Tuesday, October 2, 2007
at
1:32 PM
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“The life we live will always lead us. And we pray that you will never leave us. It’s the price we pay. I guess that’s why my grandma sang, we all need Jesus” Nina Simone also featured in Misunderstood by Common. Beautifully re-mastered.
I still remember the first time I heard that song by Nina Simone some years ago and I realize now that I never really appreciated the words in it. Nobody delivers words like the great Nina Simone and still I missed it. I guess there’s the right time in life for us to hear and more importantly understand certain things. I remember as a teenager being told so many things I just wasn’t ready for. But at least they stuck and when I was ready, I remembered them and they served me well.
Growing up is an amazing experience but also an equally difficult one. The choices we are faced with are usually choices we are not ready for and only fully understand them once we are on the inside. I always say, that when you leave school, you get asked what you want to do or what you want to be. I’ve interviewed so many teenagers who tell you with so much conviction what they want to be. What always amazes me is just how much they don’t know what they are getting themselves into. How many people do you hear saying they want to do Marketing coz they like they want to make TV adverts. Then go ask marketing pros and they’ll tell you that one can run an entire marketing plan and execute without ever making a TV or radio advert. The question we ask of young people is completely wrong. We ask them to make choices that we aren’t capable of making. The question should be more from an early age, “What drives you? What are you good at and what do you like doing?” We should take this info to guide our kids into the right careers. Then we would be asking kids to make well equipped decisions.
I also remember my naïve view of the world. And everyday that I grow up, I see more things that taint my views. I see choices that I thought were easy to make taunting me. I see choices that other people made, being clearer now. I have tons more respect for our elders. How many people have you judged for mistakes made? It’s only now that I understand. I say this now coz I look at a lot of people and I respected and looked up to at how they’ve almost all disappointed me. I also realize that I modeled them as perfect which is impossible. Why did Zizou head butt the asshole, why Kobe cheat on his wife, why did Msholozi knowingly and without protection sleep with an HIV positive woman, why did we take Pierre Issa to the ’98 world cup, why are building stadiums faster than we build houses for our poor, suffering people in this country, why some starve when there’s enough to go around, why do our leaders value money more than leading their people, how can the American people vote for George W, twice?
I guess it’s easy to judge another man until you’ve walked a mile in another man’s shoes. The bible says, let he without sin cast the first stone. We make mistakes, we fail, we fall. This we do because, we are human. After all, to err is human. I like to believe that we are all good souls with good intentions. That’s why the great Nina Simone said, “Please don’t let me be misunderstood. I’m just a soul, whose intentions are good”
I still remember the first time I heard that song by Nina Simone some years ago and I realize now that I never really appreciated the words in it. Nobody delivers words like the great Nina Simone and still I missed it. I guess there’s the right time in life for us to hear and more importantly understand certain things. I remember as a teenager being told so many things I just wasn’t ready for. But at least they stuck and when I was ready, I remembered them and they served me well.
Growing up is an amazing experience but also an equally difficult one. The choices we are faced with are usually choices we are not ready for and only fully understand them once we are on the inside. I always say, that when you leave school, you get asked what you want to do or what you want to be. I’ve interviewed so many teenagers who tell you with so much conviction what they want to be. What always amazes me is just how much they don’t know what they are getting themselves into. How many people do you hear saying they want to do Marketing coz they like they want to make TV adverts. Then go ask marketing pros and they’ll tell you that one can run an entire marketing plan and execute without ever making a TV or radio advert. The question we ask of young people is completely wrong. We ask them to make choices that we aren’t capable of making. The question should be more from an early age, “What drives you? What are you good at and what do you like doing?” We should take this info to guide our kids into the right careers. Then we would be asking kids to make well equipped decisions.
I also remember my naïve view of the world. And everyday that I grow up, I see more things that taint my views. I see choices that I thought were easy to make taunting me. I see choices that other people made, being clearer now. I have tons more respect for our elders. How many people have you judged for mistakes made? It’s only now that I understand. I say this now coz I look at a lot of people and I respected and looked up to at how they’ve almost all disappointed me. I also realize that I modeled them as perfect which is impossible. Why did Zizou head butt the asshole, why Kobe cheat on his wife, why did Msholozi knowingly and without protection sleep with an HIV positive woman, why did we take Pierre Issa to the ’98 world cup, why are building stadiums faster than we build houses for our poor, suffering people in this country, why some starve when there’s enough to go around, why do our leaders value money more than leading their people, how can the American people vote for George W, twice?
I guess it’s easy to judge another man until you’ve walked a mile in another man’s shoes. The bible says, let he without sin cast the first stone. We make mistakes, we fail, we fall. This we do because, we are human. After all, to err is human. I like to believe that we are all good souls with good intentions. That’s why the great Nina Simone said, “Please don’t let me be misunderstood. I’m just a soul, whose intentions are good”
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2 comments:
Well said...
Would you say then, you can only judge another person by their intentions?
That is, if you do good. Do you do it for the sake of doing good, or the 'expected' rewards for doing the deed.
Talk about leaving. When my Grandmother 'left' us all I could think about was: "She loved, me so much - but what am I going to do with all this love" - I guess it is true how it is said that God is Love (and we're made in his image)...
I feel you. however let's not forget that it is also said that, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Just coz your heart is all about good intentions doesn't mean that is absolves you of your responsibilies to make sure your outcomes are good too.
Sometimes it's not good enough to just say, I mean't well. At the end I'm saying that it's not good for us to be silent and not speak about issues in our lives and society that affect us. We must just be careful to fight the issues and not the person. It's also a lesson for me I guess. I often criticise politians. I should be vocal about issues and leave the people to be. I don't know what its like to run a country so I should not be judgemental of the people doing so. My focus shouls be on the issues I'm not happy with and leave the people responsible to be. It's a tough one.
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