Category Archives: Thoughts

The Storyteller

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By Veronica Nkwocha

Storytelling:

From time immemorial, Man has always found ways to tell the story of life as it happened using rock paintings, folklore, genealogy, dance, staged plays and writing. Art imitates life and poets, writers, painters, griots, actors etc. have always found creative ways of expressing the dynamics of the world around them. They hold a mirror to the interactions and preserve for future generations, a unique insight into what life is like during their time.

As long as life carries on unabated the ‘Storyteller’ will reflect society in its raw form; the good, the bad and the ugly.

Any prescriptive boundaries to cage creativity does some harm to the integrity of the ‘picture’ of our world. Is there family, love, pain, joy, heartbreak, redemption, religion, philosophies? Are there wars, deceit, trials, triumphs etc.? Until we can edit life and make it pristine clean, Art will imitate life especially for the sake of those who will ponder about our world in the future as we do today, paintings on rocks by ancient man.

Transforming Your Corner of the Globe

Guildford Cathedral 1

Transforming Your Corner of the Globe 

By Veronica Nkwocha

A tall order; to literally transform the world into the thing of beauty most of us dream it to be in our hearts. Half the time, one despairs about the many problems and the difficulties in matching them to much needed solutions. The genius is in finding creative answers that will cause a child to walk lighter of the burden of being born into poverty, a mother to actually live through childbirth, access to advice on rights and obligations, medicine, food, water, safe shelters or for books that will light up the eyes of a curious child and the list goes on, endless.

This week, 1-7 June, 2013 is ‘Volunteers Week’ in England. Here’s an excerpt and a link from ‘Volunteering England’

“Every year, over 20 million people across England and the UK volunteer, donating more than 100 million hours to their communities every week. It has been estimated that the economic value of this activity is worth in excess of £40 billion to our economy. Services and initiatives that are vital to the running of our country simply wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for volunteers”.

It would be impossible to access much of the needed expertise and care were it not for individuals donating their time  for causes dear to them. There are other benefits to volunteering; it is a ready source for those seeking work experience, it builds community cohesion and creates time tested channels for efficient solutions to some of the many socio-economic problems that would otherwise carry on unabated.

A robust culture of volunteering can help get us a step closer to seeing the world we dream about. It may not create the painting of our dreams but it would be a vital imprint on that blank canvass, every colour a worthy step towards creating that masterpiece.

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A Little Bit of the Other Side

A Little Bit of the Other Side

By Veronica Nkwocha

Tis the nature of religion that the adherents must believe wholeheartedly, without a shadow of doubt, that only they hold, solely, the Truth on Life, Redemption and the Hereafter.  The different religions are not agreed on this Truth, therefore, it is the nature of religion that adherents of the different religions exist in their own bubble, consumed by their own belief/concept of truth quite exclusive of other religions.

There is no meeting of minds, there are no grey areas or shadows for that will require diming a few lights on the absoluteness of their own truth. Those who find a middle ground must look beyond the integrity of their religion’s Truth, rising above it and clothing themselves with compassion for those of (more…)