Goodbye to smed11!

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11.

Wishing all the smed11's best of luck in the future.

Eish another Wacko Jacko!

For some strange reason black people always think that being light in complexion means that you are beautiful.  Hayi, Mshoza I disagree! Michael Jackson turned himself into a patch-patch face from being a handsome black man, just because of fame. I respect the man because he is one of the greatest musicians of our time, but saddened by the choice he made to bleach himself.

I am just scared of the choices kids will make, because they think being lighter makes you hotter.Love yourself the way God has created you, because you are Gods perfect creation!

Of all the forms of courage the ability to laugh is the most …

 A sense of humor is, simply put, the ability to be amused. Most people have one, and are able to laugh at jokes, humorous situations, and a variety of other potential sources of amusement. In humans, it develops at a very early age, and is often considered to be a vital part of human development. Some animals also appear to find things funny, with the ability to enact jokes and comedies of their own.
The sense of humor appears to be an important part of human survival. The ability to laugh can dispel tension, for example, while an understanding of complex situations can help people to make good decisions. People with a well-developed sense of humor appear to be happier in psychological studies, and some are healthier as well, suggesting that it may just be good for you.

Benefits of laughing:


1. When you make fun of yourself, you disempower those who would make fun of you and disarm possible confrontations.

2. Laughter dissolves tension, stress, anxiety, irritation, anger, grief, and depression. Like crying, laughter lowers inhibitions, allowing the release of pent-up emotions. After a hearty bout of laughter, you will experience a sense of well-being. Simply put, he who laughs, lasts. After all, if you can laugh at it, you can live with it. Remember, a person without a sense of humor is like a car without shock absorbers.

3. Medical researches have found that laughter boosts the immune system. The study of how behavior and the brain affect the immune system is called psychoneuroimmunology. Though still in its infancy, this science is rapidly gaining much attention as mankind strives to understand the mind-body relationship.

4. Laughter reduces pain by releasing endorphins that are more potent than equivalent amounts of morphine.

5. Humor helps integrate both hemispheres of our brain, for the left hemisphere is used to decipher the verbal content of a joke while the right hemisphere interprets whether it is funny or not.

6. Laughter adds spice to life; it is to life what salt is to a hard-boiled egg.

7. Develop your sense of humor and you will find you are more productive, a better communicator, and a superior team player.

8. Everyone loves someone who can make them laugh. The more you share your sense of humor, the more friends you will have.

9. Humor brings the balance we need to get through the turbulence of life comfortably.

10. Laughter is even equivalent to a small amount of exercise. It massages all the organs of the body, according to Dr. James Walsh.

11. A sense of humor can help you accept the inevitable, rise to any challenge, handle the unexpected with ease, and come out of any difficulty smiling.

The statute of limitations has expired on most of our childhood trauma

"The stories of our lives, far from being fixed narratives, are under constant revision. The slender threads of causality are rewoven and reinterpreted as we attempt to explain to ourselves and others how we became the people we are. Certainly we are shaped by them and must learn from them if we are to avoid the repetitious mistakes that make us feel trapped in a long-running drama of our own authorship. Because acceptance of responsibility for what we do and how we feel requires an act of will, it is natural to blame people in our pasts, especially our parents, for not doing a better job. No child escapes unscathed from parental abuse or neglect. It is important to go about examining this sympathetically, in a way that emphasizes learning but rejects the assumption that even the most awful experiences define our lives forever. All of us have endured events and losses about which we had no choice. These include the families into which we were born, the way we were treated as children, the deaths and divorces of those close to us. It is not hard to make a case that we have been adversely affected by events and people outside our control. The idea that we have to sit and talk about the problems we face and the things we have tried that have failed implies a slow and unwieldy process that has at its core an uncomfortable assumption: We are responsible for most of what happens to us."
 

Only bad things happen quickly

 Bad things happen too quick! Bad things always happen in just a blink of an eye!  One minute you on a bus ride and the next minute the bus crashes and you wake up in hospital. Bad things never warn you that they going to occur, just a twinkling of an eye changes your life forever.

In this day and age playing it safe is the best method, although it doesn't guarantee that one is completely out of danger it however lowers the risk of bad things happening to you. As we prepare for the upcoming festive season holidays let us all take heed of the road rules.
ARRIVE ALIVE!

Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid

Being chicken does not help ,because people will always tramp on your feet and you will never progress in life. Ever thought of speaking out when the cashier at a supermarket barely says a word and doesn't say hello or goodbye. If you never complain about bad service and always settle for less then you will always remain a victim!


One needs to be bold and set out of one's shell! No should be no, enough should be enough! Never let people abuse you and just keep quiet. Your boldness could lead to mighty forces giving you a meal on the house or an apology voucher for bad service. Dare to be bold!

The last lecture

Apple’s boss Steve Jobs died in October 2011 after a long illness .

 Jobs’ lecture in 2005 at Stanford is one of the most inspiring lectures to be remembered by in his life. It is thought provoking but inspiring advice about creativity, mortality, and finding purpose in life.

 "He tells three very candid, uncharacteristically Steve Jobs stories about life, love and death from a guy who's biological mother wasn't able to parent him, was booted from the company he created and battles cancer. Anyone stuck in a miserable job — or anyone trying to figure out what to do with their life.

In his speech Jobs tells the students, "you have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever." The dots you encounter in life, he said, will eventually connect. "Believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leaves you off the well-worn path. And that will make all the difference."

 http://youtu.be/D1R-jKKp3NA

How do Zulus explain polygamy?

South African president Jacob Zuma, on a visit to the UK, has been criticised by some in the British press for having three wives. But while the practice raises eyebrows in the West, how is it justified in his home country?

Trade talks and his nation's hosting of the World Cup are on the agenda for Jacob Zuma's three-day state visit to the UK. But interest has mainly focused on his consort - Thobeka Madiba, the latest woman to join his polygamous marriage.

In the UK, to be married to more than one person at a time is illegal. But the Zulu ethnic group, of which Mr Zuma is part, practises polygamy by tradition. This clash in attitudes dates from the 19th Century, when white missionaries preached that conversion to Christianity entailed divorcing one's "extra" wives, says Ndela Ntshangase, a lecturer in the school of Zulu studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

And British colonisers "pushed [monogamy] down the throats of black people" through taxes that rose for each wife, and land allocations with insufficient space for polygamous family units, says Mr Ntshangase.

However, polygamy in South Africa is still a fact of life for many. While urban Zulu communities have found it difficult to uphold the arrangement, those in the rural homelands have maintained the tradition. Muslim populations and other cultural groups in South Africa also practice polygamy.

While some in the British press have seized on Mr Zuma's attitudes to marriage, he defends his private life as part of his culture.

"When the British came to our country they said everything we are doing was barbaric, was wrong, inferior in whatever way," he told Johannesburg's Star newspaper this week. "I don't know why they are continuing thinking that their culture is more superior than others."

So how do they explain the tradition?

Boy-girl balance

In southern Africa, the population skews slightly female, says Mr Ntshangase, who says the male population is partly depleted by "unnatural deaths" in war and other dangerous activities.

"If you say it's one-to-one, you will have a big chunk of ladies who aren't going to have husbands. What do you do with them then?"  But this gender imbalance argument holds no sway for Protas Madlala, an independent political analyst, who declares it "unsophisticated".  Elders also use polygamy to warn young men that they could lose out on love if they don't behave.

"In order to win a girl, you must be a good boy," says Mr Ntshangase. "Responsible young men become responsible husbands."

In Zulu culture, "every family member must work for the betterment of the family". And a way to improve a family's status and income is to add extra members, he says, and adds that additional wives can be particularly advantageous in an agricultural society.

And polygamy offers women a degree of economic well-being they might not otherwise attain, says Mr Madlala.

"Polygamy fits into the socio-economic inequalities we have. It gives [the wives] insurance of sorts."

But the theory that polygamy favours equality for women holds little water for Leslie Mxolisi Dikeni, a research associate at the University of Pretoria.

"On paper there is total emancipation of women, but traditional forms of polygamy are not allowing for that," he says. Even in so-called equal polygamous marriages, there's innate gender imbalance between the husband and his wives.

Spectre of Aids

Some of those who support polygamy believe a monogamous system would mean more unattached women, who would then have affairs with married men, says Mr Ntshangase. He claims that in a polygamous marriage, a woman will share her husband instead of getting divorced. "[Divorce] is another type of polygamous marriage. It's just not happening simultaneously or concurrently."

But polygamy does not stop men and women straying. South Africans who are uneasy about their president's lifestyle point to the fact that he recently fathered an illegitimate child, says Mr Madlala.

Nor does it necessarily mean an end to separation - Mr Zuma has already been through one divorce.

Even though polygamy is a part of its traditions, there is a new reality that raises questions about whether this lifestyle has a place in modern South Africa. More than 5 million people in South Africa are HIV positive - the most of any country in the world.

"South Africa is almost the Aids capital of the world," Mr Madlala says. "Our president is not really a good model." 

By Elizabeth Diffin
BBC News Magazine

Watch this space...

To be continued......

The Lords Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

My favourite Cat in the Hat book

My favourite Cat in the Hat book is Green Eggs and Ham; because  it is a childhood classic and a must read.  The story is told wholly through images and rhyming dialogue. There is no descriptive narrative or analysis. There are two main characters: The first is unnamed, the second is named Sam. Throughout the book, Sam tries to encourage the first unnamed character to try green eggs and ham, though he meets with little success. The unnamed character refuses to taste the dish, insisting that he would not like it. Sam then goes through an assortment of locations (house, car, tree, train, box, boat) and dining partners (fox, goat, mouse) trying to persuade the unnamed character to eat. The conclusion of the tale occurs when the unnamed character, standing in shallow water after a train/ship wreck, surrounded by various people and beasts, finally gives in and tries the green eggs and ham on the condition that Sam leaves him alone. Upon doing so, he realizes that he does, in fact, like green eggs and ham, and would eat them in all the places and with all the dining partners suggested throughout the book. The story closes with the character thanking Sam-I-am for his persistence.