Page 39 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 20

Re-Education

...A true winner is not the one that ties supposedly built to correct the confine their minds to technology
beats everyone, but the one who has outcomes of our failed societies like robots.
conquered himself. The true winner than we have instructional facilities, Mind you, I am not saying that living
where human characters are built
is the one who has put to death his before they find themselves in a in rural areas is the only way to raise
selfish tendencies and self-centered society that is already steeped in healthy kids, neither am I saying that
madness. You will please forgive my
living in an urban area is detrimental
mindset. Such person has learnt language and expression, but things to children, but that we have given
that he is a better person when he are really bad out there and some- too much room to strangers and
makes room for others to be the one just needs to point it out. have left our kids at the mercy of
those who do not mean well for
better versions of themselves. We must stop putting all our efforts their spiritual and mental well-being.
in pulling people out of the river So, we are shocked when the cases
downstream and start making real of suicide, rape, drug abuse, de-
motivational speakers tend to say moves to find out why they are pression among young people is on
these half-baked statements, life is falling in the first place into the river the increase, but we forget that the
not a battle with anyone and it’s not upstream. Reactional standpoints play-station we bought for them and
a competition with some seen or
unseen rivals. Life is a battlefield and towards life, as we have seen, are not the movies we allow them to watch
paying well, and we have to change
unsupervised are mostly violent. So
a competition against self. Meaning those approaches. we have to go back to the basics and
that a true winner is not the one that really look at what we are doing to
beats everyone, but the one who has I do a lot of meditation and mind our children in the name of expos-
conquered himself. The true winner
is the one who has put to death his adjustments using the simple things ing them to technology and devel-
I see or understand about nature. A
opment.
selfish tendencies and self-centered little while ago, something that I had
mindset. A true winner is the one never thought about suddenly made God did not make a mistake when
who, by experience, has learnt to sense in my mind. the first home He gave to man was
understand that life is beyond this
world and the acquisition of things. I was having a light chat with my not a tower, skyscraper or even a
three bedroom flat, but a garden
wife on new year’s day and we got
Such person has learnt that he is a talking about where and how our that is completely surrounded with
better person when he makes room kids will be raised. I think the chat nature and natural things. And nei-
for others to be the better versions began with us commenting on a TV ther is it a coincidence that the first
of themselves. He has learnt to take
responsibility for his actions and series we were watching about mo- time man decided to come together
and build a city with a tower in it,
dem medicine and how it’s mostly
won’t pass the blame on to someone about surgery, reactions and nothing the result was a global confusion,
else. He has learnt to understand much about preventive approach which is still here with us even till
that falling on his face is not the end based on clean and healthy lifestyle. now.
of the story, but that picking him-
self up and building a castle with the As we had our conversation, it sud- The truth is that, every living thing
stone that made him fall is a better denly made sense that when children carries a blessing from God, the
way to end the story. But sincerely are raised in rural or semi-rural Creator, and that is simply what
speaking, none of these beautiful communities and play with nature the truth is. For God blessed all
things will materialize if we are not
deliberate about how we raise our or natural things like trees, animals, He made and called them good. So
when we relate with creation and
plants, with each other, they actually
kids. interact with life-giving organisms, teach our kids to relate with nature,
I look at the societies that call as against the ones raised in the we are actually relating with blessed
themselves developed and I see the urban setting who play with lifeless and living things. So, let us raise our
madness of their negligence and
self-centered lifestyles. And because toys, play-stations and stuff that is children in blessed and life-giving
environments that will help them
mostly created to alter the state of
Afrikans have decided to follow suit their minds and thinking. So, instead understand that they too are life-giv-
in the wayward attitudes of these of them interacting with living ing spirits having a human experi-
so-called developed nations, we things that give life, they interact ence.
now have more correctional facili-
with dead and lifeless things that

WWW.MSINGIAFRIKAMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 20 | FEBRUARY 2022 39