By Charles Leyman Kachitsa Its not that when you take a ‘short-cut’ route you will reach your destination faster. Sometimes what may feel a shorter route can be elongated by circumstances. For instance, from experience as everyone want to take the shortcut route, there would be a lot of delays as people stop to greet each other where a story on asking how one is ends up in four to five additional stories. Perhaps it is only in London UK, I not know of any city where shortcut routes work efficiently using the underground train systems. There it seems people have got it all to be fast as normally you would not see people stopping to greet each other. Usually if one was generous a wave is the norm however deep you know each other or the relationship. In some parts of the world like my parents’ home village, one can not just pass another without greeting them. Even houses that are nearer a route one is taking are shouted at in greetings, just in case there is someone inside not seen yet and they may feel offended if not greeted. So it is that good manners means shouting a greeting at every sight of another person or merely shouting in anticipation the greetings in places where other people unseen may likely be. Even on approaching a farm land without any house, one has to shout a greeting in case there is someone invisible bent down tilling the soil. Such is the norm which makes London in UK seem a weird place. The quotes this week are a continuation of our last week’s focal book. The extracts from which, will make you realise that when you get hold of it and read the whole, will make you more enlightened on what we have come to call living especially Christian life and its meaning. I am sure the selected quotations as extracts from the book will teach you one or two lessons, read and enjoy: OUR CHILDREN NEED ROOTS AND WINGS by Dr Harvey Collins Kwiyani “Every story of migration in the Bible has a sub-story of second-generation migrants within its narrative. Abraham’s migration made Isaac an immigrant too, just as Isaac’s migrations made Jacob another immigrant. Of course, to say the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is to recognise a God of three generations of migrants. This is what migration does – it affects the migrants and their children. Every migration — and mass migration like the one we see with Africans today — produces a transnational generation of children who belong in multiple cultures and align with more than one national identity.” “African Christianity is becoming increasingly important in Europe. Nevertheless, I wonder if it will actually survive the first- and second-generation migrants who brought it from Africa. Our children are leaving the church as soon as they can. Will they be able to disciple their own children in the faith? Will their children be interested in the faith in this context of massive secularism? Bearing in mind that many of the first-generation African migrants were already Christians before they came to Europe, and that they have, so far, found it a huge challenge to disciple their children in the diaspora, it seems too optimistic to think that African churches will beat the odds to stay strong and relevant beyond the first-generation. To sustain their churches in Europe, and for African churches to stay beyond the first and second generations, Africans will have to evangelise and disciple not just fellow African migrants but also the second- and third-generation African migrants and many Europeans, too.” “Partners who took care of the children at home back in Africa—usually women—get a chance to go to work in Britain, earn some money and become more independent (which has led to quite a few marital breakdowns). Many men have to learn take care of children, cook, wash dishes and tidy up—chores that were left to women and children or maids in Africa. The authority commanded over the children by the parents back home seems to dissipate once in Europe as parents can no longer use some forms of discipline to keep their children on the right path. Overall, African migrants find that in British culture the balance of power in the family shifts towards the children (and the women). Both women’s and children’s rights suddenly become more pronounced as men’s authority becomes displaced.” “Indeed, that second-generation African immigrants are not staying in their parents’ churches should not surprise us. The parents’ churches are shaped for a different kind of audience existing in a different time and space. When the younger generation attend, many of them say that they feel like they have entered foreign country. The cultural expressions of the parents’ churches generally look and feel African, (or to be specific, Nigerian, Ghanaian, Kenyan, Zimbabwean, Ethiopian, etc). In their defence, that is all that the parents know. In most cases, the parents are only trying to preserve their African culture in a strange land. They find a great deal of security in this.” DR HARVEY COLLINS KWIYANI Dr Harvey Collins Kwiyani originated from Malawi some years ago. He stayed for several years in the USA before relocating to the UK. He teaches theology, missiology, and leadership courses at several places in the USA, Europe and Africa but is currently based at Liverpool Hope University as Senior Lecturer where he teaches African Theology. He founded and continues to be the general editor of African Missiology. He is also author of several books including such titles as, ‘Sent Forth: African Missionary Work in the West’, ‘Mission-shaped Church in a Multi-cultural World’, and the book, ‘Our Children Need Roots and Wings.’
Author: Charles Leyman Kachitsa
Inspirational Quotes for the WEEKEND
By Charles Leyman Kachitsa Some people grow up fearing water. There are so many explanations to this and so many dimensions of the reasons why. Water is life so they say, so why should one fear water. In parts of the world where water is scarce, that fear of water may be for the fear of scrambles and competition it may bring as people fight each other to get it. Some would want to take control of this scarce resource in that land which might be through fighting as well. Areas of the earth that are prone to floods, they could be said to have people who fear water. Ironically it is not always the people living there who would be the ones fearing, otherwise they could not have chosen to live in such lands. It is people uphill who exhibit that fear. There are those who despite having this life giving resource, fear water for they fear using it for bathing. Any mention of the word water to these people rekindle thoughts of it touching their skin and causing some tickles as a result. It does not matter whether its cold or hot water to such individuals. The quotes this week are taken from a book that is so useful for both parents and children alike in reminding them of their purpose, mandate on earth. When you read in full, it should widen your horizons. I am sure from the selected quotes of the book below, will give you one or two lessons, read and enjoy: OUR CHILDREN NEED ROOTS AND WINGS by Dr Harvey Collins Kwiyani “If African churches do not change the way they are working with their younger generation growing up in Britain — if they do not learn from the experience of the Afro-Caribbean churches in Britain in the past fifty years — the challenges facing Afro-Caribbean churches in Britain today will be theirs pretty soon. — ONE JAMAICAN BISHOP IN LONDON.” “My children live in a different world from mine.” She continued. ‘They speak a language that is different from mine. They live in a culture that I know very little of. I do not understand their world at all and, as far as I can tell, they do not understand mine. I am a foreigner in their world and they are foreigners in mine. Though we live in the same house, I do not know how to communicate with them in a language that they can understand. And I know many in my generation who have the same problem. What shall we do with our children in this strange land?’ ———– ‘When it comes to matters of the faith,’ she continued, ‘I am sure they are not interested, at least not in the same way that I was when I was their age in Africa, and here and now, not in our kind of church. ……………..” “Case in point; I know of a Ghanaian congregation in Germany where the older generation do not speak fluent German and, thus, must depend on Twi as their main language, even for their church services. Their children, however, speak German as their Muttersprache and can barely understand Twi at all. As a result, the parents speak Twi to the children, and naturally, the children respond in German. The intergenerational miscommunications that have become a normal part of the community and congregation’s life are perplexing. Each of the members seem to have mastered the art of cross-lingual communication, even though, as the pastor lamented to me, a great deal of what is said in their worship services is lost in translation. ………… A huge part of the cultural differences comes from the fact that the younger generation are more Western — in these two cases, more German and British — than they are Ghanaian and Eritrean, respectively. To be able to effectively disciple them, the older generation must engage the younger as they would do people of any strange tribe.” “THERE IS NO BIBLE WITHOUT MIGRATION – A careful reading of the Bible suggests that migration is a normative theme in its grand narrative. Migration is so central to the biblical narrative that the Bible can justifiably be thought of as a book about migrations. Of course, the Bible tells of God’s dealings with humans, and since migration is a human condition that goes back to the Garden of Eden, God deals with human beings in the very state of migration. Some scholars have argued, correctly in my opinion, that without migration, the Bible would not be the Bible as we know it. A great number of the major stories in the Bible took place in the context of migration. Genesis contains many such stories that some scholars have suggested that it can rightly be called the Book of Migrations. People are on the move throughout Genesis from as early as the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden to Jacob’s declaration that his descendants would someday return to Canaan as was promised to them by God to Abraham. Indeed, Genesis is just the beginning of the story, but this beginning cannot be explained without migration. ………..” “To follow Christ in this world is similar to exploring life as migrants would in a foreign land. If we take this identity seriously, as probably Christ meant it to be, we do not have a home in this world. Like the patriarchs, we live our lives wandering, looking for a city whose maker and architect is God. Yet, we live in a world where governments are building walls and politicians are promising to reduce migration. Many African migrants find it difficult to negotiate a positive identity when they are constantly labelled and scapegoated.” DR HARVEY COLLINS KWIYANI Dr Harvey Collins Kwiyani originated from Malawi some years ago. He stayed for several years in the USA before relocating to the UK. He teaches theology, missiology, and leadership courses at several places in the USA, Europe and Africa but is currently
Inspirational Quotes for the WEEKEND
By Charles Leyman Kachitsa We can learn a lot from children. And this is not to say only those children who have started producing words, or talking. No, we can learn from children starting the very instance they are born. Children can teach us forgiveness, the attitude of moving progressively forward, creativity, taking action, honesty, assertiveness, politics, being happy in the moment, playing or as well as praying and most importantly loving; true love. A child learns from the very first time it is brought in this world how to navigate in its complexity. If you want to learn true politics, governance, you need to observe children how they propel themselves in difficulty terrains, how they make negotiations without injuring others. Communication which is one of the very nerve of life is something that we all are born with and start exercising from birth. We can learn a lot if we will! In the final set of extracts from the book, this week’s quotes should finalise and confirm the fact that we can all be successful. I am sure these selected quotations from a book that when read in full will give you tips on living a positive life, should give you insight to one or two lessons. Read and enjoy: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WINNING – Ten Qualities of a Total Winner by Denis Waitley “…You may have desire. You may feel you are in control. You may expect to go to the moon. But you will never even get near the launching pad without persistent self-discipline. Most people forget the simple routine for learning a skill or habit: Desire, Information, Assimilation, and Repetition. We learn how to walk, drive, type, fly, speak a foreign language, ski, act in a play, etc. Why is it so difficult for us to apply learning to our most important life goals? Everything is habit-forming if it is repeated! Self-discipline alone can make or break a habit. Self-discipline alone can effect a permanent change in your self-image and in you. Self-discipline is the winning edge that achieves goals. Self-discipline is mental practice -the commitment to memory of those thoughts and emotions will override current information stored in the subconscious memory bank.” “Marriage is not looking at each other, but looking in the same direction together’ And this is just as applicable to other aspects of life as it is to marriage. ‘It’s not looking at each other, but looking in the same direction together.” “Our success in getting along with others and communicating effectively with them depends upon this same principle. It depends solely upon our ability to help other people solve their problem.” “Remember that you are becoming what you are thinking about every waking moment – so it is important to motivate yourself and others close to you by focusing on desire instead of fear. While the stresses of fear cause anxiety, neuroses, ulcers, and disease, the stresses of desire provide energy, propulsion, creativity, and magnetic pull.” “Since all losing habits such as self-criticism, smoking, excessive drinking, overeating, laziness, anxiety, depression, sloppiness, dishonesty, cruelty, and insensitivity are learned and developed into character traits through relentless practice – so are winning habits learned and retained. —— The winners in life begin by fantasizing their own ‘script,’ as if their lives were a magnificent, epic motion picture for which they have been chosen as writer, producer, director, and star.”
Merriam Simengwa Ndlovu – From Netball Player to Finance Manager
By Charles Leyman Kachitsa She now wherever she goes exhibit an aura of authority and of one being in the corporate world class. Could be all those years of success playing for the Malawi national team. Some may say she has always been a star even for her local team, in fact since her teen years. It is not always that people relate sportsmen or women with subjects such as mathematics, yet any game you can mention is a game of numbers and in most cases it involves such things as geometric angles. A game like netball involves constantly remembering elevation and angles if you are to achieve success. It is no wonder therefore, as one of the wonderful stories in sports to have one netball player Merriam Simengwa Ndlovu progress from being a netball player to be a Finance specialist in one of South Africa’s biggest banks. This should be an inspirational story to upcoming netball players and sportsmen in general that after their playing career they can be successful in other fields as well. I caught up with with Merriam Simengwa Ndlovu to ask what her journey has been like from a successful international netball player to the corporate world as financial specialist. Here below in full is what we discussed in form of questions and answers: What is your position now and qualifications career wise? I am currently working as Conformance and risk Specialist in Procurement Department at ABSA Bank (RSA). I have BCOM in Supply Chain Management and PGD in Risk Management, which I obtained at Management College of South Africa. Some may want to know your Full name, family brief story, where did you grow up? I am Merriam Simengwa Ndlovu aka Midu during my playing days and nick named Shamwari after my maiden international game in Zimbabwe. I am the fifth born in a family of eight. There were five girls and three boys in my family. My early childhood was in Chitawira before we moved to Kanjedza. The Simengwas are originally from Chitipa. Which schools did you attend in Malawi? I started my school at Chitawira Primary school where the famous Mr Chidengu Gama was the headmaster. When the family moved to Kanjedza, I got transferred to Limbe Primary school and I thought that I had escaped from Chidengu but he soon followed me to the same school. I later joined Limbe girls from where I was selected to pursue my Secondary School at Chichiri. How did you start netball? Which teams did you play for in Malawi? I used to play street netball just mucking around with my sisters and friends. At Limbe Primary, I played a little bit. My late sister Josephine is the one who took me out of my comfort zone and went with me to try out with ADMARC Tigress. I recall how intimidated I felt on the first day as I saw how the rest of the players looked physically. I was skinny and I thought that I stood no chance. My height was a great advantage as a defender. I am grateful to Ms Maggie Kadangwe who encouraged and supported me and my very first coach Ms Grace Sithole. After a few training sessions, I made it into the team and played along my sister. My little sister Andrina soon joined the team as well and we were known as the Simengwa sisters. ADMARC Tigress nicknamed Kau-Kau is the only team I played for. Anyone who inspired you as a young girl? My late sister Josephine embraced and encouraged me to play netball and it always felt special to play together as defenders. My other inspiration was my late father who worked for Daily Times as a photographer and our game pictures made it to the newspapers. That was a very big boost on my part. Your National team duties, do you remember when? Your memorable trip/ game? We were put through the selection process and I was happy to have impressed so much that I was selected to represent my country in 1987. Our coach was Mr Sayenda. I believe Mr Sayenda deserves a special recognition in Malawi for his passion, insights and techniques in the development of the game in Malawi. He revolutionised the sport, which helped put Malawi on the map. I recall my first national duty in Zimbabwe and we all had been told about how good Zambia was. Our coach Sayenda set down with us and drilled us through some paces and approach to the game. By the time we played Zambia, we were too good for them. It was the defining moment for us as we also won the trophy. Any memorable moments in your career, both as player and now? Winning the tournament in Botswana was one of the great memorable moments in my career. The other one the time we were landing in Maseru, Lesotho. In the flight, we had three families. The three Simengwa sister, The Mpoola twins Grace and Gertrude and the Waya sisters Emmie and Mary. It was one the scariest landing that I ever experienced and we finally touched down it was a great relief. We also had the Tsonga sisters Felia and Grace but they were not on the flight. Any low moments? My low moment was losing my father who passed away suddenly in May 1987. We had played a game on Saturday and he was there and took pictures that appeared on the Newspaper on Monday. I was still happy to have once again appeared in the newspaper when the news came that on the very Monday my father had passed away. I was devastated with the loss and worried about my future. I remain thankful to ADMARC as they extended paying fees to their netball players as well, because previously only football players had the privilege. How do you see Malawi netball now? I am happy with the direction that netball has taken and thrilled that I was part
Inspirational Quotes for the WEEKEND
By Charles Leyman Kachitsa Being reminded about childhood by someone who says you lived together in the same area though you cannot remember the person as a youth has two sides to it. Apparently it depends on the person saying it, how they have said it, under what circumstances and where? One could add when, as to the time of the day. Reminded of your childhood, if you are sensible you quickly take stock of your current life status. Giving yourself marks on how you feel things have panned out. You smile if you believe you have done well from where perhaps your entire family was in your youth. I don’t know what you feel though where there seems to be no progress. Life no matter what is supposed to be progressive. Some believe progress is in material things like money, this is wrong. If you feel you have matured, you have more knowledge of the world than you would necessarily have, taking into account your background, that is progress. Of course each person desires to have wealth and or be great, but success and progress is a more personal measure. So let no one measure your progress for you. The quotes for this week are a continuation of an insight into a book which upon reading it, you realise has some tips for personal progress. I am sure that the selected quotations below from this book will teach you one or two lessons, read and enjoy: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WINNING – Ten Qualities of a Total Winner by Denis Witley “The best way to remain optimistic is to associate with Winners and optimists. You can be realistic and optimistic at the same time by realistically examining the facts in a situation while remaining optimistic about your ability to contribute to a solution or a constructive alternative.” “Winners are especially aware of the tremendous importance of their self-image -and of the role their imagination can play in the creation and up-grading of the self-image. They know the self-image acts as a subconscious life governing device – that if in your self-image you can’t possibly see yourself doing something, achieving something, you literally cannot do it! They also know the self-image can be changed since the subconscious is incapable of differentiating between a real success and a success imagined again and again vividly and in full detail. A Winner’s self-talk is ‘I see myself changing, growing, achieving, winning!’ Losers say, ‘They’re my hangups, faults and stupidities …… and I’m stuck with ’em. “ “Winners in life -those one in one hundred people -are set apart from the rest of humanity by one of their most important development traits -positive self-direction. They have a game plan for life. ——– Every winner I have ever met knows where he or she is going day by day ……… every day. —— Winners are goal and role oriented. They set and get what they want -consistently. —– They are self directed on the road to fulfilment. —— Fulfilment or success has been defined as the progressive realization of goals that are worthy of the individual.” “In death camps, inmates told Frankl that they no longer expected anything from life. He would point out to them that they had it backward. ‘Life was expecting something of them. Life asks of every individual a contribution, and it is up to that individual to discover what it should be.” “We all have the potential and the opportunity for success in our lives. It takes just as much energy and effort for a bad life as it does for a good life. —— ……..Losers are people who have never made the decision that could set them free. They have not decided what to do with their lives, even in our free society. ——– They go to work to see what happens and you know what happens – they spend all their time making someone else’s goals come true.”
Inspirational Quotes for the WEEKEND
By Charles Leyman Kachitsa What is the difference between a smile and laughter? One would say it is in the magnitude of an expressed happiness yet the same of both has been seen done by people in sad moments. One of my children said yesterday when asked the question, that the difference is in the volume of sound. He said a smile is usually silent while laughter is loud. Some have laughed or smiled when they encountered a challenge, perhaps as a defiant expression of victory even before the fight has started. Sure enough in most cases such form of self-motivation has ended in happiness after the triumph. We can only exert force on things outside us, if we build up well the power inside, take a tyre air pump for instance that’s how it works. When does a smile graduate into a laughter? Is it even possible? Might be when someone is trying to suppress the laughter in the first place in such times they are being mean as they poke fun at someone’s conduct or mishap. You could still have well intentioned smile graduate into a laughter especially those times when during the first few minutes after just after meeting there was tension which has now been loosened. I know you are smiling as you read this, can you try to progress the smile to laughter? I just did! This week’s quotations, we are still on the winning side as we extract them from a book that when read in full will give you tips on success. The only one to define success is yourself as we are successful according to our own measure. I am sure that these quotes below will give you an insight on one or two life lessons. Read and enjoy: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WINNING – Ten Qualities of a Total Winner “Almost without exception, the real Winner, whether we speak of sports, business, or any other activity of life, has accepted his own uniqueness, feels comfortable with his image, and is willing that others know and accept him just as he is. And, it is an interesting fact that such a person naturally attracts friends and supporters. He or she seldom has to stand alone.” “….. Children do begin to take control of their lives at an early age. Many children learn how to control their parents’ lives as well, long before they know how to talk in complete sentences. ——- Whining receives attention. Crying receives consolation. Begging begets goodies. Tantrums create havoc. it is easy to incite Mommy against Daddy and sit back and watch the show. Just like on TV!” “My own experience has taught me this. If you wait for the perfect moment when all is safe and assured, it may never arrive. Mountains will not be climbed, races won nor happiness achieved!” “Disregarding all material rewards for high achievement, there is a pure personal pleasure which comes with achieving the difficult. The emotional spin-off that accompanies performance of the unusual or challenging personal test can range from a quiet flow of self-esteem to outright exhilaration, and is reason enough for the pursuit of excellence.” “Winners are aware of their potential. They like who they are. Since they have a deep feeling of their own worth, they are eager to love others as they do themselves. Positive self-esteem ……… one of the most important qualities of a Winner. Talk yourself up! ………. There is no time to Lose.”
Inspirational Quotes for the WEEKEND
By Charles Leyman Kachitsa Why do people who are in jobs involving thinking often get a lot of money? This has been a question a lot of people have grumbled about yet if we look at nature and creation itself everything that is in the world, is there as a result of thinking. People who are always wanting others to think for them, usually get raw deals. Thought is the begin of everything including as it were, creation of human beings or as we normally say creation of man. God, the almighty had a ‘thought’ to have man, who is / was created in His image to afterwards act like Him. The beginning was the ‘thought’ and in most books about spirituality they propagate this as the knowledge that uplifts men to higher echelons. Thought is therefore an important part in our daily lives as it determines the actions that we take and the results. Those who are in better positions are not there by accident but were uplifted there because of thought which by the way sometimes is done by other people connected to them. It makes sense without dispute, to guide our thoughts. This can be done by controlling the inputs to our thoughts as good inputs produce good outputs, bad inputs will produce bad outputs in terms of our thinking. The world will perhaps be a better place if all our thoughts were positive thoughts. This week’s quotes are from a book that when read gives the readers tips on how to be a winner. Human beings by their nature always desire to win, I am sure that the selected quotations from this book below will enlighten you to one or two life lessons about positive living, read and enjoy: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WINNING: Ten Qualities of a Total Winner by Denis Waitley “Winners are eager to learn – especially about their own potential contribution to the quality of life. They are keenly aware of the abundance available to them, ——– Positive self-awareness is self honesty. Winners are honest about their potential and honest about the time and effort necessary for top achievement.” “Some people still think life is a practice game with the ‘big play’ or Superbowl coming up at the end of the season. Only after years have slipped away do they realize that they were inextricably involved in the ‘big game’ every day of their lives.” “….Rather than hearing what you want to hear, listen for the facts of the matter. And remember, everything you think is your opinion, based upon your impressions from limited sources. Keep expanding your sources from the best authorities. View everything with a certain open-minded skepticism …..open-minded enough to explore it without prejudice ……and skeptical enough to research and test its validity.” “…. Float freely. Give yourself at least one beautiful half-hour out of every twenty-four to be completely aware that your life belongs to you and that all that exists in your life is seen out of your eyes and experienced by your mind and body.” “Be aware of the children and the elderly. Remember that childhood is that wonderful, special classroom in which the adult is developed. Listen to their dreams. Observe their special talents. Ask for their opinions and reactions. Also, remember that becoming elderly is inevitable. It can be a lonely or glorious time. With activities, goals, horizons, and attention, being a senior citizen can be as exciting as being a senior in high school. It’s a question of positive Self-awareness.”
Inspirational Quotes for the WEEKEND
By Charles Leyman Kachitsa Last article on this column, we saw some ways on which men and women perhaps say boys and or girls are recognised to have matured and therefore attain a status only reserved for one now regarded as a ‘person.’ Not every culture process this in the same way, so here I speak of cultures that are familiar to me. This is all based on community and or family settings and not workplaces. There are exceptions as to how people attain maturity and this comes by way of inherited wealth or having broken through in business or some other venture thereby acquiring riches beyond ones age. Whether it be a boy or girl of less age than 15 (fifteen) years, this is the fastest route of gaining a ‘person status.’ This includes inheritance in some cases of chieftaincy or other such things that bring power and authority. A friend shared one of the interesting experiences of especially a young person that matures earlier than their age as a result of having money in the family, or community beyond or more than any other person in there. She said it becomes almost a practice one can not compromise that despite that in a meeting there are older people they will almost all agree to suspend making a decision until their boy arrives, what ever day or whenever they would come. Money speaks as some would say, you become a ‘person’ quicker acquiring wealth or being rich. The quotes this week come from the book that takes personal well-being to the levels most people have not heard of. Most natural laws are there to be seen and followed only that we do not often want to. That’s perhaps what this book is pointing out when read in full. However, the selected quotations from this book below should enlighten you to some of the better ways of living, read and enjoy: THE SCIENCE OF BEING WELL by Wallace D. Wattles “Form a conception of perfect health for yourself, and do not hold any thought which is not a thought of health. —— NEVER eat until you have an EARNED HUNGER. Remember that it will not hurt you in the least to go hungry for a short time; but it will surely hurt you to eat when you are not hungry. ——- Do not give the least thought to what you should or should not eat; simply eat what is set before you, selecting that which pleases your taste most. In other words, eat what you want. This you can do with perfect results if you eat in the right way……” “If your mind and attitude are on other things, or if you are anxious or worried about business or domestic affairs, you will find it almost impossible to eat without bolting more or less of your food. You must learn to live so scientifically that you will have no business or domestic cares to worry about; this you can do, and you can also learn to give your undivided attention to the act of eating while at the table.” “If no one would consent to work in bad air, employers would speedily see to it that all work rooms were properly ventilated. The worst air is that from which oxygen has been exhausted by breathing; as that of churches and theatres where crowds of people congregate, and the outlet and supply of air are poor. Next to this is air containing other gases other than oxygen and hydrogen – sewer gas, and the effluvium from decaying things. Air that is heavily charged with dust or particles of organic matter may be endured better than any of these. Small particles of organic matter other than food are generally thrown off from the lungs; but gases go into the blood.” “It is well to sleep intelligently, purposefully, knowing what you do it for. Lie down thinking that sleep is an infallible vitaliser, and go to sleep with a confident faith that your strength is to be renewed; that you will awake full of vitality and health. Put purpose into your sleep as you do into your eating; give the matter your attention for a few minutes, as you go to rest. Do not seek your couch with a discouraged or depressed feeling; go there joyously, to be made whole. Do not forget the exercise of gratitude in going to sleep; before you close your eyes, give thanks to God for having shown you the way to perfect health, and go to sleep with this grateful thought uppermost in your mind.” “Guard your speech; make every word harmonise with the conception of perfect health. Never complain; never say things like these: ‘I did not sleep well last night;’ ‘I have a pain in my side;’ ‘I do not feel at all well to-day,’ and so on. Say ‘I am looking forward to a good night’s sleep to-night;’ I can see that I progress rapidly,’ and things of similar meaning.”
Inspirational Quotes for the WEEKEND
By Charles Leyman Kachitsa Could still be with us today, but we grew up in an era where you were not considered a ‘person’ until you attain a certain age, usually around 18 or 20 depending on your talents, skills and speed of growth. The first sign of maturity to the ‘person’ was within you as there would start to be physical changes in your body such as in boys, a deep voice or and beads starting to appear, for girls noticeable deep personal grooming and the obvious tell-tell physical signs. When that age came notable was also acceptability in sitting with the elders or older members of society, eating on the table with the elders. And also access to information which in the prior age band you could not have and in any case even if you had acquired by chance, you would be punished for. Whilst you would have marvelled at how decisions are made at all levels, when this age comes people start asking you to make some of those decisions either for yourself or for others. The quotes for this week are those taken from the book that when you read in full, you will come to understand that the combination of belief and positive living can go a long way in wellness. I am sure the selected quotations from the book will enlighten you to one or two lessons, read and enjoy: THE SCIENCE OF BEING WELL by Wallace D. Wattles “The principle of Health is moved by Faith; nothing else can call it into action, and only faith can enable you to relate yourself to health, and sever your relation with disease, in your thoughts. ——— You will continue to think of disease unless you have faith in health. If you do not have faith you will doubt; if you doubt, you will fear, and if you fear, you will relate yourself in mind to that which you fear.” “Man can live in three general ways; for the gratification of his body, for that of his intellect, or for that of his soul. The first is accomplished by satisfying the desires for food, drink and those other things which give enjoyable physical sensations. The second is accomplished by doing those things which cause pleasant mental sensations, such as gratifying the desire for knowledge or those for fine clothing , fame, power, and so on. The third is accomplished by giving way to the instincts of unselfish love and altruism. Man lives most wisely and completely when he functions most perfectly along all of these lines, without excess in any of them. The man who lives swinishly, for the body alone, is unwise and out of harmony with God; that man who lives solely for the cold enjoyment of the intellect, though he be absolutely moral, is unwise and out of harmony with God; and the man who lives wholly for the practice of altruism, and who throws himself away for others, is as unwise and as far from harmony with God as those who go to excess in other ways.” “The current sciences of medicine and hygiene have made no progress toward answering the question, What shall I eat? The contests between the vegetarians and the meat eaters, the cooked food advocatyes, raw food advocates, and various other ‘schools’ of theorists, seem to be interminable; and from the mountains of evidence and argument piled up for and against each special theory, it is plain that if we depend on these scientists we shall never know what is natural food to man. Turning away from the whole controversy, then, we will ask the question of nature herself, and we shall find that she has not left us without an answer.” “In the temperate zone the largest demands are made on man in spirit, mind, and body; and here we find the greatest variety of foods provided by nature. And it is really quite useless and superfluous to theorize on the question what the masses shall eat, for they have no choice; they must eat the foods which are staple products of the zone in which they live. It is impossible to supply all the people with a nut-and-fruit or raw food diet; and the fact that it is impossible is proof positive that these are not the foods intended by nature, for nature, being formed for the advancement of life, has not made the obtaining of the means of life an impossibility. So, I say, the question, What shall I eat? has been answered for you. Eat wheat, corn, rye, oats, barley, buckwheat; eat vegetables; eat meats, eat fruits, eat the things that are eaten by the masses of the people around the world, for in this matter the voice of the people is the voice of God. They have been led, generally, to the selection of certain foods; and they have been led, generally, to prepare these foods in generally similar ways; and you may depend on it that in general they have the right foods and are preparing them in the right way. In these matters the race has been under the guidance of God.” “The Great Intelligence, which is in all and through all, has in reality practically settled the question as to what we shall eat. In ordering the affairs of nature, it has decided that man’s food shall be according to the zone in which he lives. In the frigid regions of the far North, fuel foods are required. The development of brain is not large, nor is the life severe in its labor-tax on muscle; and so the Esquimaux live largely on the blubber and fat of aquatic animals. No other diet is possible to them; they could get fruits, nuts, or vegetables even if they were disposed to eat them; and they could not live on them in that climate if they could get them. So, notwithstanding the arguments of the vegetarians, the Esquimaux will continue to
Inspirational Quotes for the WEEKEND
By Charles Leyman Kachitsa That you would call a dog people’s name sometimes caused provocations in olden days, current stand is uncertain. For example take this family and to be specific man of the family, who called his dog after his neighbours wife, such was a very provocative thing to do. As history will remind us wars have started between nations with thousands of deaths because of a small issue which in the first place could have been sorted out through dialogue. However, I do not know how one can set a dialogue with a neighbour who has decided to name their dog after your wife. Perhaps things could be different if they had asked for permission from you first before doing this provocative, erroneous, unwarranted conduct of holding a ceremony to name a dog after your wife unbeknown to her. Most names are said to be derived from ancestors, here in naming a dog after someone, a neighbour’s wife in this case, one can not tell whether such conduct is in respect to any if at all ancestors. In any case humans have ancestors, dogs have no ancestors; one can conclude without requiring any proof. So how do we start to solve this matter? The quotes this week are from a book that if those who have not heard about it and in finally knowing its content, will agree that it is a must read for everyone as long as you are alive. I am sure that the selected quotations below from this book will open your mind to one or two ideas that will go deep into your knowledge, read and enjoy THE SCIENCE OF BEING WELL by Wallace D. Wattles “The power that Heals is in the patient himself, and whether it shall become active or not does not depend upon the physical or mental means used, but upon the way the patient thinks about these means. There is a Universal Principal of Life, as Jesus taught; a great spiritual Healing Power; and there is a Principle of Health in man which is related to this Healing Power. This is dormant or active, according to the way a man thinks. He can always quicken it into activity by thinking in a Certain Way.” “… For countless ages men have held thoughts of disease, abnormality, old age, and death; and the perverted functioning resulting from these thoughts has become a part of the inheritance of the race. Our ancestors have, for many generations, held imperfect ideas concerning human form and functioning; and we begin life with racial subconscious impressions of imperfection and disease.” “Life cannot live without increasing, and the fundamental impulse of life is to live. It is in response to this fundamental impulse that Original Substance works, and creates, God must live; and he cannot live except as he creates and increases. In multiplying forms, He is moving on to live more. ——–The universe is a Great Advancing Life, and the purpose of nature is the advancement of life toward perfection; toward perfect functioning. The purpose of nature is perfect health.” “The human body is the abiding place of an energy which renews it when worn; which eliminates waste or poisonous matter, and which repairs the body when broken or injured. This energy we call life. Life is not generated or produced within the body; it produces the body. —- The seed which has been kept in the storehouse for years will grow when planted in the soil; it will produce a plant. But the life in the plant is not generated by its growing; it is the life which makes the plant grow. “ “That which lives in is seeking more life. —– Give a little child a pencil and paper, and he begins to draw crude figures; That which lives in him is trying to express itself in art. Give him a st of blocks and he will try to build something ; That which lives in him is seeking expression in architecture. Seat him at a piano, and he will try to draw harmony from the the keys; That which lives in him is trying to express itself in music. That which lives in man is always seeking to live more; and since man lives most when he is well, the Principle of Nature in him can seek only health. The natural state of man is a state of perfect health; and everything in him, and in nature, tends toward health.”