provide a refreshing shade, and block devastating winds from unroofing our house in stormy times. This example affirms that sowing even a single seed unlocks what economists call "the multiplication law."

Therefore, to thrive this year we must strive to understand and apply the principle of sowing and reaping. In short, whatever you do or not do bears good or bad fruits, meaning that if you want to see the fulfillment of your New Year resolutions, you must sow wisely and diligently.

Those who sow wisely benefit liberally from the multiplication principle while those who sow unwisely or don’t sow at all are affected negatively by it. For example, if we had not watered the avocado trees as they grew up, and applied manure, they would have died in infancy or grown up malnourished without the ability to produce bountifully as they do yearly. Now, count how much money people spend on fruits because they have not planted fruit trees in their compounds!

If last year's harvest was bad, forget what is behind and utilise this new year by finding the best use of your time, energy and resources. Consider the ants that toil day and night in summer collecting food for winter. If mere ants can be this wise and industrious, what excuse do we have for being broke?

Success is possible but it’s not achieved accidentally. Prepare. Refocus your attention. Rearrange your priorities. Thorough preparedness always unveils a seed to sow. Tender it lovingly and you will be amazed by how it will unlock its multiplication capacity.

The thing worth pursuing

There's a story of a woman who told her husband that had she known he was poor, she would not have married him. The husband smiled wryly and said, "What did you think I meant when I said you are the only I have?"

The woman had obliviously married for the wrong reasons. Reminds me of a popular Facebook picture of a man with a placard that says women should understand that men are not ATMs. A smart woman knows money can grow wings anytime and fly away. The man who is rich today can fall under hard times and become very, very poor tomorrow. And a man who has no claim to fame today could become a very important and wealthy person tomorrow. 

It's said that marriage is among the top New Year resolutions. People want to settle down with that lifetime partner and live happily thereafter. Be wise and choose a partner for their character, not for the perishable things they possess. 

In fact, the pursuit of wisdom should top our priority list this year. Wisdom is simply the art of good decision making. It's the ability to discern what's right and what's wrong, and the courage to do what is right however unpopular it might be. It's this kind of wisdom that attracts and sustains the blessings we need to lead happy and fulfilled lives.

One young ruler was once given a blank cheque; ask for anything you want and it shall be granted, he was told. The young man thought about it, and asked for wisdom. The giver was so impressed that He gave that young ruler as much wisdom as he had never given to another human being. He also gave him so much wealth and fame now that the young ruler had the wisdom to maintain it.

This year I'll walk with the wise; I'll pursuit wisdom with all my heart because it''s the best that can happen to anybody.