Gratitude

Superman

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Superman

Navigating the world can be challenging as we are always bombarded by messages informing us on who we should be. We are indoctrinated into other people’s viewpoints, we are influenced by advertising, we are told what is acceptable by the culture, we are expendable like pawns in a chess game. It’s easy to fall into the trap of victimhood because modern life is so fast paced and everything is always in motion, sometimes it’s like life is happening to you. It’s easy to get nihilistic and feel yourself as a spectator and not a collaborator. The movie Fight Club released in 1999 was ahead of its time in portraying the masculinity crisis in the 21st century. Being swept up by novelty and consumerism we lose the anchor that keeps us grounded in reality. We let things outside of ourselves defines us. Negativity plagues our lives. We lose the ability to make decisions for ourselves, we become victims, we become weak, we lose our masculine frames. 20th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche covered this on his masterpiece book “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” with his work on the “Ubermench” or “Overman” which directly translates to The Superman. He states that man should be bigger than his circumstances and aspire to be the very best that he can be. The “Ubermench” or Superman is better than passive, he is masculine and strong, he doesn’t make excuses, he is a leader of his life and is not a victim of any circumstance. The “Ubermench” is accountable and responsible for his own life. He is a man of purpose, he is in control of his destiny. The “Ubermench” makes his own decisions pertaining to his life. He has a masculine frame that is unyielding. A masculine frame is everything in the context of navigating reality and achieving any level of success. In this post we will be exploring how to breakout of the victims mentality so you can self-actualize and be the best that you can be.

  1. Look inward and diagnose – Realize that everything is what you make it. Your life currently is the result of your past decisions and thoughts. Thoughts are the language of the mind. Have good thoughts. Look at your habits and catch yourself in the act of negative self-talk. Journal your thoughts to make sense of what is in your mind. This will help you reflect and understand your state of mind much better. Troubleshoot your mind in the same way you would to your computer. When your computer is slow and certain programs are crashing, you troubleshoot it to understand the problem and fix it. Without the troubleshooting you run the risk of causing irrevocable damage to the operating system. Your mind is your operating system, your thoughts are the language of your system, have good thoughts to have a good life.
  2. Eliminate negativity – Stear away from negative people or situations that enable you to react in morally unjustified behaviors. Take responsibility for your life and your decisions. Understand that we are judged by the company we keep, birds of the same feathers flock together. Look at the people in your life. Eliminate negative people in your life. You can’t get far with negative friends who look down on you and take you for granted. As a man you need to be around people who help you get better. People who will feul your ambitions and move with you to the top. You need to be around men with value and accountability, men who inspire you and lift you up. You need to be around winners and conquerers, that is the only way to be a winner and a conquerer. Winners are enthusiastic about life, they are passionate and they are positive. Losers on the other hand have a victims mentality, a energy that calibrates at a low energy level and they never achieve anything of significance. Eliminate negativity and be with people who want the best for you.
  3. Practice gratitude – Gratitude is the act of magnifying what you have. It is positive energy that radiates. It teaches you to be thankful for what you do have. It’s insistence is on abundance instead of lack. With gratitude you have everything you need, you feel lighter on your feet, you are encouraged and confident about God’s love and grace. Gratitude is what gets you to have a truthful life. It purifies the soul and makes you an overall great human being with the magnetic power of a magnate. Without gratitude for life, a man is in danger of having nihilistic thoughts and resorting to instant gratification that numbs the pain as a means of escapism.
  4. Go after your purpose – Go after your dreams, this will teach you to be a person of character. It teaches you to be accountable for your destiny. No excuses, you fight for your dreams with everything you have. You take the disappointments, learn the lessons and commit to doing better the next time. The act of going for your dreams and following your purpose will give you confidence and greater self-esteem. Apathy will cease to exist and you will be in charge of your life. You will be a man of high value and everything will flock to you. A man without a purpose will always be a victim of life.
  5. Help others – Take your attention off yourself and concentrate that energy on somebody else or an organization. Offer your time to a worthwhile course like a homeless shelter. Give what you can. Donate what you don’t need anymore to someone who does, things like old clothes, blankets and toys go a long way. It will make you feel good and will give you control and power, alienating the feelings of unworthiness and victimhood. Helping others makes us feel important as our contributions are noted and appreciated. Great men are the change that they want to see in the world, they contribute more than they consume and they offer a hand because it helps the world move forward.
  6. Meditation – Add meditation to your schedule. Mindfulness meditation helps with observing our thoughts and quieting down the internal monologue. Realize that you are not your thoughts and you can distance yourself from them and watch them go by. Thoughts are just spontaneous things that happen and you don’t have to identify with them. Meditation helps with emotional mastery as you will be able to regulate your emotions and resist the urge to lash out at people. This is important because we live in a world that is survival based dictated by the fight-or-flight organ the amygdala, and as such the skill to be able regulate and perceive other people’s emotions is priceless. A high value man is one with impeccable Emotional Intelligence. You get high emotional intelligence by being emphatic. Empathy is the ability to put yourself in other persons shoes. Meditation helps with caltivating empathy skills because you can slow things down and be reflective. A man who can’t control his emotions is deemed to be impulsive with no self control, a big turn-off for the opposite sex and other men will not respect you. Meditation helps you recognize negative self-talk so you can fix it and be better.

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Remember, that’s life

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Remember, that’s life.

In 2019 film maker Todd Phillips released his psychological thriller classic movie titled “Joker” to much acclaim. The movie gathered 11 nominations from the Academy including Best Picture and Best Director for Todd. The film’s lead Joaquin Phoenix earned the accolade for Best Actor for his efforts. His performance was a masterclass on acting. The movie centers around the subject of nihilism. Arthur Fleck is a man in his late 30’s living with his mother in the hellish city of Gotham. When he was young he suffered a head trauma injury that affected the neuro-circuitry in his brain resulting in a cognition impairment that enables him to laugh uncontrollablely without his conscious doing. This mental disorder isolates him from society and it results in him being an outcast. With this being his default, he sinks into an abyss of apathy and depression. His loathes his life and fantasizes about and death. His hatred of life ultimately leads to nihilism and with that he begins killing people for the sake of it. The killing spree commenced when he shot dead three stockbrokers after they were assaulting him in the train. The action to kill those 3 stockbrokers comes after a history of apathy when confronted with life and people beating him up because his a “freak”. The killings change his outlook on life and apathy disappears forever, he finds a new release and for the first time in his life he encounters happiness, although sadistic, it comes from the action of interacting with the world and taking charge. Nietzsche states: “When an individual no longer feels like they are the collaborator let alone the center of becoming nihilism becomes a very real possibility.” This is what happens in the movie as Arthur’s dreams and prospects of being a stand-up comedian die and with the realization that his whole life has been a lie. With the quote of the movie he states before killing his mother: I always thought my life was a tradegy but now I realize it’s a comedy. This quote signals Arthur’s nihilism – the inference that there is no meaning at all. With this his reality changes and the mood of the film also changes from dark heavy burdensome strings serving as the score of the movie to uplifting golden soundtracks and Arthur dancing along with a big authentic smile on his face. It is as if his nihilism has triggered the button to live a fulfilling life. From this movie we gather that life is not fair. It paints Arthur as a victim and he is because his been dealt a bad hand from his inception. The movie is emotive, from the visuals, the setting, the camera techniques, the film score, soundtracks and the actors. This is a very good movie and will generate a cult following based on the subjects it explored. No one can really and fully prepare you for life. Nothing can prepare you for how difficult it is. How repetitive and passive it can get and how you can betray your heart with conscious intentions. Nihilism lurks in the shadows of every human being and if you give it an audience, it can consume you whole and lead you straight to hell.

Life is difficult. You wake up one day and the world tells you that you need to get a job and shed away your individuality. After all, you were in school for more than12 years, you had enough time to prepare yourself, you should know what you want to do. That’s how the world operates and so you get a job. You work hard to get a promotion but you are overlooked because the bosses niece just graduated. Feeling dejected but optimistic about the future, you keep your head down and keep working hard. Finally after 4 laborious years, you finally get ahead and earn a promotion. It’s that job you have always wanted and it comes with an office and a secretary. It’s bliss and you can see yourself working at this company for a long time and so you prepare. You have children, get married and buy a house with trees and high fences in the suburbs. You purchase that German car that you have always wanted and life is perfect. Tradegy strikes and the whole world goes into a recession resulting in you getting laid off from your job. But at least you get a settlement cheque and decide that you are going to start a business. It’s a good idea and you are excited at the prospect of being your own boss. The business doesn’t share the same enthusiasm though and fails spectacularly. The house and the German car gets repossessed due to failure of payment and you get blacklisted by the credit bureaus. Your wife divorces you without your knowledge and fleas with the children leaving you with nothing. Aged 44 with no savings and prospects do you have it in you to move on? Do you have it in you to start over? You thought you had forever and now you have nothing. You can’t even get a decent job because you have been blacklisted. What now? The future looks bleek. The world let you down. The order of the world is a lie, everything is a lie! To add insult to injury, the world doesn’t need you anymore, you are too old, young blood is coming into the fold and your are deemed useless, a fossil that occupied the land in the times of dinosaurs. Surely death is a better alternative to life because you have got nothing to live for. That’s life, sometimes bad things happen for no apparent reason and there’s simple nothing you can do.

What is the protocol for helping someone with suicidal thoughts? Is there something that can be done from preventing the inevitable? How do you persuade someone who suffers from nihilism that they have something to live for? It is a very difficult question. One that religion can’t solve because people who suffer from nihilistic thoughts don’t believe in anything. Besides religion regulates morality and people suffering from nihilism are victims of the very same morality. Just maybe nothing can be done, nihilism is the devils den, it is the place of no return. Not even Todd gave us an antidote in his movie. However, being an optimist I have a solution. Gratitude. Gratitude is positive energy and it enables one to reflect about life. Gratitude has reason. Gratitude is patience. Gratitude is life. Gratitude helps you see past today and makes you see tomorrow. Gratitude gives you courage, it is hopeful and at the same time provides assurity. Gratitude opens your heart. Gratitude gives you a reason to live, it gives you a reason to inquire and ultimately be a better person. For the gentleman who lost his job, wife and kids; the children will grow up and reunite with him. He can get a better confidant and work his way up again. He has reason to live. He should be grateful for the trails and tribulations and aspire to be better. Gratitude is what makes life worthwhile. Gratitude is the secret to a fulfilling life. Gratitude stops nihilism and gives reason. It is because of that that one should always be grateful. Grateful for our families, our friends and the fact that we have a roof over our head. Gratitude puts things into perspective. Gratitude is the only thing that matters if you are to live a fulfilling life.

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9 Shots (Free script) – Lucky

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9 Shots (Free script) – Lucky

My goal is to be the greatest ever. Not on a criteria that anybody has set, but for me I have a rubric. Drunk alert, drunk alert, drunk alert, I took 9 shots of gin, the unconscious is now in control. This is my true self unsolicited, my subconscious dictating my behavior. I’m on free-flow, on autopilot. The conscious mind flunked out the equation. This is God speaking through me. Give me the opportunity. Give me the chance to change the world. These are my constant thoughts.

To the Universe, give me a chance to create awesome things. Connect me with excellence, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do. Just as long as it is ethical and the morality is on par with what I am accustomed to. Make the capital available for my endeavors. Help me fly. Accompany me in my journey of greatness.

Lucky, gratitude bomb!

What are the odds that I would be so lucky in this lifetime? It’s simply incredible! I am thankful. I am grateful. Life is a lottery that I have somehow won by a miracle. Firstly, I was born a boy, male, a man, what an incredible win, I am so lucky. I am lucky to be the first born, it has wonderful advantages. I am lucky to be the big brother, what an honor. I am lucky to have the mother that I have. She’s so strong and inspiring. I am lucky to have friends who want me in their social circle. I am lucky to have lived in Limpopo for 2 years, I loved every second of it, sometimes I thought I was dreaming and maybe I was. I am lucky my stomach is full every night. I am lucky I have the internet and Facebook. I am lucky to have known Rorisang Moeketsi who is bright, headstrong, emotionally intelligent and progressive. I am lucky my brother is an artist. I am lucky I went to school. I am lucky I can read and write. I am lucky I have dreams, a luxury for someone who has to eat. I am lucky I grew up in Alex, Gomora. I am lucky I can listen Common, Nas, Jay-Z, Kanye West, J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar; thank you for everything guys. I am super lucky I met Reishi, a wonderful young boy who gave his life to save another, I am lucky he was my best friend. While you were still alive you taught me so much, you taught me kindness and love. I will never forget you. Thank you for inspiring me, because of you I don’t fear death. I am lucky to have a shelter to rest my head. I am lucky Loyiso has been my friend for all these years (2 decades). I appreciate you more than you’ll ever know. Thank you for your friendship, education and kindness. By far the best roller of a joint that I know. I am lucky I have the opportunity to appreciate art, to listen to music, read literature, watch films and to write poetry. Wanda, red Mercedes-Benz. I am lucky I get to watch Lionel Messi and FC Barcelona on my screen. Thank you God for giving Lionel Messi the World Cup, he deserved it, for all the happiness his brought in the world. I am lucky to have been loved by a girl, more than 1, more than a handful. Thank God for Marijuana. Manchester United and Orlando Pirates are lucky to have me as a fan, you guys have made me suffer. Thank you for everything Sir Alex Ferguson. She said she loves me, yes, cool, affirmative, outstanding, that’s the greatest news of my life, I love you too and I know you’re with me for the long haul, let me get a couple of deals together. I am lucky to have served as the General Secretary for KOSP, what an honor. I am lucky to have kissed a girl. Thank you for the intercourse ladies, I appreciate it. I am lucky that I’ve lived in the suburbs. I am lucky to have known Thato Katane, I love your spirit boy, mind over matter, your container is immortal. I am lucky to have two brothers. I am grateful for Quentin Tarantino, he is timeless and boundless. He made me love movies with Kill Bill. Steven Speilberg is pretty legendary too. “Birdman or The unexpected virtue of ignorance” is one of my favorite movies of all time! That continuous shot is crazy! I am lucky to have had Christopher as my friend, he was my equal at everything including Fifa, Mathematics and cross-country. Thank you for your competitive spirit boy, I appreciate and cherish the memories we shared. Thank you Steve Jobs for your life. I am lucky to have had Lonwabo in my life who was a good friend of mine. I let you down, I am sorry, I hope to make it up to you someday. Thank you Robert Greene. Phimza, Red OPC, culture. I am lucky to have a sister. I am lucky I have water to drink. I am grateful to Warren Buffet for the inspiration, wisdom and knowledge. I am lucky I am fully able. I am lucky I had Lethabo in my life, we started “Cultured” together and Arty came along to join the team. I am lucky I have clothes and blankets to keep me warm in the winter. I am lucky I was a football coach to 3 different teams. I am lucky to have been a child actor. Thank you Napoleon Hill. Thank you Jim Rohn. I am lucky I get to go to the Library every now and then. I am lucky to have had Tumiso in my life. I loved our conversations. Our sessions were like an appointment with your therapist, we talked about a lot of serious things, our challenges in life, our feelings and emotions, our past, our impending future, just life. I am so grateful to have had you in my life. I am lucky to have known Amy Winehouse through her music. Amy, you still my favorite artist in the whole world! I am lucky that I am a creative and entrepreneurial. I am lucky Phimza drops me off at home when it’s too late, thank you mpinch. I am grateful for Marcel Proust, “In search of lost time” is brilliant, a real piece of art. Thank you for the lessons Proust. Fyodor Dostoevsky on another level though, ‘Notes from Underground’ and ‘Crime and Punishment’ are both masterpieces and ‘The Karamazov Brothers’ the greatest piece of literature of all time. Don’t forget about ‘The Master and Margarita’. I am lucky I have soap and cologne to keep me fresh. I am lucky to have an uncle who is supportive. I am lucky to have Lauryn Hill in my life, art is forever and “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” is forever, I love your Unplugged with MTV too. Everyday I wake up, I win. I am lucky to have a cousin who took his time to refine my driving skills and teach me about art. I am lucky to have had a friend like Kalushi who matched my creative energy. Thank you for the Yezzys! Thank you Kanye for “Sunday service choir”, “Jesus Is Born” is a classic. I am lucky to have known Kay, who was brilliant and awesome, amazingly, everyone respected and loved Kay, he was the best. I apologize for disappointing you Kay, it really wasn’t my intention. I failed because I didn’t have things in order, I was inexperienced and too eager, one day I hope to make it up to you and everyone who put their faith in me. I am grateful for Martin Scorsese, he is the best. Marty, I loved “Hugo” and all your other movies with no exception, yes even “New York, New York”, I think it’s a masterpiece. I am lucky I’ve been to Gold Reef City and the Rand Show. I am lucky I have a cellphone to which I can listen to Anderson Paak on, he is unbelievably talented. I am lucky I have shoes. Thank you Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique, Ernesto Valverde, Xavi Hernandes, Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol, Dani Alves, Luis Suares, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique, Ivan Rakitic and ter Stegen. Thank you to everyone at Barca, past and present. Grateful for Emiliano Martinez, Angel Di Maria and all the players of the Argentine National team. I am lucky to have taken a picture with Flabba. I am lucky I am black.

Superman

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Superman

Navigating the world can be challenging as we are always bombarded by messages informing us on who we should be. We are indoctrinated into other people’s viewpoints, we are influenced by advertising, we are told what is acceptable by the culture, we are expendable like pawns in a chess game. It’s easy to fall into the trap of victimhood because modern life is so fast paced and everything is always in motion, sometimes it’s like life is happening to you. It’s easy to get nihilistic and feel yourself as a spectator and not a collaborator. The movie Fight Club released in 1999 was ahead of its time in portraying the masculinity crisis in the 21st century. Being swept up by novelty and consumerism we lose the anchor that keeps us grounded in reality. We let things outside of ourselves defines us. Negativity plagues our lives. We lose the ability to make decisions for ourselves, we become victims, we become weak, we lose our masculine frames. 20th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche covered this on his masterpiece book “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” with his work on the “Ubermench” or “Overman” which directly translates to The Superman. He states that man should be bigger than his circumstances and aspire to be the very best that he can be. The “Ubermench” or Superman is better than passive, he is masculine and strong, he doesn’t make excuses, he is a leader of his life and is not a victim of any circumstance. The “Ubermench” is accountable and responsible for his own life. He is a man of purpose, he is in control of his destiny. The “Ubermench” makes his own decisions pertaining to his life. He has a masculine frame that is unyielding. A masculine frame is everything in the context of navigating reality and achieving any level of success. In this post we will be exploring how to breakout of the victims mentality so you can self-actualize and be the best that you can be.

  1. Look inward and diagnose – Realize that everything is what you make it. Your life currently is the result of your past decisions and thoughts. Thoughts are the language of the mind. Have good thoughts. Look at your habits and catch yourself in the act of negative self-talk. Journal your thoughts to make sense of what is in your mind. This will help you reflect and understand your state of mind much better. Troubleshoot your mind in the same way you would to your computer. When your computer is slow and certain programs are crashing, you troubleshoot it to understand the problem and fix it. Without the troubleshooting you run the risk of causing irrevocable damage to the operating system. Your mind is your operating system, your thoughts are the language of your system, have good thoughts to have a good life.
  2. Eliminate negativity – Stear away from negative people or situations that enable you to react in morally unjustified behaviors. Take responsibility for your life and your decisions. Understand that we are judged by the company we keep, birds of the same feathers flock together. Look at the people in your life. Eliminate negative people in your life. You can’t get far with negative friends who look down on you and take you for granted. As a man you need to be around people who help you get better. People who will feul your ambitions and move with you to the top. You need to be around men with value and accountability, men who inspire you and lift you up. You need to be around winners and conquerers, that is the only way to be a winner and a conquerer. Winners are enthusiastic about life, they are passionate and they are positive. Losers on the other hand have a victims mentality, a energy that calibrates at a low energy level and they never achieve anything of significance. Eliminate negativity and be with people who want the best for you.
  3. Practice gratitude – Gratitude is the act of magnifying what you have. It is positive energy that radiates. It teaches you to be thankful for what you do have. It’s insistence is on abundance instead of lack. With gratitude you have everything you need, you feel lighter on your feet, you are encouraged and confident about God’s love and grace. Gratitude is what gets you to have a truthful life. It purifies the soul and makes you an overall great human being with the magnetic power of a magnate. Without gratitude for life, a man is in danger of having nihilistic thoughts and resorting to instant gratification that numbs the pain as a means of escapism.
  4. Go after your purpose – Go after your dreams, this will teach you to be a person of character. It teaches you to be accountable for your destiny. No excuses, you fight for your dreams with everything you have. You take the disappointments, learn the lessons and commit to doing better the next time. The act of going for your dreams and following your purpose will give you confidence and greater self-esteem. Apathy will cease to exist and you will be in charge of your life. You will be a man of high value and everything will flock to you. A man without a purpose will always be a victim of life.
  5. Help others – Take your attention off yourself and concentrate that energy on somebody else or an organization. Offer your time to a worthwhile course like a homeless shelter. Give what you can. Donate what you don’t need anymore to someone who does, things like old clothes, blankets and toys go a long way. It will make you feel good and will give you control and power, alienating the feelings of unworthiness and victimhood. Helping others makes us feel important as our contributions are noted and appreciated. Great men are the change that they want to see in the world, they contribute more than they consume and they offer a hand because it helps the world move forward.
  6. Meditation – Add meditation to your schedule. Mindfulness meditation helps with observing our thoughts and quieting down the internal monologue. Realize that you are not your thoughts and you can distance yourself from them and watch them go by. Thoughts are just spontaneous things that happen and you don’t have to identify with them. Meditation helps with emotional mastery as you will be able to regulate your emotions and resist the urge to lash out at people. This is important because we live in a world that is survival based dictated by the fight-or-flight organ the amygdala, and as such the skill to be able regulate and perceive other people’s emotions is priceless. A high value man is one with impeccable Emotional Intelligence. You get high emotional intelligence by being emphatic. Empathy is the ability to put yourself in other persons shoes. Meditation helps with caltivating empathy skills because you can slow things down and be reflective. A man who can’t control his emotions is deemed to be impulsive with no self control, a big turn-off for the opposite sex and other men will not respect you. Meditation helps you recognize negative self-talk so you can fix it and be better.

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Feel Good

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Feel Good

I believe Lira’s Feel Good is one of the greatest albums of all time. It has such a high energy level. It sounds like heaven and I mean that in a literal sense. It is an enlightened album that covers sophisticated subjects, subjects that calibrate at a high conscious level, subjects like; love, gratitude, self-realization, happiness and freewill. It explores the psychology of a young, bright woman who is optimistic about the world. She sees the world through the eyes of a child and sees novelty in everything. A woman who is so intelligent and knows her worth. She has such a strong, confident personality that it is contagious. It spreads through the listeners ears, hearts and finally life through melodious choruses and striking chords. It is the ultimate feel good album. On “Typical” she is dismissive of girls trying to get to her man, stating that “his not into the the typical”. This of course communicates that she is not “typical”, she hints at possessing something extra, something that makes her irresistible. She’s so confident in her self that she states “it doesn’t matter what you do, he still remains my baby love.” In this song, she understands her worth and communicates to the listener on a subtle level that we all have something about ourselves that is desirable and that we should love ourselves and not be concerned by the attributes of other people. This song is about self-love and appreciation because no one views themselves as “Typical”. It is a song brimming with confidence. It is assured and has plenty of attitude. Another song with attitude that shows self-worth and understanding is “Ixesha”, quite simply the chorus translates to “Stop wasting my time”, this eludes to a woman who has things to do. “Dance of life” is more celebratory, it literally sounds like a dance and this is enforced by the striking chords of the piano. The song is upbeat, festive and positive. It references dance styles like “the cha-cha” and the slow-dance. The whole song is a metaphor celebrating the life shared by Lira and her partner and she explains that life is like a ball in which they have to keep moving and dancing, implementing new and different styles at times. Life is fun and beautiful and she is just so happy and blessed that he is besides her dancing in the game of life. The song is bursting with imagination, originality and creativity – listening to it is pure bliss. “Ngiyazifela” explores the love he has for his lover. It’s not infatuation or romanticism. The love she has for him is pure and heart-warming. She states that she is proud and will patiently wait for him. That she loves him and wants to be with him forever. In the chorus she states that she can’t help loving him. That her love is automatic and natural. Her voice sounds sincere and honest. Her lyrics are like a love letter or a poem and she gives all of herself by delivering an amazing highnote that highlights that she would do anything for him. The song is an expression of love and it sounds so beautiful. On “Crush” she talks about someone she is smitten by. He is the object of her desire. He is the image of perfection and he just drives her crazy. The man is too good to be true and she is locked in a trance. She doesn’t know what to do. She wants to talk to him but she is scared to do so. She doesn’t want him to ignore her, she wants to be seen. For the first time in the album she questions herself and displays her insecurities, questioning “Do I even stand a change?” This results in apathy and she is left to just contemplate about him. The song ends in her stating that “his such a beautiful stranger”. “Crush” is descriptive and will leave you reminiscing. The song is nostalgic and golden. The type of song that has the ability to make your soul dance. “Twisted” is a more soulful song. It is intimate and thoughtful. It explores Liras feelings at depth about the relationship she is in. It is a reflective song and this is reflected by the horns and Lira senerading us. The song is mature like good wine. On “Ngiyabonga”, Lira expresses her gratitude to her family and friends. She is grateful for the gift of life and where she is in life. She is open and expressive. The song is joyous, festive and celebratory. On “Iris” she explores choices and being whatever you want to be. She covers freewill, an inner scorecard and an inner campus. The song sounds like liberation. It sounds like it’s setting is in nature with the trees and animals roaming around. The acoustic guitar solo is like a painting of nature with its mountains and lake. She pleads to the listener “You don’t have to be what people say”. “Iris” is about individuality and the process of self-realization. In the land of Iris is an ideal we should all aspire to be. This is my favorite song in the album. “Dumisa” is another song about gratitude. The song is minimalistic and contains mainly an acoustic guitar in its background while Lira takes center stage and serenades the listener. It is a soulful and harmonic song. “Feel it in me” is about intuition and an inner voice that we all have. It is about the will to life that pushes and propels you forward. It is a genetic code, a kind of destiny, the universe and even the God in you. The song states that everything is in you, that you are the source of everything in your life. The song is upbeat and vibrant. It contains drums that steal the show to turn it to a Fiesta. The song feels alive, youthful and celebratory. “Yeah, yeah, yeah” is a beautiful song dedicated to her mother. It is smooth and light with the only instrument being an organ or piano of somesort. It contains melodies that complimentary to the texture of the song. Lira is thankful to her mother for everything; the lessons, the sacrifices and the unconditional love, this highlights a recurring theme in the album – gratitude. The last song “Change the world” is highly optimistic and discusses how me and you can change the world. It is ambitious and Lira aims to solve the biggest problems in the world. She implores us to change individually so we can alter the world collectively. She states that if we can live as one nation then we change the world. By “live” she states love because it is it that unites. Love is patient, love is kind and by practicing love in our lives, we have a chance to change the world. The eternal optimist, something she is certain we can achieve. In the main theme of the album is choice and love. Lira states that we have a choice to want to be happy. The first song “Feel Good” is about a choice to lead a life that is meaningful. It is about saying yes to life in its totality, to embracing it and living it in a way that makes people grateful of your existence. The album is a great example of reason and pure unadulterated love. The album is a mirror of life, it embodies nature and the idea of life striving to be more. The album is free and natural. It is an album that can resonate with anyone because it is so philosophical in its lessons. The aim of philosophy is to teach and “Feel Good” teaches one how to live a fulfilled life; a life of gratitude and love. This is such a great album and I salute Lerato and her team for bringing this to the world. Lerato because I want to be closer to her, to her spirit. She is such an amazing artist, a brilliant creative who created one of the masterclasses of the ages.

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Nietzsche II

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Nietzsche II

I think that Friedrich Nietzsche is the most beautiful person that has ever lived. He was incredible! I love Nietzsche. He was very peculiar, so out the box, so passionate. There’s so much meaning in a Nietzsche sentence; he was so skilled at painting a picture with words. You could feel the passion in the words – he used exclamation marks like they were full stops. And with every sentence you feel your spirit getting uplifted, you feel yourself becoming a better person. He is such a gift to humankind. “What doesn’t kill you, will only make you stronger” oh my goodness! That is so Nietzsche. He believed to really exist is to manifest your talents and virtues – “Becoming the person you really are.” It’s so amazing that he had all these thoughts considering that he lived in isolation most of his life. He was cheerful and upbeat for a person who suffered so much. He lived alone and was beastly sick throughout his adult life. He was rejected by the woman he loved after he proposed after an equivalence of 2 dates. He was an observer of human nature and a big reader. In fact doctors warned Nietzsche that his excessive reading and writing would make him blind. One of the philosophers he loved reading was Arthur Schopenhauer – a German philosopher who was so dull. Schopenhauer’s philosophy in my opinion has no end goal, no practical usage or element that can transform your life. It’s basically “Life is suffering” or “Why bother doing anything at all”. Here is a passage from the philosophy of Schopenhauer: “But you could just as well call this mode of life the greatest folly: for that which in a moment ceases to exist, which vanishes as completely as a dream cannot be worth any serious effort.” Not that his philosophy isn’t useful, I read and enjoy his work so did Nietzsche. I am just surprised that it didn’t depress Nietzsche like it depresses me. He had the most remarkable spirit. He recycled Arthur Schopenhauer’s philosophy and made it better, made it practical.

He also read Socrates and Plato. He didn’t agree with their ideas at all. In his very own writings he would viciously attack and disregard their theories. In his philosophical works Plato once stated: “The purpose of this earthly existence is to liberate one’s soul from the confines of the body and have it return to the reality of forms.” You see Nietzsche didn’t believe in “True World Destinations”. A true world destination is to enter a state of eternal bliss, a heaven, paradise or utopia. Hence true world philosophies give meaning to life by representing it as a journey, a journey towards redemption, towards an arrival that will more than make up for the stress and discomfort of the travelling. Socrates believed that the world was metaphysical and that it was more than this world of senses. Nietzsche believed that this notion devalued the world that we live in – that it was an excuse, an order to retain no goal, no reason, no task for our earthy reality – an attempt to try and escape the suffering that’s imminent in the world.

Because life is suffering. That’s the irrefutable truth. It’s clear. It’s basically what God tells Adam and Eve, immediately after he kicks them out of paradise. “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:16-19. KJV)”

All the religions and philosophies of the world are in unison when it comes to this. Hence the inventions of “True World Destinations” to nullify nihilism. However, Nietzsche doesn’t believe in true world destinations – he believes in holding your destiny in your own hands by molding it and creating it to what you desire it to be. In a scathing attack to Plato on one of his books he said “Plato is a coward before reality, consequently he flees into the ideal.” Nietzsche believes the metaphysical world or true world destinations is a world fabricated solely from psychological needs. He believes to imagine another, more valuable world is an expression of hatred for the world that makes one suffer. Nietzsche believes in the idea of self-actualization –the concept of becoming who you are and that requires truth and self-inspection. For one to remain faithful to the earth and do not believe those who speak to you of other worldly hopes. Interestingly, Nietzsche doesn’t completely refute the existence of the metaphysical world – his on the fence on this one. He simply states that we should make the best out of the apparent world. A fair and justified point because no one has ever returned from heaven to tell the tale.

Nietzsche also loved art! He appreciated it. On one of his books “The birth of tragedy” he stated “The truly serious task of art is to save the eye from gazing into the horrors of the night and deliver the subject by the healing balm of illusion from the spasms of the agitations of the will.” My goodness! Another quote “For there to be art, for there to be any aesthetic doing and seeing, one physiological precondition is indispensable; Rausch! Rausch must first have enhanced the excitability of the whole machine: else there is no art! Rausch is a German world that means Intoxication and it basically means two things. Namely Rausch is the feeling of increased strength and fullness and the great stimulus to life! My goodness Nietzsche, you kill me every time. His words were so animated and full with life and passion!
Since Nietzsche believed in the concept of self-actualization and becoming the person you are meant to be. He had this beautiful phrase namely “Amor Fathi” which translates to “The love of fate” which means to accept the past with enthusiasm! To embrace the past, for it contained the building blocks that helped to create the person today – to move forward with a courageous spirit and great zeal. Nietzsche believed in individualism – for it is individuals who act! In one of his books he stated: Nobody can build the bridge for you to walk across the river of life, no one but you yourself alone. There are, to be sure, countless paths and bridges and demi-gods which would carry you across this river: but only at the cost of yourself; you would pawn yourself and lose. There is in the world only one way, on which nobody can go, except you: Where does it lead?” Nietzsche was provocative, he forced you to think and make decisions that benefited you as an individual. His philosophy taught you how to live as an individual in the world.

Nietzsche beautiful Friedrich Nietzsche predicted the Western world in the 21st Century. He predicted the death of God and the end of Christianity on his classic work “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”. “The end of Christianity – at the hands of its own morality which turns against the Christian God. The sense of truthfulness and mendaciousness of all Christian interpretations of the world and of history; rebounded from “God is truth” to the fanatical faith “All is false””. Oh Nietzsche you killing me! The start of widespread nihilism and trend of false prophets. He also talked about the herd in the 21st century where everybody wants the same thing, everyone is the same: whoever thinks otherwise goes voluntarily into the madhouse. And he gets around to “The Last Man” – “The condition of a people which has lost faith in its ancient history and has fallen into a restless and constant search for novelty after novelty”. Oh my goodness! Shocking! He perceived our world exactly. He hit the nail on top of the head. I mean the rife and outrageous consumerism, the inability of people to control their impulses and resort to instant gratification – the freely available pornography on the internet, Apps that enable us to get sex on the go, internet shopping, junk food on the go and a people who just want to be entertained all the time be it by Television, Social Media or Partying and excessive alcohol consumption because they want to be distracted.

Nietzsche described the last man as someone with no goals and no direction. An individual who is uncultured and has no sense of identity. A couch potato who has everything at a touch of a button. A person who is drowned out by the herd’s ideals and opinions. A useless person who’s life revolves around being entertained, excessive consumerism and watching online porn. A person who is merely born without roots. He states “The sense of well-being of a tree for its roots, the happiness to know oneself in a manner not entirely arbitrary and accidental, but someone who has grown out of a past as an heir, flower and fruit.” It’s incredible to read considering we are already there. So many people are passive in their activities that they don’t realize the destructive consequences they have. Internet companies like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are all vying for our attention. Our attention spans decreased from 15 seconds to a lousy 6 seconds in a period of 10 years. This is due to the fact that there’s too much information that we are trying to break down. Every time we are on the internet, data is extracted from us. Algorithms know us better than we know ourselves. We spend an average of 4 hours on the internet every day bombarded by people’s thoughts and opinions that we lose sense of who we are. We lose our voice like we are in a stadium with the final of the world at play. Everything is readily available on the internet. Seduction has become a dead art. Nihilism is at a highest as religious institutions are losing their grip as a number of charismatics are forming their own cults and religious entities. The age of AI (Artificial Intelligence) is gaining momentum relieving humans of their daily tasks – the effect is felt worldwide. The last man epidemic is becoming rife by the minute. In his works Nietzsche stated: “When an individual no longer feels like they are the collaborator, let alone the center of becoming nihilism becomes a very real possibility.” With the emergence of AI humanity is in trouble in more ways than one.

Luckily Friedrich Nietzsche has a solution for this by becoming the “Übermensch” which translates to Superman or overman. “I teach you the Superman. Man is something that should be overcome. What have you done to overcome him? All gods are dead: now we want the Superman to live.” Übermensch or Superman is an ideal to aspire for – it is the hero in your soul that you have to keep holly. It is the will to want to do something, to be something! It requires direct self-observation and honest self-appraisal, it requires history for the past flows on within us in a hundred waves. It needs bravery. It requires being individualistic in your actions. Located in every single person is a seed of unrealized potential. It requires greatness. The concept of greatness entails being noble, wanting to be by oneself, being different, standing alone and having to live independently. It can be shown that every living thing does everything it can not to preserve itself but to become more! Being the “Übermensch” entails being MORE! Protect your mind! Improve your mind! Write down your goals and get busy with them – live, be content with who you are, strive, flourish! Our most primal inclinations are to be Gods – be God! Human existence is a curiosity – explore! Nietzsche stated in his book: “For the heights that one scales when one is able to look into the dreadful abysses of life, to experiment with the most painful thoughts and the most extreme form of nihilism and still be able to emerge from such depths and affirm life – saying YES to it in its totality is arguably the highest state a human being can attain! “

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Nietzsche

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Nietzsche

Nietzsche’s philosophy was grounded in psychology and human nature, he was a master of human nature. He was a big fan of Arthur Schopenhauer but didn’t agree with the tone of his work because it centered around persimism and nihilism, the idea of why bother since life is meaningless. Nietzsche’s work is an answer to Schopenhauer’s work, it is positive, practical and leads to a life of self-actualization. He was a genius, a man ahead of his time. He correctly predicted the 21st century, this is incredible for a man who was born in the 19th century. I see his observations playing out in life. He saw that the human spirit/soul would be under threat. He saw the decline of Christianity and the rise of nihilism. He saw the reliance of pills, the Soma that Huxley referred to on Brave New World. He saw the depression and society anxiety sweeping the West. He saw the loss of morals, ethics and meaning. He saw that man would be passive and moved by novelty after novelty. We see it today, man would rather sit on the couch, eat potato chips, consume pornography, order fast food that will be delivered to him at his convenience, be entertained by Netflix and repeat next day. Man doesn’t work on himself anymore, he is comfortable and doesn’t feel the need to act on his dreams.

Man is controlled by pleasure, by the dopamine inducing likes on social media, views, sex and everything you can get by pushing a button. There is no process anymore, everything is expedient or prepared in the microwave. Still, Nietzsche has solutions for the modern man. He preaches a life of self-realization and being the best that you can be. He preaches gratitude for life, he preaches life-affirming prescriptions. I understand why the Nazi’s adopted his work and made it theirs. Nietzsche’s work was powerful and centered on the individual being the best. Hitler wanted Germany to be the best in the world. However, Nietzsche’s work didn’t agree with Nazi ideology and we shouldn’t affiliate the two together. Nietzsche’s sisters are the guilty party in this dynamic but that’s a topic for another day.

Nietzsche’s works were inspiring for the individual, statements like “Amo Fati” direct translation, the love of fate – Love everything about your life and be grateful for the gift of life. Don’t wish you were somebody else, be content with your life. Be present and don’t worry about things you cannot control, leave that to God and the Universe. He also preached being the “Ubermench” which translates to Superman or Overman – work on yourself constantly and strive to be better everyday. Progress, show up, make the best of every moment and be the best that you can be. Be better than a consumer, create and build things and never let novelty sway you. His most famous quote, “God is dead” which can be interpreted as be accountable for your own life, be responsible, no excuses, do what you can, no one is coming out to save you.

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Role of the arts

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Role of the arts

I have a picture of Van Goahs artwork as my wallpaper. It is a picture of a skull on the table. I have it as a wallpaper to remind me of my imminent death. It gives me solace and helps me put things into proper perspectives. It reminds me to not be passive, it reminds me that my time is limited and that I must do everything I can to be the man I want to become. It keeps me grounded and reminds me to not take life for granted, to be grateful for everything that I have and get better where I can. It helps me treat people well, to be compassionate and understanding because we all share this common ground. We are all born into a world we don’t understand and we don’t know the rules, we all doing our best with what we were given. No one knows anything real about this world, the Billionaires don’t know, the scientists don’t know, the philosophers don’t know, everyone is just speculating and it’s scary.

Looking at this picture everyday gives me hope because I know I can be anything I set my mind to. There’s hope, provided I work to develop myself constantly. That’s the role of the arts, to inspire, to motivate and to give you solace and peace. Art can capture the moment in a way reality can’t because it’s always fleeting, reality is an illusion, it vanishes right before your eyes can catch it, while art is permanent, forever. Art has memories, it has sadness, happiness, laughter, excitement, horror, wonder and hope. Art is how we make sense of the world, art is everything – literally. We need music, paintings, poetry and drama as a means to imitate life so we can make sense of it. Art represents expression and creation. Art teaches how to see, it is culture, perception and reality.

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