Patient Trust

Many times i get really fired up and enthusiastic about something. To get something done...to get a project going. Often times i find it hard to be patient...to really and truly trust. This morning i came across a meditation about 'Patient Trust', written by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955), a French philosopher and Jesuit priest; and decided to share it with you:

Above all, trust in the slow work of God

We are quite naturally impatient in everything
      to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something
      unknown, something new.
And yet it is the law of progress
      that it is made by passing through
      some states of instability ---
      and that it may take a very long time.

And so I think it is with you.
      Your ideas mature gradually --- let them grow,
      let them shape themselves, without undue haste.

Don't try to force them on,
      as though you could be today what time
      (that is to say, grace and circumstances
      acting on your own good will)
      will make of you tomorrow. 

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Only God could say what this new spirit
      gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
      that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
      in suspense and incomplete.

Its a strange world!!

Finally i make it back to Nairobi. And my luggage too...very important! However, it may take several weeks to get "all of myself" back to Nairobi:)
Meanwhile, i have had time to wonder at the strange things that keep happening in the world-early this morning, the news; that the Bahrain national football (soccer) team was reported to have played a friendly match against the Togolese national team, a few days ago. They won the game by 3 goals to nothing. Sounds fine, doesn't it? Nothing wrong!

Only that the Togolese Football federation later got wind of the 'friendly-match' that they 'lost' and complained that they never sent their national team to Bahrain in the first place!! Therefore, the Bahrain-ians played a 'fake Togolese' football team:)) Very strange-i think! Someone from the Bahranian officials should have asked for Emmanuel Adebayor!!

On a different note, later this evening, it was also reported that the Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan, had declared his intention to run for presidency in 2011. Nothing wrong with this too, right?!

What i find strange, is that, President Goodluck, chose to make his 'declaration' on the social networking site Facebook. Top officials of his party and close supporters of his, confirmed that the announcement was indeed, 'genuine' , unlike the 'fake' Togolese team. I wish him 'good-luck!'

President Goodluck Jonathan

Below is an excerpt of the declaration. This blogger could not independently confirm that it is not 'fake' :)
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'Today, I confirm that after wide and thorough consultations spanning the six geo-political zones that make up Nigeria, with members of my family, my party, the opposition, civil society, the Private Sector, members of the Labour Unions, religious leaders, youths and student groups and our revered traditional institutions, I Goodluck Ebele Jonathan by the grace of God hereby offer myself and my services to the Nigerian people as a candidate for the office of President in the forth coming 2011 elections. In presenting myself for service, I make no pretense that I have a magic wand that will solve all of Nigeria’s problems or that I am the most intelligent Nigerian. Far from it. What I do promise is this – If I am elected President in 2011, I will make a covenant with you the Nigerian people to always do right by you, to tell you the truth at all times, to carry you along and most importantly to listen to you, fellow citizens in our communities and also those of you on this page.'

"Hi...i'm from Africa"

I am in the 7th week, the tail-end of my 8-week trip in Europe, across Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. I hope to write about my encounters later, when i get back to Nairobi.
Meanwhile, i have found myself explaining and describing things about my country and my continent...from the political situation, the language, about culture and food...and generally, about life in Kenya. In the process, i discovered that in actual fact, i dont really know as much as i should about my country and continent! The year 2010 is a special year for Africa. 17 African countries mark the 50th anniversary of their independence. But a closer look at the 50 years, reveals little to celebrate. From the Democratic Republic of Congo, to the Central African Republic, to Somalia...many African countries seem to be still languishing in poverty, conflict and corruption. Coups, rebels, mercenaries, conflicts and refugees seem to be a daily vocabulary.
But 2010 is also the year that the World Cup...the greatest sporting event in the world...was held for the first time on African soil...since the inaugural tournament in 1930. A young South African Jesuit, Rampe Hlobo, (who is also the first ever Jesuit from Soweto!), observes: "....(the World Cup) was a turning-point not only for South Africa but for the whole continent. The experience of preparing for and hosting this prestigious tournament has taken the South African nation to another level that we had not reached as a country: the efficient infrastructural delivery, including meeting deadlines, the provision of public transport system, providing effective policing and a justice system, revamping and giving our cities a beautiful facelift – all of this was done in a relatively short space of time proving that where there is a will, there is a way."

President Mwai Kibaki signs the new constitution into law at a public function witnessed by the Nation at Uhuru Park, Nairobi. Standing by is Attorney General Amos Wako 

Where there is a will, there is a way-now that's a strong statement that should keep resonating across the continent. Back in Kenya, during the month of August, the headlines were filled with headlines such as 'Rebirth of a Nation' and 'the Second Republic'. The Kenyan people peacefully went to the polls on the 4th of August to participate in a referendum vote, to decide on a new constitution, that proposes many positive radical changes in the governance of the country. This was followed by a massive ceremony at Uhuru Park in central Nairobi, on the 27th August, during which the President signed the new constitution into law, heralding the 'birth' of a new nation. Not simply a 'story' of hope but a real experience of change in the present and steps towards a more prosperous future.
And i could only follow it all from the news...6000 kilometers away! But it feels very good to say, 'Hi!...I'm from Africa!'

The Quest for Peace in the Middle East

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu listen during remarks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (Susan Walsh/Associated Press)

This week, President Barack Obama, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, King Abdullah II of Jordan and Tony Blair assembled at the White House for an evening 'working dinner'; together with Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas, and their respective negotiating teams they seem keen to begin a new round of peace talks.

As i watched these events unfold in Washington, with PM Netanyahu and President Abbas making statements as to their commitment to engaging in the first face-to-face talks in 2 years, i kept wondering how much pain, hardship...the people in the territories represented by these two men...have had to endure in the many decades of 'talks' and 'signing' of accords most memorably the Oslo accord, in September of 1993, between Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat. And the many more parts of the world that continue to suffer the wounds of conflict and unrest...in the 21st Century...

How elusive can peace be? How often we take peace for granted! May peace prevail in the world!
                                             Shalom...Salaam...Peace!