happYness!

Empire state of my mind

He woke up feeling so leathery and confused. It was not the first time he felt like this so he ignored his feelings, checked up with time on his wrist watch which was lying on top of the head of the bed. It was almost a routine but the time was what felt out of place. It was 3 o’clock in the morning and he hadn’t woken up at this hour before. He felt so restless and decided to get off the bed. That was when he realized he was actually sleeping in his new suit he had bought for the celebration of his first anniversary with Anne that never was.

It was not long before he recalled everything that happened the night before. It was so vivid and felt like it was being screened from a projector. ‘wha..t, how did I get home?’ he soliloquized. ‘Why am I doing this to myself, why at all do I keep repeating this ordeal against myself?’ he retorted. He felt so bad knowing he’s failed again, failed at making love work, maybe love was not part of him, all he required and  deserved was pain and pain, after all it is said that pain is love. He got out of bed, stepped out of his clothes and walked into the washroom, naked.

He stepped into the bath, turned on the tap and allowed the cold water to shower on him. He felt good and relished the moment. He decided to let his mind wonder about, to just soar everywhere; he did not want to think about what transpired last night because it was the last thing he would want to waste his mind on. He spent much time under the shower hoping it washed away his memories and eventually the misery that comes with it, but he knew it has not worked before and won’t work this time too so he turned off the tap, toweled himself and walked out of the place. He went straight to his wardrobe, put on his pajamas and headed to his library.

Library was where he drowned his misery, he never believed in his memory just like the saying that goes like “a short pen is more reliable than a long memory”. He brought out his note pad and started writing at random everything that came to his mind.

                                                                             

You are a movement, a revolution on your own; you can’t be stopped and should not allow yourself to be stopped by anyone. Nobody’s dream is paramount over yours and no one is as unique as you regardless of what they embody. Only move with them when your thoughts, dreams and aspirations are in tandem with theirs. Free yourself from the gaols of your mind and do you.

Why are you stressing yourself, moving heaven and hell to be like them, when the secret lies in being different?  Your thoughts must not necessarily be popular to them, otherwise where lies your ingenuity? Where lies your creativity? Are you just going to walk in the trails that were left behind by others who dared to be different?

All you have to do is have love for humanity and discard excessive vanity, stop paying the prize for the mistakes people do continually, pull your acts together, don’t fall prey to all your detractors, stop looking at them and look through them. Their behaviors are phenomenal, so don’t let them catch up on you; don’t let them engulf you with their whims and caprices, lest they will use and abuse you and even refuse you when the day of reckoning dawns. They don’t like you anyway so don’t pretend you like them.

Fear God and revere him. Make your way, you are the best and ignore all the rest , they are just a stain and would fade away soon. You are legendary, u are a savior to those who need you and always remember that you are a light in the dark. Your name is supposed to be a household one, not because you are rich but because you are famous and have touched the lives of so many. Life is crazy than it has ever been so love your life, because until you pay the prize, it is never cheap.

Give them the right answers even if they ask the wrong questions, show them love even if they hate you, just be you and allow them to be whoever they desire to be, make space for all kinds of attitudes and behaviors from others and don’t be judgmental. Don’t give too much advice because it is the number one recipe to being enemies with your friends.  Keep quiet especially if you don’t have anything sensible to say, because you are sometimes audible even without saying a word. Don’t desire what you ought not to have, prefer a loss to a dishonest gain and keep your head high up in the clouds.

Respect everyone you meet and treat them as your superiors. All of them are in your life because they have a lesson to teach, be mindful of the small details for they are the thrust of the lessons they are supposed to impart into you. Since old fishermen won’t die and will only smell like a fish, don’t pay heed to what they will say about you.

He kept scribbling away his mind until he was interrupted by a sound which he recognized as the ring tone he has assigned to Anne’s calls. He checked his time and realized he’s been sitting there for the past hour. How fast time flies when you using your time profitably. He ignored the call but the call kept coming through and needed his attention. All attempts to continue writing has failed him no matter how concentrated he was. He cursed and loathed the effect Anne had over him and decided this was a test of his lifetime, a time to put into practice what he was writing. ‘I won’t pick up the call’ he said to himself and continued to write nothing. So he decided to go and pick the call.

                                                                              

He went to the adjoining room, his bedroom and could not find the phone on the night stand where it usually rested the whole night through. The ringing was coming from the direction of where his suit lay on the floor. Before he could get the phone out of his inner pocket of his jacket, it stopped ringing. Now he held the phone in his hands praying silently that the call should come through again. Even heavens know how much he has missed Anne, his fiancée. She was the only friend he had because that is how she wanted it; they shared everything together including time, the most reason why he could not forgive himself for what happened last night. Life was bliss for them except their occasionally quarrels which did not even go beyond a day.

He sat on the edge of the bed contemplating if he should call her back, ‘No!’ he exclaimed as if he was answering someone. ‘Why should I call her when she is the one to be doing the calling?’ ‘But she just called overly without an answer’ he answered himself. One thing was clear to him by now and that is he was not done loving her, not even started, she was supposed to be his wife and the mama of his babies, so why is this happening to him.

While thinking of what to do in that state of confusion, his phone vibrated indicating a receipt of a txt message. His instinct told him outright who the sender was. He flipped the phone opened to access the txt only to find out it was from his network provider informing and instructing him on how to vote online for his favorite contestant in a beauty pageant.

This rudeness from his network providers in the wee hours of the day added so much to his frustration that he left the phone on the bed and started off to the library. As soon as he crossed halfway through the room, the phone rang again. All his senses jumped into action, he covered the small distance between where he stood and the bed in like a micro second so as not to miss the call again. He needed to talk to Anne. She needed to explain what happened the night before, how he ended up sleeping in his suit, how they could not spend the much anticipated night together.

‘Hello’ he said into the phone with a bated breath so as not to give Anne any impression of apprehension and then the call dropped. ‘Shit’ he cursed. He stood there for about what seemed like ages and decided to call since he was the one wanting answers to his so many questions. He called her line and the line was dead. He could not believe this, Anne’s phone was off and there was nothing he could do about it than to drive to her residence which his ego won’t allow him to do now. He was now suffering from the effects of not picking her incessant calls.

As he sat there contemplating what to do if he ever gets hold of Anne, the call came through after about thirty minutes and he picked up instantly. Before he could say hello into the phone, a male voice from the other end of the phone was warning him to stay away from Anne, his childhood sweetheart. All he could manage was to open his mouth in awe as he listened to the arrogant voice of the lucky man who was with Anne at the ungodly hour. Things have taken a dramatic turn and he didn’t know where to start from. How come he only listened through the rude conversation he just had on the phone, the most longest and terrifying phone conversation he has ever had, but to think that it was about Anne sent chills down his body. He went to his closet, looked for some clean cloth, picked up his car keys and stormed out of the house in pursuit of HappYness!

                                                                           

I DON’T CARE!!

I don’t care anymore if am a Ghanaian or a Swiss,
All I want to do is to be in the news,
So that people can sample my thoughts and views.
It saddens my heart to hear people say you are an Arab or a Jew,
When all it takes is to be you,
No reason why so many of them are so sad and blue.
Life is funny and if not handled with tact might leave you with flu,
And Oh! How I wish they had a clue.


Show me a good politician,
And I will show u a good tactician.
They only keep in touch when it’s time for election.
I can tell u with certainty that they lack ideas except to commit the nation,
No wonder their actions have plunged many into confusion,
Many others are either frustrated or in helpless situations,
Thus placing more boys behind jail bars and the girls taken to prostitution.


Mr. Big man sitting up in the high chair,
Stop the killing because u can hardly produce a strand of hair,
You have left so many mothers and children in a state of despair,
 It’s also evident that your relationship with our coffers is very unfair,
Leaving many in pain and anguish while you enjoy your funfair.
So many cripples strapped in wheelchairs that are beyond repairs,
Cannot even buy a pair of shoes while u flaunt your properties with flair,
I just hope that the big man up there on the Day of Judgment will be fair.

 You instigate the masses to hate and cause among themselves violence,
You cause mayhem at anytime to satisfy your whims and then sit on the fence.
Eventually we have been cowed into obedience and acquiescence,
Your blatant disregard for humanity has seen the gap bridged between adulthood and adolescence,
You also share condoms and introduce aphrodisiacs, and then you turn around and preach abstinence,
Your eyes are perpetually closed to the poor while u wallow in affluence,
You are quick to share aid after a catastrophe but cannot come to their defense,
These and other thoughts make me question your democracy and its essence.

 

THE WEED!!

It’s known by so many names such as sensimilla, wee, weed, marijuana, skunk, high grade and what have you. Its simply called the weed because it distinguishes itself from other weeds. Like all narcotics, whether natural or synthetic (e.g.: cocaine, cocaine leaves, opium, marijuana) has generated so much controversy despite their numerous medicinal values.

Wisdom weed as it is sometimes referred to is rumored to have originated or first found in the gardens of the great king Solomon. Some schools of thought even have this to say about King Solomon using it for so many purposes. The weed is administered in many ways. It is taken orally by smoking, rolled in a piece of paper which sometimes resembles a stick of cigarette. If brewed it is also taken in the form of tea by drinking. At times it is also used as a food supplement. It is also said to keep evil spirits at bay and for the healing of Asthma. It is also used for industrial purposes to produce clothing and anchor rope used to tie down ships.

The smoking of the weed has landed so many in troubles than they had anticipated. Some are in jail for either possession or smoking of the weed and even cultivation. Some are jailed with hard labor and its consequent death to the dismay of some section of the minority and majority in society. There are statutory laws enacted in most countries against the ban of the weed and its possession is deemed unlawful and goes contrary to the tenets encoded in the constitution. People have been brutalized, eventually rendering others physically challenged in the process.
                                                               
I have not really taken the pain to find out why so much emphasis and its enforcement is paramount to many leaders and countries. They embark on passionate persecution of people who make use of the natural weed God has created. Sometimes I am tempted to think if anyone will be apprehended smoking the leaves of a neem tree.

Without fear or favor, I want to say my mind as a normal rational being that has been conscientized by God to reason, uphold and to promote his works. Cocaine is one of the many deadly narcotics which stimulate people beyond the limit they even want to reach. It can ruin a whole generation in a matter of years but we see the supposed big men in our societies peddling it. An example is the infamous MV Benjamin case which implicated so many big men who were supposed to be role models and people we look up to. Am yet to see a ‘small man’ engage in it. This people are still champions in our societies because they call the shots. Our cultural goal defined by this attitude and direction is money. There is more to life than calling shots. Life is about attaining a spiritual oneness with your maker. This people walk freely in our societies because we have not gathered enough evidence to gaol them.

Cigarette is another subtle drug with many hazardous chemicals which harms and kills people every day. It proposes many major health threats to a smoker and non smoker and they are all over the place backed by the same law that bans the smoke of marijuana. Cigarette has a lot of compositions that are artificially made, unlike the natural weed but has legal backing. Why?  The government makes way too much money in the form of tax what is the difference between these two substances? Maybe u can tell me. But to me, they are all smoke and can kill.

If it’s the packaging, then why can’t government give people the franchise to process it so they can get their share of the money they are always interested in, thereby creating jobs for people? There was an inscription on the pack of cigarette that read ‘smoking cigarette can be harmful to your health’ but now it reads ‘smoking cigarette can kill’ yet it is being produced in large quantities and consumed the same way. Who is the government kidding? Is it an issue of majority against minority? They are even listed on the stock market to boost sales.

                                                                               

If cigarette kills, then why would some sane men promote this deadly commodity on the market endorsed by the government? The government is made up of religious leaders, educationists, intellectuals, opinion leaders and people we look up to for direction. The least talked about those who smoke the better.

Coffee is another stimulant packaged nicely to get us hooked. Coffee has about 923 chemicals in it and the government has seen nothing wrong with it. Coffee can keep you awake all day like Valium and they are all legal.

Another slow poison we have internalized in our society is alcohol. This commodity is used on all sort of occasion and its very deadly, killing people every second of the day. Some get their livers burnt, some drink and drive resulting in accidents, some have lost their cherished virginity status through the use of alcohol, miscarriage, acted foolishly or divulged information they would not have given out even if they were threatened with death. We all like it and when the consequences of drinking surfaces, all we say is ‘oh!’, sometimes we mentally ostracize the people from society because we tag them as Retreatists.

Holland has legalized the use of the weed. It’s a very good step towards the right direction in my opinion for other countries to emulate because there is no difference between the people of Ghana, U.S.A., U.K., and the people of Holland. We are all one people, and its sheer hypocrisy. The government gives people license to use the gun, yet anytime a gun is used, a person dies. Licenses are also given for cars to be driven and it also kills, so why can’t the government allow the people to smoke the weed and die like that of cigarette smokers who will die anyway? Thought education is supposed to liberate us from all this petty irrational setbacks?

There is this perpetuated myth that the weed drives people mad; but tell me, what in this world does not make people affective people? The effect of the weed solely depends on the excessive use and later become an addictive dependent on an individual. There is no scientific proof to back this assertion just like there is none to back the fact that too much studying can drive people mad, just like there is none to back the fact that people renegade on the orders of deities they look up to and go mad.  They are all propaganda to get our minds off the wrong doings of the government.

Maybe the government is apprehensive on the smokers because it is trying to save them from self-destruct, but the big and multi-dollar question still remains. Does government cares about the people? How does he express his care for those who don’t smoke? If it was, it would not promote cigarette and alcohol and not regulate it. The government is just selfish and insensitive to the people they govern.

We can’t pretend we are not confronted with a menace. The people who smoke the weed and are intend labeled and stigmatized are not aliens. They are/were our friends or family members in the society. All of us have a brother or a sister who smokes whether occasionally or excessively, therefore the self-righteousness must stop so we can approach this issue dispassionately and find lasting solutions to it.

The big issue here is that we don’t have to buy into government’s propaganda and be rational in our approach to these things that pertains in our society. It predates us and we can do less about it. If weed is banned and its use makes the user evil and socially unfit, then some social drugs such the alcohol, which impairs vision and dismantles the mental judgments of a drinker should also be banned. And same should go for all forms of smoke, be it cigarette, cigar and tobacco. The government should try and preserve a smoke free environment and stop the excessive hypocrisy about the democracy they are pursuing.
                                                                     
Lastly, let’s stop being judgmental and quick to tag people who use the weed for there is so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us that it behooves all of us to stop talking about those who use the weed. There may be many reasons as to why a person might be under the influence of the weed.