I long to accomplish great and noble tasks
I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to
accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble.
The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes,
but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.
- Helen Keller
The Rastafarian Christmas
Filed under: Inspire & motivate, News you won't find elsewhere, Religion, Spirituality for such a time, Topical issues
The following articel was originally published in the 24th December 2006 edition of The Sunday Mirror, Harare. The video depicts an Ethiopian hymn celebrating the Birth of Christ.
በተሳብ ቂዱስ The Blessed Virgin Maryam and Her Son
Lidät – the Rastafarian Christmas
Christmas as the saying goes, means different things to different people.
Even so, being the only Rastafarian in my wide circle of friends and family, my way of marking this occasion remains something of an enigma. I get many cards, and presents, but I never return the gesture. I also decline to attend Christmas parties. Then, in the first week of January, those of my people that are online get e-cards with the Amharic Greeting, Inkwan lalidätu baal badahna adarrasaw (lit. “Congratulations, to the Birth of Him the feast in safety He has brought you”)
And so, it emerges that Rastafarians do celebrate the Birth of Christmas, except that it’s not called Christmas and it’s not celebrated on the 25th of December. It is called Lidät, an Amharic word meaning “Birthday”. Because the Amharic language has its own alphabet, you will sometimes find this spelt as Ledet or Lidet as there is no standard transliteration in Western letters.
Already, it is clear from the name that the origin of this custom is Ethiopia, the spiritual home of Rastafari. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church, one of the oldest Christian Churches in the world, has been celebrating the Birth of Christ on the 7th of January long before European Christendom even came up with its own version of Christmas. In the light of the on-going controversy about the exact date, let me hasten to mention that the Orthodox Church does not claim that this was the day Jesus was born. Rather, the Feast was instituted by the Three Kings who arrived in Bethlehem on this day and paid homage to the Infant Christ.
“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him,” Gospel of Matthew 2:1-2.
Further testament of the particular importance of Lidät is found in a prophecy of the visit if these Three Kings, dating from the time of the Patriarch Adam, who was given their gifts as a consolation after his expulsion from Eden. Read more
Use your talents
Filed under: How Zimbabwe can be better, Inspire & motivate
Its so amazing that each and every one of us has something peculiar to us. Think about the fact that of the seven billion people that are inhabiting the world today, there is no single person who has finger prints like anyone else’s. That indeed is a miracle, a mystery that we can never be able to decode.
But thats not what I want to share with you fellow Zimbabweans. What I want to share with you is the peculiar thing we all posess- different talents.
One person has a very good voice whilst the next person is a powerful business administrator who can turn businesses right side up. We all have different talents, our strengths, things that we are good at.
I recently did an interview with one of the country’s upcoming musician who at a tender age of 19 has released an album, won numerous awards and perfomed in the United States. The question that he evoked in me was how at a tender age he has done what others have failed to do? I expected an arrogant statement, ‘I have worked hard for it.’ No, I was in for a surprise, ‘I have concentrated on my talent and did things that I liked doing,’ was his simple answer Read more
Student life
Filed under: How Zimbabwe can be better, Inspire & motivate, Zimbabwean diaries
The sun sets so beautifully into the horizon. The ordinary person marvels at the wonder of the glory of God, yet to the student who is at a university that is about to close its doors, who slept on an empty stomach yesterday, the setting of the sun does not signify anything. All he askes is a simple innocent question, ‘Is God mverled at my pain?’
This year I am certainly praising God for making me able to pay US$2500 for my college tuition which with current situation that our country is in is a fortune. As I praise God I know there is someone who is cursing the blessing of the burning syndrome that made his poor parents afford to send him to one of Zimbabwe’s most expensive universities. Why shouldn’t he, when his school fees drained everything from their coofers that all they could manage to give their son for school was a little forex which today seems to be also affected by the sporadic runaway inflation that has brougth our country down? Read more
Obama’s win should make Africa stop & ponder
Filed under: How Zimbabwe can be better, Inspire & motivate, Politics
Right here in Africa we have our own Obamas, men and women who if you hear or read their thoughts you feel inspired to change all the wrongs in your nation. Such men and women if given the chance to realize their vision of Africa could change Africa to be a nation to reckon with.
All that Africa needs to do is discover such charismatic leaders and groom them to takeover leadership democratically at a later stage. But then Africa, being Africa instead of supporting such people so that they can bloom to their full potential feel threatened by them and so frustrate them or spread lies that undermine them. Usually the end result is such men of potential deciding to immigrate to other countries were their intelligence can be appreciated. This explains the brain-drain Africa experiences, year after year.
One such inspirational and charismatic leader whom we can compare to Obama is Jeremiah Kure; he is a professional working in the corporate governance arena, based in Johannesburg. He is the founder of the Heights We Must Climb movement and a firm believer in a progressive Africa; an Africa not tied to her stereotyped past but one that is steadily reclaiming her dignity and potential in the global space. He is 33 years old. Read more
The source of selflessness
Filed under: Family, Friendship, Community, Inspire & motivate, Spirituality for such a time
Hello!
Phanuel Muverengwi here…
I hope that I find you in the best of health.
In my previous installment I asked the question: WHY DO YOU WANT TO LIVE LONG? I argued in the installment that there are people who live long, in terms of number of years, yet their long lives benefit nobody. I also argued that some people have lived very short lives but managed to bring lots of benefits to others in that short space of time. I might just as well argue that the short lives lived by such people are in reality longer than the long lives lived by some, in terms of value.
I went on to state that a truly rewarding life is one spent in selflessness, not selfishness. Before departing, I asked you a question which goes, “What is the single attribute without which one cannot be selfless?” I hope that you now have the answer to this question. Read more
