Poetry/Prose: Double Serving - Principles & Rise

Posted by Jemila On Thursday, September 30, 2010




Principles
 I once read somewhere that the hardest test is staying true to who you are when surrounded by who you are not
You ever think you’ve above all the peer pressure in the world? Well that’s exactly how you get taken in
You try to do things the same way you’ve always done them and “they” tell you that if you keep doing the same darn things, you’re gonna keep getting the same darn results.
And maybe they’re right. But see, they’re also wrong. Because they don’t know you like you know you.
They don’t have that first class seat on the plane with the best window on the aisle, looking upon your life.
And they don’t have to listen to that accusing or disappointed voice in your heart wonder when you’ll finally get it.
You do.
They say it’s a question of principles. And apparently, you’ve got too many. And maybe you do. But that’s for you to decide, not them.
Because if given half the chance, they would be more than willing to let go of the steering wheel to their own convoluted attempts at driving, and instead, take over the very controls to your life.
And then, then, you’ll sit back and watch yourself twice, thrice or four times over as they maneuver you away from Lesson Learned to Oops, I Did It Again!
Principles, they call it. A grand name for something as plain as the simple truth. Your simple truth.
But oh how easy it is to get taken in by sweet lil’ fibs here and there, all in an attempt to escape being called ‘too prim and proper’, too ‘stuck in his ways,’ too ‘osafo dadzie,’ or, going with the Queen’s English, too “principled”
So you go along with the crowd, try what they would have you experiment, ignoring the truths that are yearning to be heard.
Until one day. Well, one day, you wake up to find yourself a hollow shell of your true persona. Wandering and lost in the valley of death.
And then. Then, we might ask, where are all those life coaches who thronged the nooks and crannies of your very existence? Well, I guess it would be just to say that as quickly as their unsolicited help arrived, in equal haste did it disappear.
Only this time, you’ve no longer your simple truths or internal roadmap to guide you back ashore.


So much for Principles.

Rise

You’ve succeeded in getting a rise out of me.

The burning, molten inferno that creeps upon you unawares until you’re consumed by its fire.
The dawning of a new reality, like flash floods stripping away the surface of an everchanging landscape.
That déjà vu second which brings with it striking clarity about something you hadn’t noticed before.

You’ve succeeded in getting a rise out of me.

One so powerful, I’ve literally had to get up, and like a babe who first enters the world, I encounter everything anew.
A tectonic shift of the phases of my life. Between the new and the old, the then and the now, and the me. Always the me.
A duel challenge delivered with such finesse I can only surrender myself to the charge, saying, “Ok, I accept your ridiculous offer. Let’s get to know one another, shall we?”

You’ve succeeded in getting a rise out of me.

One that offers up new surprises daily, and that won’t let me forget the simple fact that I am achingly alive.
An irritating, but necessary shove in the dark, taunting me about what I can and cannot do, and yet, that won’t let me even consider quitting.
The most advanced of recycling systems that churns out the old, slaps in the new, and makes me want to respond with Elizabeth Gilbert’s 
“What? Are you a transcript of my most evil thoughts?”

A rise so poignant I’ve chanced upon a…different version of myself.

One who beckons me out of confusion into certitude
Who whispers my hopes and dreams when fear looms
Who gets it all; the melody amidst all the cacophony
Who always succeeds in getting a rise out of me

A rise
To always go beyond mediocre
To always embrace the challenges and lessons
To always keep the vision afloat
And, most especially, to always get up, dust off, and strive on after each fall.

Photo 1 Photo 2


READ FULL STORY

The Letter-Writing Project: Risking the Fall To Fly (My First Book!)

Posted by Jemila On Thursday, September 23, 2010

Cherished Reader,

Yes! This is a letter from me to you! I figured I hadn't written a letter in a while and instead of doing a Circum-Flash or a Circum-Alert, I'd just go with a personal tete-a-tete with you! Especially since I have some really exciting news that I'd like to share :)

I believe the hardest promises we make are the ones we make to ourselves. Precisely because you have to live with that voice in your head that's counting down the minutes until you fulfill your promise and that bashes you like crazy when you don't deliver. So, I promised myself sometime back that I would get to work on writing my very first book for publication - ideally before I hit the silver jubilee. And now, time's a-ticking and my conscience is guilt-tripping me into overdrive, so I had to get to work on delivering. I started writing this morning and I am super SUPER excited!

A little background: I have actually written a couple of books. No, not in my mind. In reality. They've just never been published, and I've never pushed them because I figured it's all part of the preparation. The first one I wrote with my great friend Abena Anoff of Girl, It's Not Just You in JSS 2 while at Alsyd Academy. The less said about that book the better LOL. When I think about who I am now, I figure that book could be counted as a "disgrace". Funny thing is we both think so. Actually, let me be kind to the younger, naive, Jemi & Abby. It was well-suited to who we were at the time: teenagers trying to make sense of the world and thinking everything foreign was better. Long story short, "The Spiker Sisters" (Can you believe the name even?) was heavily influenced by the Baby Sitters Club, Sweet Valley High and the other stuff we used to read back in the day. 

The second book was really targeted and was written during the leap year between finishing SSS in Ghana and waiting to get your results and go to university. I was working as an Administrative Asst. and Editor at a start-up publishing company in Accra and my boss said, 'Hey, feel free to work on a writing project of your own if you're interested!' Such a swell boss! So yea, I got in touch with my friends Afi and Mash and "The '16' Journal" was borne. Basically that takes a journal/diary format and relays the struggles and triumphs of adolescence. And... there are excerpts of that right here on Circumspect! Why it didn't get published? I had to leave Ghana to study in the U.S. and I guess sponsorship fell through as well.



So then, I've been wanting to write a book, but got busy with school, work, life. And honestly too, I think I was a bit afraid. You know how we psyche ourselves out of the things we really want to do - our dreams - before we even begin to do them? Yeah, that and the fact that people would be like "I can't wait for your first book". Eeek! I panicked! Anyway, I eventually started on one and the thing is, I had the plot all figured out. I knew exactly what the themes would be, who the characters were, I even had the title ready. Lol. I was working on it....and then I met Chimamanda Adichie in D.C. 

Got to interact with her and I asked her about the process of writing a book. Precisely, do you already know what you're writing before you write it? Like, do you have the themes, titles. Are your characters all planned out? She advised: Go with the flow. Don't force a story. Don't tell yourself that you're going to write political fiction or historical fiction or semi-fiction or whatever. Sit down, write, and go where your heart leads you. Beautiful words of inspiration huh? Well I freaked out. I just stopped working on "Broken" (the title of the already figured out book lol. There's an entire concept behind the title too!) altogether lol. Don't get me wrong, I know that novel has great potential and all, but maybe its too forced, and maybe its not for right now. 

After a while, I knew what I needed to do. I had to acquaint myself with current contemporary African writers, since that's the "group" I imagined my writing would fit under. And you know, there are a TON of amazing young African writers out there - Chimamanda Adichie (The Thing Around Your Neck), Ayesha Haruna-Attah (Harmattan Rain), Myne Whitman (A Heart To Mend), Binyavanga Wainaina (How To Write About Africa), Uwem Akpan (Say You're One of Them) and so on - so I got to 'work' (ha!) reading their stuff, paying attention to the flow of words, the descriptives and so on. It was fun to do and definitely gave me a lot to think about. I also talked to a young Senegalese blogger, fashion-enthusiast and author who's working on her new book - Charlotte Seck (Sa Vie Entre Luxe et Humanitaire) and she gave me tons of tips and has been egging me on! (Thanks babe :) ) My lovely Afro-Optimistic sister Arame Tall also gave her vote of confidence after reading the first couple of pages of "Broken".

So yea, this morning I wake up earlier than planned and I'm laying in bed thinking "Why am I awake at this time? Int nothing specific to do." And then I remember that I had 'promised' myself I would start work on my book. I'm like, but I don't know what to write about! I have nothing at all. Voice in my head is like, "Really? Think back to that day in English class when you decided to 'push the envelope' on your writing. What was that about?"Basically, we had a report-writing class in Wesley Girls and I was looking at the template for writing a police/investigative report and I was bored senseless. I wanted to do something different, something fresh, something...dangerous? Lol. Well, I took a risk and it turned out pretty good, apparently. I think I have it somewhere in storage back at home. But anyways, I've thought my first book would be about a lot of things - usually about development - but this morning was the first time I thought it should be a detective/mystery novel. Although if you think about, it was  'mystery' report that pushed me to take more risks with my writing. Alors, that's what it's gonna be primarily, with a dash of love and development lol. 

So there! Now that I have done the unthinkable and tweeted my intentions, there's no turning back LOL. And hopefully, the universe will conspire with me on this and make it a reality, inshAllah. I actually already started writing it on the bumpy road to work and the story is building up in my mind. Needless to say, I'm restless with anticipation and I hope you are too!!! As Alicia Keys puts it, "If I can touch the sky, I'd risk the fall just to know how it feels to fly!" Much love, peace and blessings!


P.S. If you know of any potential publishers or writing resources, kindly forward on :) Also, I dunno how this is gonna affect my writing on Circumspect, but don't be alarmed if you don't see too many updates - I'm working on something much better for y'all :)

--


READ FULL STORY

Ramadan Special: 9/11 - A Turning Point For Our Common Humanity

Posted by Jemila On Thursday, September 09, 2010


All too soon, we have come to the end of another opportunity to partake in the Holy Month of Ramadan. Pending the moon sighting, there are speculations that Eid-ul-Fitr (the festival celebrating the end of Ramadan) will take place on Friday, September 10 or Saturday, September 11. Either way, Alhamdulilahi, we've made it through another Ramadan and for that we should give thanks.
But that's not the purpose of this post. I'll do a recap on my Ramadan experience later. For this post I'd like to talk about the Pastor in Florida who in all his wisdom has decided to organize a "Burn a Qu'ran" Day: Rev. Terry Jones.
A Meeting of Significance: September 11, 2010
Yes, Mr. Jones is a pastor in a relatively small town in Florida, and yes, he only has a congregation of 50, but his actions, or rather his proclamations, bear a lot of weight. Why? Because he has chosen two 'things' that are important to not just tens or hundreds, but millions of people: the date September 11 and the Holy Quran.
Now, since the day I accepted the event invitation to participate in Ramadan via Facebook, I have been a bit anxious about the fact that this year, the end of Ramadan and it's festival Eid-ul-Fitr could possibly fall on September 11. Normally there shouldn't be too much irony in the fact that on any given day, some people are celebrating while others are grieving. It happens every day. But in the case of America, Muslims, and 9/11, it's a different story altogether. Precisely because most of America blames Muslims for the 9/11 attacks. Actually, let me not be presumptive. A good number of Americans blame the 9/11 attacks on Muslims and their religion Islam. Forget the fact that many Americans are Muslims. Or even the fact that many Muslims died that day in the twin towers. Oh, and even the fact that Muslim groups around the world condemned those attacks, along with other religious groups. As far as the limited human mind and emotions can tell, someone needs to be held responsible for those attacks and the attendant pain and loss, and as luck would have it, that someone is now Islam and the world's entire Muslim population.
Suspect Tendencies: The Beginnings of Fanaticism
Now, back to Mr. Smart Guy. I really and seriously think that when all this is over, he needs to undergo some psychiatric testing. For real. I'm not saying that because I'm Muslim and think he's crazy, but out of genuine concern for him. If someone who purports to be a leader, and a religious leader at that, can come up with a plan that not only disrespects another religious group and people, but his very own American citizens and even Christians themselves (Jesus is regarded as a prophet in Islam and his teachings, his miracles, his sayings can be found in the Holy Quran too!), then I fear for what this person is teaching his congregation of 50 and anybody else he might come into contact with. Some people were born to be teachers, and others really should stay away from the profession altogether, because they only add confusion to an already confused world. 
The irony of this whole situation is the fact that Rev. Terry Jones is personifying the exact type of fanaticism that led to the September 11 attacks. His actions correspond with the findings of a study conducted by the Gallup poll and recorded in the film "Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think" on the mannerisms and reasoning behind terrorists and religious fanatics. They have deep seated insecurities or issues, feel they are not given an outlet, wait for a prime opportunity, and launch what they consider to be a 'Holy War'. That's exactly what Rev. Jones is doing, and unfortunately, he has the benefit of an already incensed American community concerning the proposed Ground Zero Mosque to propel his campaign to new heights. One of my friends commented that the media is helping this guy make his intentions more widespread. Yes, that's true. But at this point, that doesn't mean we should just shut it. Once the word is put across, a seed of thought will grow, and goodness knows how many people are already falling right under that plot and agreeing with this guy's nonsense. As Albert Einstein says: "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex....It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction."
A Question of Human Values
And really, keeping quiet, ignoring the situation and hoping it will go away is an absolutely wrong move to take. I was reading a Facebook thread earlier, and a Ghanaian commentator said that Osama Bin Laden killed many innocents and Muslims should stop making a big deal about this whole issue because "you can get more copies of the Qu'ran everywhere". Tell me, how different is the U.S. from Ghana? In Ghana we have multiple religious groups living together, and while it's been relatively calm, there are those tensions there although many conveniently ignore it. You see, these things can happen anywhere, and unless we learn to share and tell about our respective religions, ignorance will take full flight into deep seated prejudice. Anyway, my response to her was that Osama is not representative of all Muslims. Additionally, I personally don't think the 9/11 attacks would have been pulled off without an insider within the U.S. system. She responds that I'm a "true" Muslim (and pray tell me what that means because every time I encounter it, I wonder!) and for the sake of not repeating myself, here's what I said:
"This really isn't about being "a true Muslim". It's about being emphatic about human values. Regardless of whether its the Qu'ran, the Bible, the Torah or any other sacred text or symbol, I wouldn't stand by and watch without saying anything. People are killed every day for different reasons, unfortunately religion is one of the most frequent because man - as always - thinks to be so wise to know how and what God Almighty will judge as good or otherwise. Where we really should be concerned is nipping the small things in the bud before they become large scale violent back and forths between two or more entities. You need to look at the bigger picture here. Most Muslims don't feel responsible for 911 and are already protesting against it. It's a small group of fanatics who are being used as a representation of all Muslims. Now, you have this confused and - I'm sorry to say - plain foolish man setting up this Burn a Qu'ran campaign, and you're not targetting the fanatic few. You're targeting the entire population of Muslims. Non-Muslims might not understand it, but the Quran is a sacred text. Not just a book. Anyone can write a book. But a book that essentially sums up the totality of human existence and even the hereafter. A book that many believe to be the Word of God. Some people will simply speak out against it, others might take a different - perhaps not the most rationale, but what they believe to be just - route. That's what we should be afraid of. This small incident can escalate. And God help us all should that happen."
Love or Fear-Sponsored Action?
So what to do about the situation? I don't believe in violence, so no, Muslims should not launch a counter attack. Doing so would be verifying the already misguided notions about Islam. I mean, don't people get that this religion is not just about peace, but actually means peace? Yes, "Islam" means "Peace" in Arabic. That's the same reason why the best greeting in Islam is "Assalamu Alaikum" or "Salam"(the equivalent of "Shalom" in Christianity/Judaism) for short - "Peace be unto you". Anyway, I sidetracked a bit there. But as I was saying, I don't think Muslims should go and burn any Bibles, any churches or any other Christian relic. And no, Muslims shouldn't attack fellow Christians even if they can or so want to 'protect' the virtue of Islam. I don't think God needs anyone to fight for His honor. He should be able to handle that Himself being the All-Powerful that He is. What I imagine (in all humility) He might want though, is for us to put all the things we've learned from the Qu'ran about tolerance, forgiving and peace to practice. Besides, how can you just finish the Holy Month of Ramadan and launch right into violence? That makes no sense.
There goes the saying that "one fears what one does not understand". And I truly believe that. People are reacting because they are afraid, they don't understand, and you know how we humans hate to not be in control. So, what we can and need to do is teach tolerance, teach understanding, and learn about one another. That's the only way we're all going to make it through the religious strife in the world. And yes, it's hard. God, it's hard. Because even with our own accepted friends from different and even the same religious group, we have such bias against them, you'd wonder whether we actually understand what the basis of friendship is. 
Proposition: Get-To-Know-A-Muslim Day
One Muslim group is planning to distribute replacement Qu'rans to counter the "Burn a Qu'ran Day" event. Here's what I would like to propose for September 11 and beyond. Take a moment, to learn something about Islam. I'm not saying embark on a self-conversion campaign. No. Neither am I trying to convert you. I don't believe in that. What I believe in is sharing - information, our experiences, our thoughts, our hopes, and our fears. Just take a moment to actually talk to that Muslim friend in your class, your neighborhood, the Hausa waakye seller by the street whose shito you love so much. Just talk to them, ask them what their religion means to them, what they like the most about it, what they don't like about it, how it makes life's trials any easier or harder. Never seen a Qu'ran before? Go find one or ask a Muslim friend to show you one. Don't know any Muslims? No problem, I'm Muslim, leave a comment or email me your question. Or just do a Google search to find out what real Muslims - and not the misconstrued prototype of a Muslim portrayed in the media - think, do and say.


I'm gonna take a guess that the responses won't be so outer worldly as we assume. Educate yourself, for heaven and all our sakes. Otherwise someone else will be more than happy to educate you. At the end of the day, we are all human - Muslim, Christian, Jew, Buddhist, all of us. So ultimately, we can learn a thing or two from one another because like it or not, we are on this journey called life together! And one final request: pray for humanity. In whatever language, creed, religious establishment you affiliate yourself with, pray for us - for peace, for tolerance, and for the wisdom to choose our battles wisely. Eid Mubarak in advance to my Muslim brothers and sisters, condolences to my American friends and to everyone, I wish you a peaceful and safe weekend. Salam!


READ FULL STORY