As a child I loved to play a game known as “snakes and ladders” and I bet the present generation of children have no idea what this game is all about. Times indeed change and we grow older, let go of our older habits, face new challenges and change our outlook and thought about life. Well, why would I remember this game? Hoping that I am not way out of line, I would like to compare this game to life itself. In this game for those who know it is all about playing on a board with squares numbered one to 100 and inter-connected with snakes and ladders. Logically after rolling the dice and a player lands at the tongue of a snake, he/she will be swallowed backwards to the number at the tail of the snake. However, should the dice roll land at the bottom of a ladder, you will be lucky to be taken up the rings of the ladder to a square with a higher value? (I hope you get a hang of it!).

Isn’t life similar to this board game? The decisions we make represent the dice roll since we never know which choice would lead us to a moment of glory and which one would lead us to the bottom of the abyss. I have often found myself in such situations whereby I hope that the choice I make will lead me towards the mark, 100 only to be disappointed and be swallowed by a serpent. Many of those struggling with addictions, bad relationships and habits that they desperately want to rid often get disappointed when they roll their dice of life only to be dragged back to the position where they came from or find themselves in far worse positions than they were originally. The game continues and very few make it to “100”but we should never lose hope of always trying to reach what goal we aim at. On a good day we may land at the bottom of the ladder which will take us to a better place whereas on a bad day we are swallowed by a serpent back to the beginning.

Some seek the help of lady luck, whilst some hope for karma leaving some of us hoping for a miracle from the supernatural being. But still we rise up and keep on trying. We dust ourselves and try again, roll the dice and hope the square we land in is a good one. My comparison may be way off but at least it’s my opinion on this day. Tomorrow I may change my thinking but tonight, I would advise you to take courage and roll the dice, the goal is 100! And you always have a right to be wrong, but learn the trick and play to win

Having walked in both one of the poorest slums in this world, in my motherland Kenya and one of the richest streets in the western world, I suddenly become to aware of the fact that you can never ever have enough to be happy. Some may argue that what I say lacks evidence but I am merely sharing my opinion tonight. One could walk through bay street, Yonge and through the richest malls in the western world and rarely encounters a simple smile. The deathly silence that envelope these places of luxury could creep up your skin when all you see are people racing out to go about their daily business in dull grey coats. The heavy makeup on the faces of women and sometimes men during the brightest days of summer have crippled their desires to crack a smile. Beautiful women have lost the desire to look at their naturally beautiful skin and can only identify themselves with long lashes and heavy duty make-up and when they try to msile, the luster of it is lost.

 Kibera, on the other hand has one of the poorest populations in the world, with no clean water, proper transportation, and clean food and for entertainment folks locally brew their alcohol (which has often turned lethal). Despite the pathetic conditions they live, you will definitely find people smiling and children playing, men sitting out with their neighbors to talk of the daily struggles. Peals of laughter emanate from the scanty shelters in the chilly mornings and darkest of nights an occurrence that you rarely see even amongst friends sitting at moxie’s for a beer or two. Isn’t that phenomenal?

Those who have nothing to take pride in are much happier than those who have accumulated stuff in their apartments. We keep accumulating stuff and even buy space to store our junk whereas some people have no space for their children to sleep in. When did our credit card debts, mortgages, car payments and cost of our “stuff” rob us of our happiness? Many throwing away their curved screen TVs for a flat screen when the stations/channels are still the same. I am not excluded from this disease that is slowly killing humanity. We are plagued by super bugs, allergies and diseases due to congestion and stress we face in our daily partaking. Isn’t it fair enough to say that accumulation of stuff is not source of happiness? We may have little but when we realize that a simple smile, handshake, embrace and even a friendly hand to our neighbors surpasses accumulation of stuff that fill our garage and ward robes, we indeed become cheerful individuals.

So let’s spread the cheer and live it up. Share the joy that has been stifled by our greed and when we have in surplus, let’s give it out to the less fortunate. Joy is complete when it’s shared

I haven’t written for a while now, no special reason, no excuse other than pure procrastination. It is the act procrastination itself that my theme for this evening’s piece originates from. We have often taken for granted the actual act of living and waited for another day when our dreams come true. The perfect future when our destination will be reached and not paying heed to the wise saying of “the most important aspect of life is the journey, not the destination”. Expressing dissatisfaction in what we have at hand and constantly demanding what other others have. Right from birth children have been brought up to personalize their belongings to “mine”, and even simple objects such as toys have often been referred to as “my car”, “my doll” est. Isn’t that the source of greed in all humanity? Doesn’t it start from parents forgetting to teach their children the value of giving and sharing?

Recently, I had a talk with a friend of mine who likened our daily lives to that of being in a dark room with endless walls. We grope for support in the dark searching from wall to wall, hoping to catch a glimpse of what we call happiness. Humanity is blinded and cannot feel that true happiness lives inside each and every one of us. The darkness all around us has led to reach for the nearest wall which could be alcohol, the next a circle of friends, the next could be love and the next could be our jobs. Every time we reach for the wall and start to examine its contours, we realize that we couldn’t possibly fathom the beginning or the end and we simply walk on until we reach the corner and realize there is yet another wall. Who knows, the new wall could be better than the first! And so the story goes, we search blinded by the darkness of our lust, greed, envy and insatiable curiosity.

It doesn’t matter the people we bump across in our blind walk to finding the right wall to lean on. And I don’t mean to say curiosity and working to constantly improve ourselves and our situation is bad but what if it takes control over our lives. What happens we start living for the new wall that we will reach for? Do we ever take time to consider the possibility of being in a room full of light? But the questions stands, is the light from within us or from without? Perhaps as an individual it’s wise to be still for one moment and feel the light inside of you and reach for it from its source. Only then can we be sure of having an ever present light to illuminate our dark rooms called life. With this light we can see the right walls to lean on and explore. The light will likewise help us read the writings that we were initially blinded to.

So why do we keep searching for more? Why do we teach the same to our kids that life is all about “me”? The saying may be old and could be it was taught only at my kindergarten, but isn’t it so obvious to see where charity begins? Where love originates? The source of sharing our abilities, possessions and having the discernment to stop when have had enough?

And yet still, from wall to wall, we go searching, groping, and caressing hoping to find the right one. In the darkness that plagues humanity, we definitely stand no chance. The only chance we have for survival is when we stop and reach for the torch inside us. That’s where light comes from, and happiness cannot be found externally, we have to search for it inside us. When we finally find it, only then we can share it with others. For what you have today, learn to share for the joy is in giving and not expecting anything in return. When it’s time to move to the next wall, let the light lead the way!