Life Uncommon

remoteImage-25This morning I read Liar (Part One ) by Sweetiegirlz (Thanks Pat) and this song started  playing in my head, over and over again, it played.  The lyrics are that which I wish I could sing to all children who find themselves in scary times, times of abuse, poverty, sadness and horror. Instead I sing it to the world in hope that it hears me, hears the message of hope, of hanging on and fighting for another day.

Perhaps I am a bit nostalgic, perhaps I am now just able to sit back and look at the big full picture and see all the puzzle pieces come together like a huge patch work quilt.

Sometimes the little girl within cries, she cries for a childhood she never got to have, for the love she never had and for the injustice of it all.

Sometimes that little girl reaches out and plays with other kids as if she were them, their age, giggling, laughing and doing duck walks.

Sometimes she cries for the other little kids she can’t help or save from the pain.

See, I know I can’t save anyone and most definitely I won’t be able to save all the children in this world nor will I be able to ever prevent the horrors they go through… but… perhaps we can show them that it is possible to survive, that it is possible to be all that you want to be, to break free and show them the strength that lies within them.

I wish I was a superhero not for the fame but rather just so that I would be able to zoom all of these kids to a better safer place… hmm and no there would be no underwear on top!

So to all those who have experienced hard times, trauma, harsh pasts, abuse of any kind… tell your stories, share your experiences and set your words free for they will show others that no matter what it’s possible to live, to survive and to rebuild themselves.

If you don’t want to do it on your current blog create a separate one, do what ever you need to do just get it off your chest and into the sphere… each word saves a life, that is fact and I am testament to it.

don’t worry mother, it’ll be alright
and don’t worry sister, say your prayers and sleep tight
it’ll be fine lover of mine
it’ll be just fine

lend your voices only to sounds of freedom
no longer lend your strength to that which you wish to be free from
fill your lives with love and bravery
and you shall lead a life uncommon

I’ve heard your anguish,
I’ve heard your hearts cry out
we are tired, we are weary, but we aren’t worn out
set down your chains, until only faith remains
set down your chains

and lend your voices only to sounds of freedom
no longer lend your strength to that which you wish to be free from
fill your lives with love and bravery
and we shall lead a life uncommon

there are plenty of people who pray for peace
but if praying were enough it would have come to be
let your words enslave no one and the heavens will hush themselves
to hear our voices ring out clear
with sounds of freedom
sounds of freedom

come on you unbelievers, move out of the way
there is a new army coming and we are armed with faith
to live, we must give
to live

and lend our voices only to sounds of freedom
no longer lend our strength to that which we wish to be free from
fill your lives with love and bravery
and we shall lead…

lend our voices only to sounds of freedom
no longer lend our strength to that which we wish to be free from
fill your lives with love and bravery

The Life of TIK

Jani just turned 43, she has 5 children and is the sole bread winner for her family.  Each day she goes to homes to clean in order to make enough money to feed her children and to put them through school.  Her eldest, Ami, was just 21 when a friend of hers uttered the words “Come on just one hit, feel what I feel, it will take all your worries away”.  She took the hit and her life will never be the same again.

She is now 24 married with a child but her story is far more dark than the surface belays.  Tik is the drug of choice in Cape Town and is gaining popularity country wide.  Made from a mix of over the counter drugs including normal sinus medication it is cheap and therefore more accessible to the general public, especially the poorer communities.

It grabs you and holds you captive much like Heroin, first hit and you are hooked, it brings you heaven and then hell.  It sucks your body dry and at the same time alters your personality so much that you lose hold of love or hope, emotions don’t exist further than your next hit. 

It took a weekend filled with Tik, rape, gang rape and more drugs for Ami to eventually crawl home to her more than distraught family and plead with them to help her.  She said she would go clean but knew she couldn’t do it alone, the pull was too strong, so she got her parents to book her into a facility.  Her parents took her in their arms and carried her to the rehab which cost R250. 3 days work for her mother, 3 days of food away from the other kids but they did it because they loved their daughter as if their own lives depended on it.  The family all started pulling together to the point that even the young ones tried to do extra odd jobs to bring in more money to help Ami.

Eventually after a lot of trauma Ami was released, she was stronger, brighter and she was clean.  Soon other families heard of her healing and sought her out to speak to their children, friends of friends spoke with her and heard her story.  Her story is unknown to many but it needs to be told for it holds so much hope, so much truth of the reality in Tik use and what it does not only to the user but the very people they love.

Her story needs to be told along with all other Tik survivors, the story must get out in order for it to help more people. Families who have been touched by Tik both in the present and past need to hear it. Users both present and past need to hear the story so that they can see that it is possible to come through the other side and breathe, that they do have a choice and that they can do it.

I spoke to Jani today and I told her this, I told her that her daughter is an inspiration, that she and her family are inspirations.  I then told her that there are so many out there with similar stories, if we could find them and get them to write down their stories perhaps they could save more lives.  So we agreed again.  She is now going to speak to the other families and the ex users and ask them if they would like to write about their experiences.  The ex users about their experiences, how they got started, what happened during using and how they got clean.  Their families about what it did to them, how they handled it, what they would’ve done differently and how it felt to have their family member back home.

This book will start out just being about Tik but I feel that it can also move into all drugs, stories of surviving and coming clean, experiences and the truth.

Ultimately about the truth, the whole truth and not the gloss.

I now open it up to you. If you have ever used Tik or any other drug, know of someone who might want to contribute, if you are a family member or friend of someone that is currently or has used in the past we would like to hear from you. If you are interested, want more information or would like to contribute your story you can send an email to sanityf@gmail.com and I will respond respectively.

With your help perhaps we can make a dent in this epidemic…

There is no going back

 

Anti Tik Campaign Short Advert

Unreported World: Lost Generation Pt 1 of 3

Unreported World: Lost Generation P2 of 3

Unreported World: Lost Generation Pt 3 of 3

Weekly Fruit Salad – Nummer elva

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Scary photo of the week

Nummer elva yip that is Number eleven in Swedish, pretty close to English in  a way but I bet in their normal script it has cool squiggles on some of the letters with pretty patterns to boot!  Number 11 with 83 posts linked… erm yeah more than last week, blame it on the new sharers!  No Peace for the wicked when you know a South African! (possibly why you should be multilingual)

Please note that some sections of this post are PG18+.  If educational materials are that of course.  Yes, Sex folks, SEX.

Anyway’s now that that is out of the way we move along swiftly…

This morning I woke up with a start, it felt as though a big spider was crawling into my ear, we know, I hate spiders! Then I went “Is OK, dog” That farting furball of a Furkid had stuck his furry gross tongue into my ear.  He Did What???? yes I am NOT lying.  I don’t know if I will ever be able to sleep again.  One thing is for sure I will be Need Protecting, well at least my ears.

Been there, done it, got the T-shirt, thank you! Never again *shivers* it was revolting

Right, I need to get something out of the way before I really get into this.  Yes it is about my world renown skills as a Chef.  I’ll have you know that there are No compromises in my kitchen! My cookies are just Perfect so much so that they almost made the Next Week’s News Today™ III.  Yip, you heard it.  Being a WHOLE all on your own.. means being able to bake those gingerbread men all on your own and all for yourself, it means putting on the Eyes knowing that you’re going to eat them.  Doing it for you because you want to! Hmm perhaps all I need is a The Miracle Pill, perhaps then they will look like cookies and maybe, just maybe, taste like them???

One last matter on this cookie business.  The last time I baked I got a serious System Error and then it was recommended that I look into becoming a Carpenter’s Apprentice instead.  I kind of thought at one stage that the heat coming off my laptop would bake the cookies nice and crispy.  Apparently “Love thy neighbour .. even if he or she is a little different..” doesn’t count when you’ve had the Bomb squad over to sort out a cookie fire.  Hey I was trying out a new form of Street Art *shrug* creative license and all.

As for Views on the Weakly News XVIII… the Sun was spotted over in England, sorry I mean Washington.  Homosexuality and Christianity the big furore. Furkids are visharse and seem to be taking their role in Resident Evil a bit too far (no offence).  Kidney Transplant Slacker Gets Wings in the form of some big hooters (Why are they called that anyway’s, do they hoot when you pinch them???). The Wedding Invitation with shocking ties, shocking! Mexico invades US, yeah I know I missed it as well. The Kid Was Hot Last Night good old Loverboy and doing Mushroom’s all in a weeks work.

Get your mind out of the gutter and Build it (green) and they will buy?

Don’t Just Make Money….Make Memories… ok well if you are betting on who wins the “Phelps, Bolt and AngryAfrican” race then perhaps it is the best of both worlds.  Personally my money is on AngryAfrican!  Don’t say that I never warned you!

Hatred is learned and that is why those who teach the young, those Parents: Heroes at Home, those that teach the right way, one of no hatred, they are the true Heroes in the World.  It takes real guts to admit when you have been wrong and learn from it.  We are taught many things from a young age forgetting that it is we, it is us, you and I that get to choose each action, each word and moment that we have.  If you are a racist, bigot (word for the week) or any other funny word that describes discrimination… that is your choice. 

Do you know who James Hoyt is? I am being dead serious now, do you know of him? Go have a read perhaps it will put more of what I mean to say into words.

For those who face discrimination every day the best statement that you can sometimes make is turning the other cheek.  By not treating those very people that treat you so badly as they have treated you, you show them how to be, how they should be.  Be the example for you only spur their hate on.  That is my personal opinion from my experience.  At the very least they will perhaps feel **** for treating you so badly and hopefully start to brew on their actions and what they do to others making those important changes.  Life is no Vanity Fair at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery but it sure is fun and entertaining.

Now lets talk sex.  Smart Girls do mathematics so do smart boys but sometimes both forget that there There are TWO people in the bedMasturbation? Even that can take two, you and your imagination.  Sometimes, most times, perhaps no times, things get so stale that we forget Variety is the spice of your sex life.  Can you imagine cooking a gorgeous roast with no herbs??? I mean come on guys it is not always a Bay of Pigs!.  All good things have their negatives though, just remember that sample humans happen and that should it happen you may need to look into getting a few Baby planners… yip Being a Daddy will suddenly become reality when one of those critters win the race! You may of course also face one of the hardest decisions ever.

It’s no Strong Bad’s Cool Game For Attractive People nor is it that I have AIDS… No in actual fact it is a contraption I have never set eyes on before.  I mean I come from a farming family and NEVER have I seen a ghetto tomato planter. Shocking I know, Truth or Document, That is the Question. Talking about truth, The Truth About Aging is Absolutely Amazing, just this morning I found another gray hair… I mean come on people, hair gods, monkeys, back OFF.

It’s ok *breathe* no matter what I am living the life of my dreams because it is filled with beautiful stories of a friendship.  What is it without the Golf balls in the game of life, crumbs life would be so so boring without the hills we craw, walk, run up.  That Point In Your Life when fall and then We Rise, Healing our souls as we go.  We slowly gain Clarity through the madness, we learn What NOT to do, that The Tides always turn, we utter the words “It will soon pass…“.  We grow.

Sometimes we don’t know what we want never mind what others want.  We forget to ask, we forget to talk, we forget to laugh.  Soon before we know it 61 years have gone by and what do we have to show for it? Cool Groups and Soulmates? No peace without true democracy? We get so comfortable in our lives we forget to live.  What ever you do don’t have a rememblur. No, seriously now.

No, we must focus on the truths, for instance What Does Your Elementary Report Card Say About You? go on splurge… mine was in part Afrikaans “die fokken kind praat te veel” hmmm yes I still can’t spell… basically in English it says “that bleepin child talks too much”.  What can you do I mean it is not like they were annoucing a New Department or anything.  Look Agility and Cowboy’s were the discussion at hand and what a discussion that was.  My biggest question though is why my 6 year old cousin knows who James Dean is and thinks he is sexy… Yeah go on have a chuckle, it disturbs me.

Distant Thoughts, there are no Quick miracles, no fast answers, Day Dreaming can become reality.  Consider yourself challenged to pass on the Shine, the light, to give to another without expectation, to be kind, to love, to be peaceful.  It doesn’t matter if the box comes in your size, whether you are Church Going or a Grandmother, it doesn’t matter who you are, this challenge is for you.  Rain Dance, Happy Dance – Procrastinating 101 doesn’t count here.  Get to it, shake that ass and cause a Summer Storm while singing that song “we are Family

Got that song in your head now don’t I… haha!

Finally folks I know that you have been wanting an update on the world tour starting at the end of August.  It’s now into the next phase with the UK now booked.  If you are in the UK please send out the warning notices to all.  Thanks.

Thanks for all the sharing, caring, writing, posting, laughs and inspiration.

Too many links? 

Sunshine, that’s what you are…

One of the things that people often don’t realise is just how much they are appreciated during those rough times.  When we’re in the mix we aren’t always able to thank those of you that help us, sometimes the words, the right words just don’t come.  

So if you are someone that has helped someone though a rough patch, be it right this minute or in the past, a simple thank you from us to you. 

Thank you

Made a wish, I can dream
I can be what I want to be
Not afraid to live life
And fulfil my fantasies

I learnt a lot of tricks to help me live my life
You helped me find my paradise
When you came, you were like
Sunshine through my window
That’s what you are
My shining star
Sunshine
Making me feel
I’m on top of the world
Telling me I’ll go far

Reaching out, for new heights
You inspired me to try
Felt the magic inside
And I felt that I could fly
I’m looking at the world in an optimistic light
You made me appreciate my life
‘Cos when you came you were like

Sunshine through my window
That’s what you are
My shining star
Sunshine
Making me feel like
I’m on top of the world
Telling me I’ll go far

You are the calm
I am the storm
You are the breeze that carries me on
When I set adrift
You anchor me
You’re there for me

Sunshine (oh yeah)
That’s what you are
My shining star
Sunshine
Making me feel I’m on top of the world
Telling me that I’ll go far
Sunshine through my window
That’s what you are
My shining star

(Sunshine) 
Making me feel I’m on top of the world
Telling me that I’ll go far
Sunshine through my window
That’s what you are
My shining star
Sunshine
Making me feel I’m on top of the world
Telling me that I’ll go far
Sunshine
My star, my star..

The Poem

I was sent this poem just after I ended my relationship with Ex, I don’t know who wrote it but it was so apt to how it was. 

Perhaps you need this poem today, I don’t know, I just keep it close for it is a reminder of what I won’t go back to. I now pass it on to you, perhaps it will do the same for you.

If you’re a man reading this then change the he/him to she/her by all means.

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He didn’t like the casserole
And he didn’t like my cake.
He said my biscuits were too hard …
Not like his mother used to make.
I didn’t perk the coffee right
He didn’t like the stew,
I didn’t mend his socks
The way his mother used to do.
I pondered for an answer
I was looking for a clue.
Then I turned around and smacked the shit out of him
Like his mother used to do.

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