YOLO Twice! (The Bucket Lists)
The general idea that we are entitled to one opportunity to life is a valid one. We only get one chance of approximately 110+ years (if we are good and avoid conflict, make the right lifestyle decisions and live in a nice country house somewhere along the Mediterranean feeding on fish, fruit and olive oil) to milk life's opportunities for all they are worth.
One life to live to chase our dreams; see the Northern lights; ride a sluggish camel beneath the Middle Eastern sun; laugh with a stranger as you buy a brochette on the streets of Marrakech; paraglide from the top of Mount Salève; snorkel in clear unknown acquamarine waters; drink from a cactus in the Galápagos island; touch the ashy, leathery hide of a 8 ton elephant; take selfies with a colourful priest in Kathmandu; eat crunchy locust as tribute to Pumba and Timon; find an actual Nemo in Great Barrier Reef; crack those lovely castanhas on the streets of Lisbon; sky dive; fall in love; buy a ferret; write a book; write another book- an auto-biography naturally; all these and much more in 110 plus or minus 10 years.
It's ambitious, i know, that we only get one shot to accomplish all these things, if at all you care to. I, honestly, am only interested in the food-related ones except the locust.
I don't know about you but I really wonder if i am going to make the most of this "You Only Live Once" thing. Would I be tagged as an under-achiever because i don't tick all these boxes?! Who cares? If i don't, it's completely ok, it turns out that We, actually, Only Live Once, Twice!
Yup, you have a second chance, pay Drake no mind!
We live here on earth and do all the aforementioned (or not) and then we live again! This time we are given an eternity to do what we want; to cloud-surf with Gabriel and Michael, to be reconciled with old friends that left us ages ago, to sing and love endlessly on God and to play contact sport with Grandpa Abraham, to fly around town with your earthly spouse and splash around in choc fountains with friends, to sing to God new songs and to live in a city, which no longer has the sun as its light but the creator as its only source of illumination and the son as its lamp.
I know i joke around a lot on PGI but it's necessary to have it said out loud: Life is fun. It's full of color, opportunities and all the excitement that would probably outlive most of us, but there is another life after, its centered around God and his Son, Jesus Christ. He wants everyone to be part of it. If you don't know him yet, you can, just click here!
The itinerary for that life will be like 50 shades of lit. I'm not even kidding. L.I.T. Make the most of the life you live in though, see the world, build relationships, eat weird (healthy) stuff, dance and play, it's all a foggy rehearsal of the life to come!
Please share. You never know who you might help. What are your imaginations about heaven? I'm into food-related adventure, as you can tell. If the Angels eat manna, do we get to have a menu too? Num.
What's so Wrong with 'Woman on Top'?
I have written 4 separate drafts of this post, each at least 400 words long. In all of them, i sound a little crazed, and mildly temperamental. Lol. It's what happens when it occurs to me that in 2016, women are still fighting for rights. This post is void of all sentiments, which i've found is a great way to think clearly.
I have a question, what is so bothersome about a woman being in the same league as men?
This is a happy read, so put your guards down. For the people who thought this post was about sexual positions, sorry.
Women, we WILL get those rights, the right to make as much as men, to get the same educational and occupational opportunities, to own property, to speak freely. However, we all need to want these rights, not just some of us. Women are wonderful beings, but still in this age, solidarity still has to be preached to us!
We are sentimental individuals and we are heavy on those emotions, right? We make a lot of our decisions based on how we feel, in addition to our skills and that's great! It's an amazing selling point for us. We bring intuition and human concern into board rooms and warmth into the lives of those around us but we also bring other negative emotions too, sometimes. These emotions are usually targeted at other women. I've been a recipient of some of these "emotions" from women i was subordinate to. Why? Maybe because i was young, sometimes older women dislike younger women; maybe because i had long, skinny legs. These were the reasons my friends gave me for my superiors' behaviors. To be honest, i would have given them those legs, if i could. Lol. Seriously though, we need to be more supportive of one another.
Men mentor one another, men help each other, men recommend one another for positions....even if they dislike the other person. Surveys and studies show all these. For women though, that's not how we roll. We backbite, gossip, snicker, bully each other and think a system will take us seriously? The rights start with us. We need to respect one another, value each others' rights and honor other women.
Men, empowering women does not mean you'll lose status or that we'll take over the world. Haha, if we wanted to take over the world, Eve would have eaten that fruit, all of it and given Adam nothing. She'd have made a smoothie and planned a flawless, instant world take-over, while Adam ran around with butterflies.
No human should have to beg for a better quality of life. Women shouldn't have to struggle to be as successful as any man. Success shouldn't be an unachievable luxury.
Being 'the man of the house', means that you protect, nurture and beautify the woman and not oppress her. You should decorate and honor her, encourage her to follow her dreams. Find a good balance for raising your kids. Don't blackmail her or make her feel bad for wanting more. Don't bully her to stroke your ego. That's distasteful (And distasteful isn't trending). Please, defend women in public and speak up, don't just be quiet and watch your sisters, nieces, wives, mothers struggle for rights that are theirs.
For the Christians who use the bible as an excuse to subjugate women, my peeps, Jesus Christ came to empower women. The woman with the constant period, yes, the society-reject who everyone 'eww-ed' at, he restored and reintegrated her into the community. Mary M, the most sultry girl out there, who was a prostitute, was his friend. He helped her choose a better life. He hung out with Mary and Martha. On the cross, in his pain and sorrow, he made living arrangements for his mum! Luke 8: 1-3 names women who gave Jesus money for his ministry; working women who financially empowered Jesus! Then you say, women should not be empowered? Are you kidding me?!
Fix the problem, don't be the problem.
xx