THE MIND'S BATTLEFIELD.

 So it happened again, I was a member of a commercial bus again ( I think it is about time I bought myself a car) and for some strange but familiar reason, the conductor had overlooked me and was busily counting the moments take. Whenever he turned to look towards where I was seated, I knew he wanted to ask me for my fare because I felt probably he had realized that his take was lacking. Each time he did, he smiled at me and I was so tense that all I could do was respond with a thumbs up because I knew if I smiled back at him, it was going to look so awkward that he would instantly know that I had not paid my fare. While he innocently smiled, my mind had turned into a battlefield. Many forces were battling for supremacy as if it was some sort of competition. I did not know whether to listen to the voice of morality, goodwill and doing what is right because that part of my mind was of the view that "God is watching you. This might be a test. Do you have a good conscience?". Immediately, I began to go over the few memory verses in my head to help me justify the claim and I got a thousand and one of them. The other party was of a view which I tried so hard not to listen to but it made sense to me and "they" were of the view that "God knows you are in economic crisis and wants to give you some respite, have you not realized that these things only happen when you do not have enough to spend?. It is a divine gift from God to you". When I heard this other submission, I thought to myself "This can be a blessing in disguise because God cannot physically come down to pay the fare, he works through people and I cannot forget that he also works in mysterious ways". The battle went on and on but one party had to win the debate. As much as I tried to deal with the fact that  all the cases presented held enough basis for implementation, only one seemed right. It is the will to choose the "right" one was where the problem was. This is what I call the battlefield of the mind.
There have been countless times involving certain circumstances and situations where we as humans had to endure such a battle in our minds. I know I am not the only one who has experienced this "tug of war". Some of these circumstances and situations are easy to deal with. Others take time and goodwill to overcome. Sometimes we find excuses for the choices we make. We sometimes relegate morality and conscience and act on logic, pleasure, eye service, that thing inside that does not want to make others feel bad and emotions. These little forces of "good and evil", "right and wrong" if you will or "light and darkness" for others is all a state of mind. It normally tells a person's character after the choice is made. I have a friend, Alfred, I like women but Alfred loves every woman. It so happened that he visited me at home one time around that time of the month (when I am at my lowest). I managed to rally some spare change from my sister's purse so we could at least get some rice at a local eatery. We took a stroll to the eatery upon our arrival, I knew instantly that I had made a mistake by giving him the money to buy the food because we met two of his female friends there who were already eating. This guy run over to these ladies, run to the counter and bought two bottles of soft drinks for the ladies. I could not find enough strength to weep because I knew that morning I was going to go hungry. With the change he had left, he ordered just rice and stew and we took it back home. I believe that the battle in his mind was an enormous one. I do not really blame him. I dealt with him severely on our way back. Honestly, I was scolding him but I would have done same if I were to be in his shoes. Sometimes the battle takes over our sense of reasoning so much so that we only realize the repercussion of our actions  after the deed has long been done. We all go through many situations that lead us in many directions but the repercussion  our actions produce normally goes a long way in letting people in on our state of mind, conscience and character. The battle is real. More often than not, we console ourselves with the popular saying that "the spirit is willing but the body is weak" whenever we make a bad choice. There is probably no excuse for wrongdoing therefore anything that mares your sense of reasoning and conscience should be considered a no-no but we are only humans. My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is a "world war III" R.A.T (RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT). More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com

THE LOVE AFFAIR.

Life must be filled up, and the man who is not capable of intellectual pleasures must content himself with such as his senses can afford.
- Samuel Johnson




"I was with her but I really wanted to leave. She was getting in the mood but I wanted to do everything possible to avoid another encounter. I had to play my cards well because if I made any wrong move, I would blow my cover and the chance of being free from her clutches. It was like she knew how to be overly annoying only on my special days. I began to wonder if she had some supernatural powers to know the times I did not want to be bothered. I wished that I could just vanish into thin air then again, I wished the "vanishing act" upon her but upon second thought, I was not going to have anyone keeping me company if she vanished. I was missing in on the action,emotions and passion. I just wanted to leave because the football match had started fifteen minutes ago"- what goes through the mind of a guy whose girlfriend visits on the wrong day and time. Ladies, you cannot fault us because football or soccer is another thing that gives us uncontrollable passion. If a guy who is an ardent football fan can stay home with you and watch you play zuma on a big match day, please marry him because he is the right one. The passion guys derive from football has no historical roots, it is an ingrained tendency. Even baby boys know what to do with any round football-looking object. Some guys are so passionate about what we have come to know as the "Beautiful game". I knew a guy who would be seated in front of the TV set close to 3 hours before his favourite team played. We used to tease him by saying that he loved his team more than he did God. Way back in university, the stench from armpits, mouths, worn out jerseys and even the heat which was capable of boiling potatoes could not stop us from enjoying the game. The vulgarity, bragging rights, shambolic statistics, lies and unnecessary debates involved even made the beautiful game even more "beautifuller" and intense. We see the footballers like gladiators because at one point in time, they are together fighting in solidarity for one nation and at another point, even brothers had to face off against each other for honour and there is no telling the harm they can do to each other just to come out as the "champion" over the other after ninety minutes and possibly another thirty more minutes depending on the gravity. In the end, they put their differences aside and go back to being brothers. There has even been a time that blood brothers had to play for different countries. I can beat my chest and say that no telenovela in the world can give you so much passion, suspense and thrill all at once. Your heart starts pounding at unusual rates right from the get go through to the final whistle and I can assure you that the adrenaline involved is amazing. The suspense is even heightened when you have placed a bet on your team and they are just one-nil up and have also been shown a red card. You might even forget your school ID number. In such situations and the only thing you can do is to pray but even if you lost, you would be glad that at least you enjoyed a thrilling game. Many guys have a funny belief that watching a football game was far better than having a girlfriend. I always laughed when I heard this but I gave it deep thought some time back and I tend to partially agree with them. Picture this, twenty-two men chasing one round object, they fight each other tooth and nail but in the end, they hug each other and even exchange jerseys and sometimes you get a transfer to the other team. Now let me ask this, can even three boys chase one girl? The result would be disastrous. I rest my case. Secondly they argued that football could bring even quarrelling brothers together and I am a living testimony to such a feat. I have these twin friends who are more like brothers to me; Rudolph and Raphael. The former had cheated the latter in some money deal so there was sort of heavy tension among them. This was when Ghana was playing the USA in South Africa 2010. When Asamoah Gyan scored that injury time screamer, they shocked the entire room when they danced together in formation, hugging each other in the process and had quickly forgotten the bad blood that existed. I do not know of any show yet that can bring two girls who are at loggerheads together. Sometimes we daydream of living the fabulous lifestyle of these footballers where we work for at most three hours in a week and earn millions of dollars unlike doing our current jobs the whole week and earning a decent wage. Ladies, know this now, when your man wants to watch football with his buddies, please serve them popcorn or something and please do not get in the way. We love you but football loves us more. My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is a "diehard" R.A.T (RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT) More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com

TREADING UNUSUAL GROUNDS.

 Fridays in Ghana are famous for a number of things including adorning African wear (always first on the list),  preparing for the weekend, making romantic get-away reservations, exeats, general cleaning, trips to the village, Friday night partying and what is more important, preparing to perform the  transitional rites for the dead and in effect, preparing the dead for burial. Funeral rites or the final rites of passage are observed differently based on factors like religious affiliation and ethnicity. Sufi Rumi has a very popular quote which can relate to death and final funeral rites that "the light is the same but the lamps differ". In the same vein, death is one irrespective of the "exit procedure" but the funeral rites vary. Sometimes I am in a constant battle with myself whether to consider death as the end to life in totality or the beginning of life in a world unknown to the living. This battle is a whole different controversy all together. It would be highly dependent on one's creed and since I would not want to be the catalyst for a religious conflict, I would leave that debate for another day.
I happened to be a passenger in a commercial bus when we passed by a morgue. There were a lot of people clad in red and black in front of the mortuary. I believe they were waiting on the "landlord" of the mortuary to release their dead body for the rites to commence. If you have ever come across the quote of Isaac Asimov that "Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome", what I am about to share will not be a surprise. It is quite amazing the spectacle that is performed when the living visit the mortuary. Sometimes I believe their actions even scare death "herself". In my case, there were people scattered in front of the morgue with men on motorbikes engaging in stunts only fit for daredevils. Anyway, it is their funeral if you asked me. I once saw a Yiddish Proverb which read "It's astonishing how important a man becomes when he dies". If you have ever attended a funeral in Ghana, you would know what I mean. The pageantry involved is awe-inspiring. Anyway, thinking of death, which is a rather unusual subject, I was looking at it from a different perspective. A perspective far from the loss of life and weeping or wailing. I was looking at it from the point of view of our attributes and qualities that we have "killed" or have died in our lives for reasons best known to us alone. With the passage of time, things like morality, productive habits and what have you, have all died or in the process of being taken to the gallows. Some things that we used to do that gained great recommendation from others have all died due to one reason or the other. Some of these attributes that we so cherished died as a result of hasty generalization, that is, the fact that since one person treated you in an unfair way, you end up concluding that anyone who possesses the same qualities as your "villain" would probably treat you the same way ( you get that a lot from women). Time has passed and made our conscience dead to certain things that would have been given a severe drubbing in time past. Death sounds really spooky when spoken about openly so please forgive me. Sometimes we worry too much over things that have died and need not be resurrected. It is high time we accepted the death of certain things  and situations in our lives and move on to make better the things we still have living with us. Fact is, it is sometimes no use crying or worrying about what you once had and lost. Sometimes it is good to accept the fact that your yesterday is dead and gone and you along with it. Whatever you did, had, lost, did not do,reacted to too quickly is dead and gone. Give yourself a break and stop killing yourself over it. Just like the death of a human, we all wail over the loss but with time, we learn to leave without that person regardless of the relation we had. Same thing applies to the things that die in our lives and just like Marcus Aurelius put it "Death is a release from the impressions of the senses, and from desires that make us their puppets, and from the vagaries of the mind, and from the hard service of the flesh". Sometimes when something dies in your life, it is meant to die and stay dead because sometimes it is only after its death would you find "life". Bury it and move along. Let us therefore stop reliving certain dead moments, feelings and opportunities and make the best of the chances that are "living". That being said, if you used to engage in an activity that benefited you and others greatly, try and "resurrect" such deeds because you may not know who you are motivating. Going forward, always bear in mind that "Good men must die, but death cannot kill their names".  My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is a "dead" R.A.T (RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT) More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com

EVERYTHING IS IN THE MIND.

We all keep our toothbrushes in one container in our bathroom at home. My little sister uses the same brush brand as mine but with a different colour (obviously). She had to change her brush because she had used it past three months. Accidentally, she bought the same brand and the same colour as mine. I really scolded her for that blunder because I expected her to know better. On Monday morning, I was lying in bed when she came into the room to pick something. She said something to me but I was so sleepy that I think all I did was nod my head in response to whatever she said. When I was finally well-rested, I woke up and entered the bathroom to take my bath. I stretched out my hand and reached for my brush. I brushed my teeth properly (properly is underlined) and took my shower. I went about the house doing what was expected of me. Later that day when my sister returned from school, I asked her what she came into the room early on to tell me. She said she was informing me that she kept my brush on the cabinet in the bathroom and that the one in the container was hers. Only God knows what was going through my mind but the truth is that my countenance fell the second she ended her statement. It meant that both of us used the same toothbrush that morning. Even though the taste in my mouth had changed, the deed had already been done. As I laid in bed that night, I began to think about what happened and I realized that the mind is an amazing part of the body. I came to the conclusion that the power of the mind is one thing we seem to be underestimating. Everything we do, are or wish to be lies in the power of the mind and our perceptions of these things. My mind had been trained to accept that the toothbrush which I had come to the bathroom everyday to use was mine and using it felt comfortable because I knew it belonged to me. This perception was a part of me and formed part of my everyday routine. Same thing applies to all aspects of life. When we resolve to accept things and situations, they either have a positive or negative effect in our lives. Most of our problems are surmountable, we are only using the power of our minds to declare these things as impossible. How we perceive situations gives our minds feedback and our minds responds per the perception. This means that if for instance you perceive mathematics to be difficult, your mind responds to that perception and the feedback normally would be " I can never understand mathematics" because your mind goes on lockdown when you see or hear about mathematics (except when it has to do with calculating money). The inverse of this is very true. When you perceive something to be achievable, your mind picks up the feedback and feeds you with enough positive energy to see the deed through. If I had not enquired about what happened in the morning, my mind would accept that nothing wrong happened and everything will be normal. In the same vein, if I decided not to write about using my sister's  toothbrush, none of you reading this piece would have known. I could have told it differently and your minds would have no choice but to buy it. That is the power of the mind. It reacts to what we feed it with. ( I believe some of us are disgusted by the mere fact that you can use another person's toothbrush, that is the power of the mind. Some of us are pretending to be disgusted, also the power of the mind. Even some of us see nothing wrong with using another person's brush.). All these scenarios can be attributed to our perception and the power of our minds. Our problems, inadequacies,shortcomings and "disabilities" (not physical) are defined by our perceptions and how we have resolved to think about them. Let us try as much as possible to feed our minds with positive perceptions which would in turn reciprocate positive mental actions that would yield positive and beautiful success. The mind is a powerful tool therefore it gets me thinking whether you are better of or worse of if you knew certain things, this is a different debate altogether. This is because when you come to know something, your approach towards it changes.  In the interim, let us put our minds to achieving great feats because as is often said, "You are what you think!". I almost forgot to tell you that my sister did not also use the toothbrush in the container. She rather used her old one that morning. Therefore, I used a new brush all along. So you see, it is all about perception. I got you. My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is a "mind game" RAT (RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT). More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com

BEFORE YOU SAY "I DO".

Within the week that just passed, I was at work when a friend who was holding a book  walked up to me to discuss some work-related development. Before she left, I asked to see the book she was holding. Honestly I have forgotten the title of the book but I know it was a book on marriage because there was a quote behind the book which was so catchy that it got me thinking of something. The quote read "Before you plan your wedding, plan your marriage". When I saw it I was like "wow, I have never thought of this". I wondered if marriages that failed in the past would have worked out if the couples involved were privy to certain things before they tied the knot. Our generation is very lucky to have books and information on all subjects scattered everywhere. Our only problem is that we are sometimes not curious enough to find this information. Thinking of marriage, I began to realize that people, especially women had many bizarre reasons for entering into marriage. Just this past Saturday I was at a friend's wedding. As I sat waiting for the bride to be walked down the aisle by a proud father, the quote from the book I saw earlier run through my head and I started to ponder over it. First of all I focused my attention on the other young unmarried women who were at the wedding. I wondered what a lady's priority will be in a marriage considering her lifestyle as a single woman. I was wondering what was going through their minds when they dress beautifully to weddings especially the unattached ladies. Do ladies have an ideal age for marriage? I have always wondered if they felt insecure or that if they felt their time was running out whenever they attended a friend's ( someone who is the same age as them) wedding. What is more worrying was the fact that I wondered what went through the mind of a sister who saw her younger sibling get married before her. I was therefore scanning the faces of some of the young ladies in the room when it was time to kiss the bride and all, I could sense some of them showing mixed feelings. I may not be far from wrong but I think some of the expressions on their faces read " I am prettier than her so why am I still unmarried?" If you have ever attended the wedding of your girlfriend's friend with her, expect to hear things like "when are you coming to see my parents?", " I am not getting any younger, when are we taking our friendship to the next level?"on your way back home. Ladies, most guys are afraid of commitment and you would probably scare them if you constantly ask these questions. When you talk of weddings, the first thing you normally think of is the bride and in effect, the woman. Most people are of the view that one of the happiest days of any woman's life is her wedding day. I know most women have some of the world's wildest fantasies when it comes to getting married and planning their weddings. Some of their colour combinations when I hear them, they sound like chemical equations to me. An example is turquoise green. What colour is that? Green is green. That is just on the lighter side. Most women are more involved in day dreaming about their spectacular weddings and focus little on the marriage itself. I am not saying men are not at fault. My attention is on the women. Women are really amazing species and I believe that the world would have been a bitter place without them. My friends were having a discussion on what mattered most to them in marriage. Some were of the view that cooking mattered most, others were of the view that shelter was more important. When a woman gets married, she relegates a lot of things to the background. She takes on a number of jobs and adds them to her already tight schedule and it takes a lot of planning to pull this stunt off. People who normally think that marriage is a full time job either want to change jobs or put in their resignation letters (divorce) when marital situations overwhelm them. I think if we think of marriage as a commitment to a lifestyle, we will be aware that, just like a lifestyle, there will be times when things are good or bad but we still will not "abandon ship" due to those hardships. Let us therefore plan our marriages first before we plan our weddings because the wedding can take care of itself but the marriage cannot. Let us all consider this that marriage, like life, is a journey - not a destination - and that its treasures are found not just at the end but all along the way. Before we enter into marriage especially women, we must ponder over this that "Marriage is that relation between man and woman in which the independence is equal, the dependence mutual, and the obligation reciprocal.  (Louis K. Anspacher)
Let us therefore strive to make our first marriages our only marriages by planning properly. My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is a "married" R.A.T (RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT). More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com

BE CURIOUS, NOT JUDGMENTAL.

Outward judgment often fails, inward judgment, never- Theodore Parker




We all make certain mistakes in life. Some of these mistakes have short term effects. Others can cause a lasting scar. Some mistakes are deemed short term pleasures but if care is not taken, these short term pleasures can result in long term bondage and regret. There are times that we "jump the gun" and run into conclusions that if we had allowed a little bit more time, we would not have drawn such conclusions. Sometimes some of our decisions are judgemental and funny to say the least and one can only wonder after the deed is done as to why we passed such judgment. This brings to mind the act of passing judgement. Have you ever been judged wrongly per your attitude, state of mind, ability or even disability, idea or creed? Have you ever judged anyone wrongly? ( that is more like it). The funny thing about passing judgment is that when you realize that you "misfired" per your earlier decision, it becomes extremely difficult to come to terms with yourself to accept the truth or new developments once they are revealed or you reach the stage of enlightenment. Growing up as children, there were many misconceptions that flooded our days. We were made to believe and as it were "unbelieve" certain things that happened around us by virtue of our geographical location, cultural practices and belief systems, skin colour, religious affiliations, social and even our parents' political affiliations. We therefore sadly formed varying opinions about issues in life, friends, family members, some groups in society and even we got more superstitious while at it. Some of our opinions when heard are really quite amazing and till you listened to people's opinions on certain subjects, you would never believe people held such thoughts and have passed certain judgements about life and some of life's situations. I have a friend who hates Roman Catholics and the Catholic church with so much passion. Her reason is that she was told that they killed Jesus Christ. This judgement is as a result of the opinions she formed since her childhood and no matter the countless Easter movies she has seen, she still holds dear to this "assertion". I have tried time without number to "brainwash" her but it seems to be yielding less results. Honestly, when I heard of Nima (a suburb of Accra), I passed the judgment that per the news we always heard about them, it was a chaotic suburb filled with no more than just hooligans who could even do harm in broad daylight. Little did I know that my best friend was going to live and grow up in Nima. The first time I had to visit him, I went with my laptop and anyone I told that I was going to Nima was sceptical about the whole thing. I held my laptop so firmly to my chest (even though it was in a backpack). As I walked down the street to his house, all that greeted me were lovely faces, aroma from the Waakye sellers' stew and of course the Burkina ( a beverage made with millet and milk) vendors. I was so ashamed that I had passed such judgment on such a place based on hearsay. The words of Napoleon Hill even made me realize my bias that "No accurate thinker will judge another person by that which the other person's enemies say about him".
 There is no telling how many times I have frequented Gabriel's house and there has not been a single occasion for an altercation as I was made to believe. We are all to some extent guilty of passing judgment quickly and some of us have been victims of this unfortunate plight (having judgement passed on us). It has cost us securing jobs, friends, opportunities and what have you. Passing judgments has had dire effects in history. Many wars have been fought due to passing judgment and we are all well aware of the repercussions of those wars. The way forward is that we live and let live. We must not be too quick to judge or be the first to "christen" what is right and what is not till we have had first hand experience. We must learn to be tolerant. We should learn to see beyond the walls of people's "disabilities" and allow them to at least have their "day in court" before we bang our gavel of judgment.
Let us all endeavour to have a bit of Edmund Husserl's "epoche" by bracketing our own opinions and viewing issues and even people without any form of preconceived bias. Therefore, I would conclude by borrowing the words of Seneca (Seneca the Elder) that "Before you judge, investigate" Let us all ponder over this the next time we are making any form of judgment  that if even God does not plan to judge a man till the end of his days, why should you and I? My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is a "no bias" R.A.T (RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT). More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com

ARE WE OUR OWN SABOTEURS?

A friend of mine was discussing an issue with me. He wanted to know if I could do a piece on Africa. He suggested that we look into the assertion whether Africa was a cursed continent or not. From the moment he mentioned it to me, I started to think of the African situation and their implications. Our issues are many if you asked me. I began to wonder if we were been sabotaged or we were our own saboteurs. I realized that we were neck-deep in certain issues so our actions or inactions would as it were, contribute very little to cause a change. On our own front, I realized that we do ourselves more harm than "external" harm done us. I have always looked at the setting up of witch camps with disgust. Who determines who a witch is? Are we not aware that the main purpose of establishing institutions is to fill them up with people? Come to think of it, which institution does not get filled? Have we considered the fact that the mere fact of having these institutions encourages people to find "occupants" for them?We must abolish this institution and start thinking of productive ways of taking care of our elderly people. How many homes of the aged can we boast of? We limit ourselves so much that it has become routine. We encourage the youth to start up businesses or make a life for themselves yet when we get into the world of work, our "bosses" want to sleep with us before we can get employed. If you are a male, either you know someone who in turn knows you ( I hear whom you know alone does not cut it anymore) before you get employed. Even when you got chosen for the job, it was either you were being over exploited and being underpaid or you were threatened and made to live in fear for the security of your job. Whatever happened to qualification, intelligence, talent and being "the best man for the job"? When you go through our daily newspapers, the vacancy section asks for so many years of working experience as a requirement for employment. Who do we expect to employ those of us at the entry level so we can also garner that level of experience? It all starts from somewhere. We tie ourselves down so much as leaders by cutting deals that jeopardize the citizenry and the chance of making themselves better.  My heart goes out to our soon-to-be graduates. It is a dogfight out here but be strong and do not let your zeal to serve God and country wane. We limit our talents, strengths and abilities with requirements in the public sector. Why is height a requirement to entering the military? Our problem here is that we focus only on the battlefield and forget about the other strategic sectors. We easily forget that sometimes 'the pen is mightier than the sword". We have all that we need yet we live in want. Parents have burdened their children with the role of responsibility. Whenever I go around the Accra mall area, I see these "tuareg" (North African-looking people) parents encouraging their children to beg for alms while they (the parents) sit down and drink some coffee-like beverage. Have we lost direction? Tribalism, favouritism, nepotism and corruption have come to replace qualification and doing the right thing. We laugh over everything and we easily forget. Sometimes I wonder if our leaders ever ponder over these things. I wonder if they feel the urgency to make their countries better or if they are being used as stooges by other people. I am not writing to determine right or wrong, I just plead for us to be given the chance to show what we can do. I saw a bank advertisement on a billboard which read,  "They call it Africa but we call it home.  Let us do deep soul-searching and see if we truly treat Africa like home. If we realize that we are not living up to the hype, let us roll up our sleeves and get to work. To some of us, this might be the only place we may know.
Let me leave it for you to decide. Do you think Africa is a cursed continent? My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is a R.A.T (RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT)"question".  More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com

THREE C'S IN LIFE

I was going through a particular situation some time back. I could not come to terms with myself to find out why I had to go through such an ordeal. The situation had been on my mind for months. It so happened that I had to go to work. I boarded a bus at the lorry station and sat comfortably at the back of the bus by the left window (my favourite spot). When we got to a bus stop halfway through my journey, a young man boarded my bus. I was lost in thought but by some divine inspiration, I was forced to read the inscription on his T-shirt. It read "3 C's in life: Choices, Chances, Changes.
You must make a choice to make a chance or your life will never change". It was like a solution had been handed to me from a "random" guy. I learnt one thing, sometimes solutions come from places that we least expect. My main focus was on the inscription. I began to ponder over it and turned it over and over in my mind's eye. I drew the conclusion that any situation that you want to get rid of must go through the gates of these 3 C's. These three words are strongly related but let us look at them first in isolation.
Whenever you are faced with a challenge or situation, you have to make a choice. You must choose between "wowing" the situation or allowing the situation to "wow" you. You must make a choice to resolve to come out of that situation or remain miserable by doing nothing about it. It is a vital part of the problem-solving equation. Choices are personal decisions that no one can make for you. The best anyone can do is make recommendations but the final decision lies with you. Choices determine whether you want to be ordinary or extraordinary. The choice you make when faced with a situation goes a long way in determining how the rest of your life would pan out. Sometimes it requires drastic measures. Sometimes you would need to make radical choices. One thing I noticed about choices is that you sometimes have to lose something dear in order to win something amazing. You will never know what you are missing until you resolve to make a choice to let go of something that makes you an average person to hope for something that makes you a better person. Your choice is your "make or break" moment so let it count.
Chances are, if you make a choice to get rid of a situation, life provides you with myriad ways or opportunities to become better. Therefore, the choices you make determines the chances you get. In effect, good choices merit good chances. Chances are simultaneous with opportunities. It is only when a choice is made is when a chance is realized. There are no two ways about it. You will never know the chances you may be missing until you resolve to "make a choice to make a chance". Going forward, let our choices replicate amazing chances that would take us out of any form of misery we may be facing.
Do you know of anyone who changed his or her life for the better without doing anything?  Do you know anyone who become a better person by repeating the same mistake? The answers to both questions is NO!. If your life would ever change for the better, you must first choose to allow it and compliment it by welcoming opportunities that breed positive change. Change is a process, it is sometimes slow but the results are highly beneficial. Change is strongly linked with our way of thinking because "A negative mind would never give you a positive life". The next time you think of change, look at it from the dimensions of greatness. Change is the final piece of the puzzle and it is what we all endeavour to achieve. When next we are faced with any situation, let us consider these 3 C's and try to apply them. If you find yourself stuck in a dilemma always bear in mind that difficult choices provide amazing chances which in turn bring about phenomenal experiences of change. Let us endeavour to make these 3 C's as practical as possible because they can be applied to all aspects of life
You will never know if you never tried to make a choice to make a chance that would give you the change you desperately need. My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is a "Tripartite R.A.T (RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT) More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com    OR eddylampz.wordpress.com

THE DREAM, THE VISION AND THE GOAL.

Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream; a dream he died with. Though we were made aware of that dream, it could not materialize in his time. His dream, when heard then, was considered the "joke of the century". His dream when heard now, is considered an achievement; an achievement not handed down on a silver platter but had to be fought for to be achieved. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah had a vision. A vision which is still in progress. A vision he probably had to die for. A vision which he alone believed in and even dared to believe that his countrymen would also believe in that same vision that the Blackman would be capable of managing his own affairs. This vision may be realized if we reduce our dependency on foreign aid. It was not to be. His vision died in exile with him. Nelson Mandela had a goal; a goal he had to suffer in prison to reach. A goal that would mean freedom but at the cost of bondage. A goal to fight against oppression in one's own country. A goal that would see the servant become the leader. A goal for independence. We may not know this but,, there has always been a difference between a dream, a vision and a goal. A dream is a cherished desire; ambition or aspiration. It is not enough to just have a dream. Dreams are good but having a dream without working towards its actualization makes the dream a white elephant. The dream just becomes a fantasy if steps are not taken to see the dream materialize. The difference between dreamers and achievers is action. A dream is normally something or an achievement that others would probably laugh at when they hear about it. It takes courage and determination to realise a dream. Biblical Joseph is a typical example of a dreamer who achieved his dreams. There is no telling all that he had to endure to see the dream become a reality. If he had waited, or given up because of setbacks on the way to achieving his dreams, he would not have been where he got to. We all have dreams, some may seem herculean, even funny but with determination, our dreams will be realized. Kwame Nkrumah had a vision. His idea was to ensure that there would one day be a united Africa. When we depended on each other without external sources of "help". A vision is a higher version of a dream. It is a well thought out plan. It is possible to be a visionary but if the purpose or the people for whom you have that vision are not ready to share in the vision with you, it would be close to impossible achieving that vision. No matter what you have achieved previously, if someone does not share in your vision, you would be considered too knowing if you go down the road of having to see the vision realized single-handedly . This fact notwithstanding, it will be better to have a well thought out vision than just a dream. A goal, just like the one Mandela had is the state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve and that when achieved, terminates behavior intended to achieve it. Goals can be saddled with setbacks; setbacks that can cause one to breakdown and give up like Mandela's number of years spent behind bars. The difference between a dream, vision and goal is that a goal is embedded with a higher purpose and desire for achievement. It is an ideal which the one must endeavour to see through. All in all, it would be worthless to have a dream, vision or a goal if one does not employ positive thinking and positive action. Let us persevere in the face of setbacks and sometimes our own shortcomings and inadequacies to see to it that we strive to achieve our dreams,visions and achievements so come the end of our lives' journeys, we can look back and consider our dreams, visions and goals as monumental achievements. My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is a "dream" R.A.T (RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT)
More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com.         OR   eddylampz.wordpress.com

WHY DO WE BEHAVE THE WAY WE DO?

I was sitting in a commercial bus on my way to work. I was already late and to make matters worse, I was stuck in traffic. I was silently saying a prayer in my head and wishing that the traffic lights would just disappear along with all the cars except mine. That was just wishful thinking. My bus was rooted to the spot and had not moved for a very long time, I felt it was rather unusual. I therefore decided to find out what was causing this unusual hold-up. To my utter dismay and disappointment, I saw a convention of cars scattered all over. At first I thought there had been an accident along the road. My prayer was somehow getting a reply because my driver saw an opportunity to expertly meander his way through the chaos. He did it like a rockstar. We were all eager to find out if there was any casualty. When we got to the centre of attraction; the place where the traffic had originated, we discovered that no one was involved in an accident, rather, it was the traffic lights that were faulty and this had caused the "artificial traffic". When we finally got to the spot, I was saddened yet glad that at least I could continue my journey to work. To my surprise, I saw a police patrol car also stuck in the frenzy. Even more chilling was the fact that all the occupants of the patrol car were deeply engaged in a hearty chat so much so that they cared less about what was going on. At that very moment I was even more sad as I heard one passenger in my bus say "oh Africa". It was like he had added insult to injury to my already bruised heart. I was disturbed yet happy because I had an idea; a thought that I could pen down so we can ponder over. As my driver swerved the scene and we were in the clear, I thought to myself that as humans as we are, we normally treat life like a rat race. We want to outdo each other. We want to outsmart each other. Sometimes our selfish tendencies makes us greedy because we want the "prize" all to ourselves. We tend to forget that we are not the only ones with that intention. We all think we can outsmart each other so in the bid of attaining our selfish goals, we rather pool our selfish interests together and we get stuck. We all want to cut corners to finish the race of life. I created an analogy in my head. The road stood for whatever resource we have at our disposal; the police patrol car stood for the authorities; my bus and the other vehicles represented the masses and the faulty traffic light, yes you guessed it, it stands for the law. Now let's do the math. We are all surviving on our resources which are already insufficient yet we all must get a bite come what may so per our position, we the masses strive to get as close as possible to the resources which we normally only get "crumbs" The authorities find themselves in the same situation but they seem to care less, you know why? It is simple, whether we the masses suffer or not, they will still get their " huge cut of the national cake" and when we the masses think we are at the same level with the authorities, they "show" us who wields the power by just turning on their "sirens" and then surprisingly, we the masses fall over each other to pave way for them to pass through without stress. Oh the traffic light, I almost forgot about it because I cannot seem to remember the last time our laws actually worked. We therefore have created our own set of laws and go by them.
Everything will work for our good if we all do our bit. First of, we must fix the traffic lights because it is the major cause of stagnation and underdevelopment. Moving on, we must use our numbers as the people to get the police officers to alight from their patrol cars and take control of our situation where there are no "traffic lights" and we the masses must tow the line of vigilance to ensure that each party carries out its duty. It is only when that is done well will we all get a stress-free bite of the national cake and we can come back for more without having to wait in line for too long. My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is an analogical R.A.T (RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT).
More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com    OR  eddylampz.wordpress.com

MY DATE WITH FEAR

Yesterday I came face to face with one of my fears. There is no telling how miserable I was having to confront my fear. I was trembling with enormous fear and was wishing that it was already tomorrow. I, in my weakness wanted to appear brave in front of my sisters. In my mind, this torture was never-ending because each second was like an hour in my eyes. I could feel the coarseness in my throat because the fear had dried up any form of lubrication from my throat. For a moment, thoughts were flooding through my mind. Even in my fears, Ayittey Powers came to mind. It was a case of "meeting my meeter". It felt like I was even at Napoleon Bonaparte's "waterloo" because the end to my self-styled confidence was imminent.Dear friends never force anyone to muster courage in the face of adversity the end results can be sometimes destructive. Ayittey Powers is therefore not to blame for his "Judgement Day" heavy drubbing, fear does that to people. Now to my situation, I was kneeling down in my mother's little backyard hencoop plotting how I was going to lay my hands on one chicken which was going to be used as our evening meal. I dread live chicken but I love chicken dishes. I always had people doing the dirty work for me. Yesterday of all days, all my "chicken assassins" had  left home for a party. My simple duty was to "arrest" the chicken and have my sisters do the rest. I am sure the chicken even sensed my cowardice and could smell the stench of my fear. I decided to go in for the kill and started stretching out my arms towards the chicken with "fear and trembling"....
 There always comes a moment in one's life when we have to confront our fears. Those moments sometimes hit us unaware when we are normally unprepared. Many people have their definitions for fear. These definitions are positive and negative. Believe you me, when that awkward moment arrives, these definitions mean next to nothing. Fears are our weak spots, things we probably haven't given a try or better still, something we failed at the first attempt. It limits us, belittles us and sometimes comes with a feeling of inferiority. Fear stops us from breaking new grounds. It is the second cousin to pessimism. I was not telling you this for you to laugh, I was telling you this to let you do a headcount of your fears and start planning on ways of breaking their hold on you. If you believe that FEAR equals False Evidence Appearing Real, then muster some courage and face them. There are times when other people fight our battles with fear on our behalf. We should ask ourselves what our reaction would be in a typical "worst case scenario"; when all these people are not around just like in my case. We all have something that gives us "the chills" no matter how strong or brave you are, there is something that takes away all your confidence. If we are made to believe that the mighty elephant is afraid of the mouse in our cartoons then it means greatness does not mean flawlessness. We cannot hide from our fears or run away from them forever. We can face our fears. It is not a one-time premium. It is sometimes a gradual process but it is worth it if you give it a try. The adrenaline rush involved is sometimes off the charts. Fear is good. My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is a "fearful" R.A.T ( RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT).

WORRYING TAKES YOU NO WHERE.

When I was enrolled in school as a toddler, I was really excited at having to leave home to engage in  spontaneous activities with my friends at school everyday. Those days, you had the chance to care less because the major burden of responsibility lay on your parents and nursery or kindergarten teacher. There was nothing so refreshing like having no worries or responsibilities then. My only worry then was how to explain to my mother why my uniform got dirtier than it did the previous day. Those days were really fun-filled. Moving up the ladder and into elementary school, classwork got hard and  homework got even harder and I started to miss my kindergarten days. I always wondered if I was going to ever get through the higher classes because even at my level, classwork got harder and harder with each term that passed. Surprisingly, I managed to get through the higher classes and I did it in grand style because I more often than not aced every classwork, test, or end of term examination. Today, I was reflecting on how I got so good at school work even though the thought of it in my junior years got me scared. In my reflections, I came to the realization that no matter what happens or even how we see our situations, when the time comes for us to face them, we would surely get a way around them. I also realized that sometimes worrying is overrated. I used to imagine how difficult the work in class six was going to be when I was in class three. I always wondered if my seniors really understood what was being taught them in class. I have grown to know that, whenever you look ahead and realize that there is a problem,when you get to that level (and you eventually will), come what may, the experiences you have had in your past give you an edge and make you pretty prepared to face your new challenge. This therefore reiterates the fact that you do not always need something new to deal with situations but sometimes you only need a reference from the past to do the work. Sometimes our fears,weakness and frustration make us even better prepared than our strengths and talents. I have always known that maths was, is and might never be my thing. I have always been afraid of maths. As I pondered over the thought of what failure in maths could do to my academic career, I had to sit up and come to terms with the fact that I was not going to make it stop me from reaching my goal. My grades in maths were not the best but the fear of failing actually got me to get at least enough grades to see me through my school years. Moral: Fear and frustration are not in themselves walls, they can be made invisible just by putting your mind to it. Again no matter how good you think you are, problems do not care. As I said earlier, most of the greatest inventions in life were as a result of problems. Sometimes we worry about issues too much. Just like how I worried about my school days, we sometimes have to let things be and allow things to take their natural course. Our relationships, careers, businesses and future aspirations would take better turns if we sometimes allowed things to take natural turns and unravel themselves. A friend of mine always says "No jump jump before the band". I am sure she meant there was no need to sometimes rush things and I tend to agree. I have come to realize that sometimes we do not need to rush even apologising for our mistakes. Sometimes rushing into apology tends to make matters worse. It is one thing I have learnt as a young man.
I know my problem with maths, so accepting it is not too difficult but I am fully aware that there are some things that are difficult to accept. I therefore tend to find solace in these words that, "Do not stress the "should-haves" because  if they could have, they would have". This is just to say that if sometimes you miss a chance, it was probably for your own good. It also suggests that if whatever problem or situation you faced could have stopped you, it would have done that without asking for your permission. Sometimes you just need to let go and hope that things will turn out right. Even if things do not turn out the way you expect, find comfort in the fact that you gave it your best shot and that you had the courage to let go and move on. Life's floodgates are bursting with many opportunities. Take a leap of faith and have confidence in the fact that everything will be okay. My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is an old school R.A.T  (RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT)
More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com  OR  eddylampz.wordpress.com

EASTER IN OUR TIME.

This morning I had the chance  to listen to Cece Winans' hit Easter song "It wasn't easy" again. I started to reflect on the daunting task that Jesus had to be burdened with to save Christians. It was a daring sacrifice, a sacrifice which only the Son of God could endure. I started to also ponder on the meaning of genuine love; the kind of love that has no strings attached, the kind of love that is given out freely, unflinching love even until the very moment of death. I know lots of people will agree with me as I borrow the words from the Bible that "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). It is one thing to die a peaceful death but an entirely different deal to go through pain, humiliation and on top of it all, exit life so disgracefully. I am yet to witness a sacrifice as was exhibited by Christ in these earthly days of ours. Jesus' sacrifice is second to none in my opinion. It is common knowledge that his death has given us passage to the throne room of God and Grace; abundant grace. Grace has given us the ticket to do wrong and come back to ask for forgiveness and expect to be forgiven because grace has given as the opportunity to somewhat hold God to ransom.
Now, my main reason for talking about Easter is that, I was reflecting on the fact that we have so many things to be grateful for. I also realized that we tend to be unappreciative towards some of the good people and good things that happen to us in life. Sometimes people go through challenges on our behalf be it family commitments, relationships and by virtue of one reason or the other for us to be happy. We sometimes forget to appreciate these things and people because we seem to take the sacrifices of these people for granted. What is even worrying is the fact that these people would not hesitate to put their hands in fire for us again whenever the opportunity calls for it, yet, we are the least perturbed. These people are hurt over and over again by our actions yet we do not get a change of heart to do the things that please the people who make sacrifices for us. "We are so often caught up in our destination that we forget to appreciate the journey, especially the goodness of the people we meet on the way. Appreciation is a wonderful feeling, do not overlook it". (Anonymous). There has been several times that I did not show appreciation for a favour or good done me by many people. Just like the way God's grace abounds for us, the human form of this "grace" too is abundant and that is why we do not sometimes show appreciation. I am sure if grace was limited, the story would not be the same. People just want to be appreciated. It is human nature. William James' quote attests to this when he said, "The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated".
I encourage us to use this Easter holiday to show appreciation for all the things we have and to be grateful for all the things we have been through so far. We should remember all the people who had to endure an inconvenience no matter how little it was to see us smile. We should also endeavour to sacrifice something for someone to make them happy. Maybe by so doing, we would come to appreciate every little thing that will be done for us by others. Appreciation is a key factor to a happy life. This is captured in the words of Dan Wakefield, "Appreciation of life itself, becoming suddenly aware of the miracle of being alive, on this planet, can turn what we call ordinary life into a miracle. We come awake to such a realization when we recognize our connection to a spiritual dimension". Let us learn to be appreciative of every thing that comes our way. We should even be thankful for the opportunities that we missed. It was due to that missed chance that we are where we are today. It is only through being thankful and showing appreciation that we can encourage people to do more for us because the more we appreciate people and things, the more good things come our way. I would therefore conclude with the words of G. K. Chesterton that
"The aim of life is appreciation; there is no sense in not appreciating things; and there is no sense in having more of them if you have less appreciation of them". Let us be appreciative. My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is an Easter R.A.T ( RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT). More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com

THINGS ARE NOT THE SAME ANYMORE

I was lying in bed this morning and I had a flashback of my childhood days. I was comparing the days then and the days now. I took a lot of things into consideration. I thought of how technology, morality, education and growing up have affected our days "then" and "now". Those days, 'our day' was a good day when our parents bought us drinks and prepared some sumptuous meals which we took to school in colourful baskets. Nowadays, children gather money sometimes through fair or foul means and spend their 'our day' in the malls, shopping for what they want. I was looking at the fact that even some words then do not mean the same now. Growing up, we used to have a cat and I was not so much of a fan. Before we went to bed I always ensured that the cat was not in our room, so if I heard it purr, I would blurt out to my sister "Take your pussy outside!". I bet if I am to tell any person especially if that person was a lady the same thing now, it might be the end of our friendship. Even  the common verb "come" which I knew was a simple command now can send shockwaves down the spine of many people when spoken now (wink!). We have even adulterated the names of animals. Common words we used in our elementary school days now mean differently. Such words include "blow", "touch", "job". Those days the issue of talking about sex was a no-no but now all you need is some internet bundle and you can surf the internet for all the sexual and sex related information you need. You might even see some "tutorials" involving familiar faces. We call them "leaks". Those days when you were considered corrupt, it meant you had taken money from your mother's purse and used it without her consent and when you were caught, you either slept on an empty stomach or with some cane marks in your bottom or both, that was if your corrupt act was high. Nowadays, corruption is a cliché for the time when someone embezzled state funds and even have the effrontery to take the state on when questioned and could provide a thousand and one reasons why the act was  legitimate and even had supporters. Those days, you could tell if someone was being spiritual or just being religious. Nowadays, it is difficult to tell the difference because we preach virtue openly and practice vice behind closed doors. Pastors used to come to the pulpit holding their own Bible now pastors cannot enter a church premises without a security detail following him or her. Sometimes I picture a pastor casting out a demon with his Bible "then" and casting that same demon "now" with his Tablet which contains his Bible and other "miscellaneous" things.
This is how far we have "come". It has been a long journey but we still aim to get home. Our minds have grown and developed and has known many things including good and bad. With the passage of time, our minds have been adulterated. Sometimes it becomes difficult to determine good or bad because time has changed our perception of things. We all have our views and values. All these things have been made permissible due to the passage of time, geographical location, culture and belief system. Sometimes, I wonder if the passage of time has done us more harm than good. If there would be any saving, it would be only time that would determine. So in the interim, before time miraculously saves us, let us continue to live in time because whether we live in good times or bad times, time is all we have. My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is a "then and now" R.A.T  (RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT). More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com
Please note: Due to the fact that all the "pussies" are outside, the RATs are on Easter break so tomorrow no RAT. Sorry for the inconvenience caused. Thank you. By the R.A.T Management

COMPLACENCY: THE SEED OF DESTRUCTION

I always love to have a very good breakfast every morning and I normally take it in grand style. This is because I have always enjoyed quality food because I  grew up in the home of a caterer. As a matter of fact, I always wake up from bed feeling hungry. There is this Waakye seller in my neighbourhood and in my opinion she prepares arguably the best Waakye in Accra. I had to wake up early to start my journey to her joint since being late would mean you would have to wait in line of an unending queue for your turn to be attended to. She was that good. The aroma from her stew was so irresistible that I likened it to hearing my favourite song being played. As the years passed, the queue kept reducing and the aroma from her stew did not make me feel the way it used to anymore. Complacency had set in. She knew she was too good and did not expect competition so she prepared the food anyhow and with time, her once great dish had lost the special touch. Nowadays, when I hurriedly rush past her joint to the new joint I have discovered, I only see a few people gathered to patronize her food. To be complacent means to be  contented to a fault with oneself or one's actions. Complacency therefore means  the feeling you have when you are satisfied with yourself. Logically, this feeling of satisfaction should push one to strive for more success but the opposite is the case. Complacency in our local settings begets ego, pride and class distinction. Complacency normally sets in when you are not aware. It takes different shapes and forms. The sad aspect of the whole issue is that complacency can be found in all aspects of life. Some beautiful women tend to get complacent by the fact that they are pretty. They see their beauty as their sure bet to success. They therefore invest so much in their beauty and pay little attention to their other attributes like patience, humility and respect which would compliment their beauty. Have you ever asked yourself why there are so many aging pretty women in the pews at church praying for partners? Complacency does that. Even in the church complacency plays a role. Sometimes prophecies breed complacency. A lady receives a prophecy that she is going to marry a wealthy man and a young man also receives a prophecy of landing a new job with a five-figure starting salary. The young lady per this assurance would turn down many men because their three-figure salary cannot be compared to the six-figure salary of her supposed wealthy husband. They normally forget that wealth acquisition is sometimes a slow and steady process. The young man who has also received the prophecy of a better job would treat his current job with contempt. We sometimes forget that promotion is also a new job and if we treat what we have anyhow, who do we expect to recommend us when the opportunity arises? Complacency has dire consequences. For the Waakye seller, her price was the collapse of her business but others may not be that lucky. Complacency has caused the death of many people.  Examples of such people include the famous biblical giant Goliath who was killed by a pebble. His colleague, Sampson was also killed by complacency. Sometimes complacency can be contagious. Your act of complacency can or may affect others. I once lost a bet when F.C Barcelona failed to win against Granada. There may be times that it would be difficult to recover from a complacent act because people would have already formed their lifelong opinion about you. Let us all be careful with our actions.
I know that sometimes what we are naturally good at makes us complacent but we must strive to substitute complacency with matchless pursuance of continuous excellence. My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is a R.A.T. (RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT)
More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com

HUMAN ANGELS

Have you ever wondered why you keep giving out your best even though you do not get reciprocal treatment? Ever wondered why you cannot stand to see people in pain? Ever wondered why you respect caregivers so much? Ever wondered why you feel deep inside a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction whenever you help someone even if you had to take stringent measures? Ever wondered why you cannot seem to give up on people even when they give up on you? Ever wondered why you cannot seem to get people out of your mind even when they totally forget about you? Ever wondered why a world such as ours should be plagued with sickness, poverty, disability and chaos? If you fall in any of these categories, you are part of the people I call "human angels".
Human angels are rare. They are normally identified by their beautiful hearts, souls and minds. Human angels are scattered all over the world. They are in our families, friends,workplaces and if you are lucky, you will tie the knot and spend the rest of your life with a human angel. Human angels are few but their actions more often than not defy logic. They normally go through pain, heartbreak,rejection,exploitation and pressure to ensure others are happy. They are very patient and have a long rope for tolerating people. Human angels cannot pretend to love. In relationships, human angels seem to prioritize and make their significant other their topmost priority. They appear tough on the outside but deep within, they have the softest of hearts. They get jealous sometimes for no reason. They want their significant other only to themselves. Sometimes they tend to nag and appear annoying. Human angels at work want to do all the work. They relate well with people. They are the type that might give up what they have to please their colleagues. In our families, they sometimes give up their dreams to allow their siblings succeed. They are normally the bread winners but end up with little or no bread at all. In government, they are selfless and are true reflections of the National anthem and pledge ( there are just a few of them in this sector nowadays) They always aim to please their partners.
We are human angels. Human angels, based on my point of view should be people we normally cannot live without but the opposite is the case. They always seem to take second place in the lives of others. I have come to realize that people for some reason do not like relationships where everything is handed down to them on a silver platter. People would rather like to beg, treated roughly and feel hurt sometimes; these traits cannot be found in human angels yet they still take second place.
If someone makes you feel bad just because they want you to do them a favour which they know you won't refuse, then know that you are a human angel. It sometimes is amazing the way other people and things "blind" us from seeing the human angels in our lives and just like George Elliot posited,
"The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone". If you would be patient to reflect, you are likely to realize that there has always been someone or a group of people who you can call your guardian angel or angels. We all can be human angels and we need each other to survive. We are each of us angels with only one wing, to fly we need only embrace each other- (Anonymous)
Nobody is perfect and I know it is not easy giving up your heart but what would be the essence of life if for one moment we cannot be our brother's keeper? Are you a human angel? My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is my Friday R.A.T (RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT

LESSONS FROM MY PROBLEM

 I happened to find myself in a dilemma some time back and I was in dire need of advice. The problem had been on my mind for weeks and I could not seem to get a solution for it. I decided to confide in a colleague of mine at the office. I chose that lady because she came across as someone who had this kind of aura of problem-solving around her. There were a couple of times when I saw her discuss issues with other colleagues and it was pretty obvious who needed the talking to when you listened into their conversation. I was highly confident that the young lady was an epitome of the "go see" person when one had a problem. She came across as  very affable and down to earth. Truth be told, my dilemmas had now doubled because even though I had identified my "counsellor", I had to strategise how I was going to approach her with my issue. In my head I felt she was going to go like "here comes another troubled dude that I need to solve issues on his behalf". I finally gathered some courage and decided to approach her. I met her in the company of other people and I had to join in the conversation. I managed to gather momentum and rapport with her and got her to follow me to a "comfortable" place where I could let my "cat out of the bag". I got her talking so I wanted her to finish her submission so I could begin with mine. Before I could have my day in "court", she suddenly said she had wanted to see me and had something of importance to discuss with me. I was stunned but alert and gave her my rapt attention. She went on to say she had a problem to discuss with me (this was before I could say anything). She said she saw me to be easy going and felt I was in a position to hear her out and offer solutions to her issue. In simple terms, my proverbial "old woman" had turned the table on me. My "warehouse of knowledge" had come crumbling down right in front of my eyes. I was so shell-shocked and for a moment I thought I was rooted to the spot. I think my mouth was wide open but I had suddenly become dumb. I listened to her in awe and finally she asked if I could advice her. I took in a deep breath and the rest is etched in history.
There were lessons I learnt that day that I would like to share. First of all, do not always think that you have a problem that cannot be solved. The fact in reality is that, people have bigger problems. Judging from what this young lady told me, I realized that my "supposed" dilemma was very little of an issue and after hearing her out, I quickly swept my issue under the carpet. I actually found a solution to my dilemma in her problems.
You do not always need to let the world know your problems because sometimes you are better of keeping your problems to yourself than have it roaming in the public domain. When this happens, you would first have to deal with the people who know your problem because they will surely form their own opinion about you and try to offer solutions even though they have no idea of the details of your problem. In the end, you would have to deal with your problem all alone. I pondered over the fact that, why would she say she had wanted to discuss her issue with me in particular? People at the office always say that I am always laughing and that I seem to come across as very happy all the time. Little do they know that I have my own faults and problems to deal with. When this lady "approached" me, she made reference to what my other colleagues always said about me. Fact is, you do not always need to appear miserable because of a problem, sometimes you have no other option but to let the problem be and put on a big smile and just be happy in the moment but harbouring the hopes that everything will surely be fine. Solutions to our problems might not come instantly but they will surely come someway, somehow, so why push it? You might not know who you might be encouraging with your smile. Sometimes all the inspiration another person needs is to see you happy. It is possible, despite our faults, shortcomings and enormous problems to light up the world with our smile . Our appearance alone can be a reference point to someone. It would be very unwise to think that one can live without any sort of problem. Sometimes even life and living it becomes a problem and having problems are sometimes a sign of progress just as speculated by Scott Alexander that "Understand that most problems are a good sign. Problems indicate that progress is being made, wheels are turning, you are moving toward your goals. Beware when you have no problems. Then you have really got a problem. Problems are like landmarks of progress".  When next you are faced with a problem, look at it like a temporary situation and know this that, "We have no problems, only situations. Not all problems have solutions, but all situations have outcomes"- (John Edward Gray). My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is a R.A.T (RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT)
More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com

CHECK THAT HABIT!

"The chains of habit are generally too weak to be felt, until they are too strong to be broken".- Samuel Johnson.




From the time I grew and  understood what it meant to have a new year's resolution, I always dedicated two weeks to the start of every new year to carefully draft my new year's "do's and don'ts". It will interest you to know that by the time the new year hits the quarterly mark, it was either I had failed in fulfilling the things I promised to do and excelled exceptionally at doing the things I vowed not to do in the new year. New year resolutions are probably not my style. Looking at these little notes of my resolutions, I realized that the problem was not that my resolutions for the new year were herculean; the problem was with my attitude and thus my habit. It is a herculean task breaking from a habit be it good or especially bad. A friend of mine said "if you took "H" out of HABIT you still had "A BIT"; when you took out the "A", you still had "BIT" of that habit and even after taking out the "B" you were left with "IT". This was his simple way of explaining how difficult it was breaking free from a habit. I cannot agree more with Tryon Edwards when he posited that "Any act often repeated soon forms a habit; and a habit allowed, steadily gains in strength, at first it may be but as a spider's web, easily broken through, but if not resisted it soon binds us with chains of steel". I have come to notice that our habits go a long way in determining how our lives pan out. The habits we exhibit in life, be it at work, in our relationships, or even our commitments go a long way to define who we are and these same habits are the "measuring rod" used by others to define us. It is very expedient to hold on to our good habits although the bad ones tend to gain all the attention. Breaking from a bad habit has never been easy. William Somerset Maugham shared the same view when he said that "The unfortunate thing about this world is that the good habits are much easier to give up than the bad ones". Take me for instance, I tend to have the habit of daydreaming and wishful thinking about how I want to build myself a castle and live in it. This habit of mine started to decline when I read Mary Martin's quote: "Stop the habit of wishful thinking and start the habit of thoughtful wishes". It was one of the quotes that got me to start writing. Determination is the catch word needed to break bad habits and polish good ones. Most of our habits are picked up from infancy and sometimes I do not really put the blame on us for some habits we picked up per what we saw our parents or other grown-ups do. Therefore going forward we can take a cue from this quote "In early childhood you may lay the foundation of poverty or riches, industry of idleness, good or evil, by the habits to which you train your children. Teach them right habits then, and their future life is safe" (Lydia Sigourney). We sometimes take our actions for granted and fail to realize that our bad actions, repeated over time become some sort of reflexes and breaking free from them are sometimes close to impossible. Our habits determine our level of mental growth and would normally determine our general well-being and development. People who are in the habit of constantly keeping untidy environments tend to suffer from hygiene-related diseases. Our habits are sometimes non-negotiable because the way you would behave or act at home would to a high extent be the same way you would behave outside home. This is because habits are acquired reactions, they just do not happen. Our habits are our mirrors, one little crack and then it loses it beauty and this is made clear in this excerpt "A single bad habit will mar an otherwise faultless character, as an ink-drop soils the pure white page". (Hosea Ballou). Habits contribute in no small way to success because if you would reflect carefully, you would come to the realization that the people and groups that are doing well in terms of development owe part of their success to their habit. Let us all endeavour to do away with our bad actions that grow into habits and take it upon ourselves to harness and develop our positive actions which would invariably translate into positive habits. Bad habits are not easy to break but let us all be motivated by Dr. Rob Gilbert's observation that "First we form habits, then they form us. Conquer your bad habits, or they will eventually conquer you". My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is one big R.A.T (RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT)
More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com

INFERIORITY COMPLEX: MY STANDPOINT

Growing up as a child, I suffered from inferiority complex for a better part of my childhood. I think it came about as a result of the way I was brought up. You were either scolded or beaten for every wrong done. Do not mistake this for the fact that correction is wrong. You could not speak when "authority" spoke for fear of being branded "disrespectful". It made me unable to engage in discussions even with my peers even though I knew deep down that I had the brains to do so. It took a while for me to break out of that shell of inferior feeling to be able to better relate with people in society. Inferiority complex seems to be a huge word but the effects it tends to have on us are even much greater. It is a fact that people still suffer from this "disease" for various reasons including my reason. Some ladies tend to feel inferior because they feel they are not pretty enough. They forget that beauty is objective. Disability makes other people feel inferior to others. I always had the notion that most disabled people ended up on the streets to beg till I entered the university where I had to sit in the same class to compete with visually impaired mates. I can tell you for a fact that none of them ever felt inferior and truth be told, they beat us well in the field of academics. Disability is not the end of a man's life, believe me when I say this. There are a thousand and one things that can make one feel inferior. Inferiority complex is a canker in Africa. I have come to realize that my mates who believed that the Whiteman was a "deity" suffered heavily from inferiority complex ( See my piece: System Malfunction, Help! http://randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com/2015/03/system-malfunction-help.html?m=1). I guess they felt that their only place was below the Whiteman. They think it would be suicidal to compete with people of other colour. Sometimes I blame this on the effects colonisation and slavery had on us and what we were made to believe. Other times too, our "strict" upbringing causes inferiority complex to be an automatic ingrained tendency. To demystify its hold on us would  only take the hand of God. Inferiority complex has caused many talents to be untapped, many inventions uncreated, many poems unwritten, justice not being served, exploitation, suicide, the fear of demanding accountability, many great ideas stolen, prospective life partners lost and the list goes on. I had a friend who once had a brilliant business proposal but due to inferiority complex he could not find the courage to share it. The idea has been stolen and now another person is making millions out of it. Inferiority complex is a mental illness. It is one of the world's leading cause of stagnation and underdevelopment. I also realized that some of the evil that was done the world by certain people was a result of their inferiority complex. Coups, genocides, religious conflicts and racism take some root from inferiority complex. Inferiority complex can cause lack of self worth and can equally stoke sentimental flames with disastrous end-results. In the midst of all this chaos, life has taught me that, there is nothing more prudent than having at least some fair amount of self-worth and feeling good about what and who you are. I believe that if we are able to know how worthy we are, people will respect us and not treat us anyhow. Self-worth as a country would change our stand point with other countries. Self-worth as a people would lead to the drastic curb in exploitation of others. Many people would feel better and would be able to contribute meaningfully to the progress of our society and the world at large. Beauty is objective so under no circumstance should you allow anyone degrade you for your looks. Feeling good about yourself is one sure way of reflecting the way other people will see you. Again people should be taught to be tolerant of other people's views, ideologies, ideas and identity. This will go a long way in breaching the gap between inferiority and a feeling of worthiness which would also go a long way in promoting general unity for consensus building. Inferiority complex must be dealt with once and for all. We all have great capabilities and ideas. It is about time we broke out of this "psychological prison" and let the world know us as we are. My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is another R.A.T. (RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT) More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com

MISCONCEIVED EXPRESSIONS

 There were times in life that   people used words to justify certain circumstances or misfortunes that happened. Words are very powerful and we should not underestimate their potency. There are certain words that we have used so frequently that we do not stop to look at the possibility of seeing them objectively. I was pondering over a few of those words and I realized they either fell short or had the power to resign people to their fates. In my view these words need second viewing. I therefore choose to christen these group of words as "misconceptions". Today, let us consider a few of those words.
The first set of words are "Good things come to those who wait". I do not have a problem with looking at these words from the religious point of view where "waiting" would mean to show some sort of commitment, devotion and spiritual activity like praying or fasting or exhibiting some sense of religious piety. My problem lies in the fact that we normally look at these set of words and use them to cover up our inefficiencies. They tend to make us sit back and wait for "good" things to happen to or for us. It makes us resign our destinies to some sort of fate or rare occurrence or even sometimes divine intervention which is bound to happen. In my view, I think "Average things come to those who wait; good things come to those who try and the best things come to those who persevere". This is more like it. We sometimes do not have to  "wait" for things to be done to us or for us, sometimes we need to get up and take action. Action is the difference between achievers and dreamers. The next time you hear anyone say these words, tell the person that it is a"misconception".
Our second set of words tend to be very popular and they are perfectly put together thus : "Appearances are deceptive". I think this set of words lack the clause "sometimes" because in my opinion, I think appearances are sometimes not deceptive but are truly what they are. Let me explain that it would do us more good than harm if we thought of it in this way: Some things and people will never change and what you see now would probably be what you would see in the next ten to even twenty years. Allow me to ask this rhetorical question: If it is true that "appearances are deceptive", how should we judge appearances?  People normally judge a man on his first appearance so why take the risk of appearing unprepared? Life is not a magic show where you can play games with the minds of others and later come out to say it was all for show. First impressions always count so please next time you have the chance to appear anywhere, come out rocking it and make it count. Mistakes cannot be tolerated. You have just one shot to make your appearance count so endeavour to make it a lasting impression so the next time you hear this "trinity" of words spoken, tell them "it is a misconception, watch me tear it to pieces".
Our third and final set of misconceived words for today are "No one knows tomorrow". This set of words are particularly dear to me because they reflect some amount of "aspiration". In my sole opinion, I think it is complacent to say the least to have such a state of mind. To me it belittles the idea of dreaming and hoping for a brighter future. Picture this, an intelligent young man who is in medical school will not pass out of school to become a lawyer. His "tomorrow" has already been defined by his present engagements. I sometimes have the urge to think that these set of words seek to promote care-free living. By no means should we live freely without any cares! We should hope and dream because that is what makes the hopes of wishing for a brighter "tomorrow" worthwhile. When we do so, we will be able to even determine beyond how our "tomorrows" will look like,  have a clear cut path to follow to reach our goals and quash the misconception that "tomorrow is unknown". We are the painters of our lives let us endeavour to make it a masterpiece or a priceless work of art after all is said and done. We are achievers. Let us make our days count. My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is a RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT (R.A.T)
More @ randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com

FEMALE PSYCHOLOGY 505

Yesterday was a very sad day for me. I lost almost half of my male friends across all social networks because I "snitched" on them. They all shared the same sentiments that the piece had put the burden of proof on them and that they would have to work harder to prove my synopsis wrong. I wish them luck. I need  my male friends back so ladies, this is war. No hard feelings. So after hours of brainstorming ( it took me just a few minutes to research on male psychology 101 ) and consultation with a few female psychologists, my dear "ex- boyfriends", I proudly present to you the guidebook of all guidebooks, the myth-buster, the whistle-blower and the secrets to understanding the most complex software ever created; the woman. Gentlemen, this is female psychology 505. Yes, 505 because you have to upgrade your brain from 101 to 505 to understand women. Women are moved by words. Women love to hear sweet words and "psalms" about how beautiful they are. So guys please research on oratory and literature before wooing any woman. It works all the time.
When a woman is in love, it is easy to tell, she glows in it. Just a few women really know how to hide their emotions. Every lady is dating till you become her friend and get to know that she told you that just to appear a sort-after damsel. A woman in love would do anything for her man. Sometimes their actions even defy logic. On the contrary if a woman does not love you, dude, do not push it. No amount of money or gimmicks would change her mind. Honore de Balzac captures this in his quote when he remarked that "When women love us, they forgive us everything, even our crimes; when they do not love us, they give us credit for nothing, not even our virtues".
Every lady is a princess no matter her age. Call them that and half of your job is done. It is true that women crave care, attention and love but it is also true that they want their men to put them in check and help them  build their lives. They say that if a woman tells you her problems it means she trusts you but it is also true that any woman who shares her issues with you is likely to share her heart also with you and expects you to have a share of the problems. Women are the most controversial and contradictory among all creatures. They say they are fine when they know they are not. They do not want to fall in love yet they do over and over again. Dave Barry simplified my research when he noted, "What Women Want: To be loved, to be listened to, to be desired, to be respected, to be needed, to be trusted, and sometimes, just to be held. The world is run by women. All decisions that are taken are influenced by women. Most women do not really care about their looks when they are with someone they cherish. Most women have this idea of dating tall guys ( I do not really know the reason). Before a girl turns 16, she already has her dream husband in mind. The truth of the matter is just a few women get to marry their "dream boyfriends". The happiest day of a woman's life is her wedding day so guys, please live up to the hype and do not dare mess it up. Women have more fantasies than men. If a woman tells you "it is ok", do not take it lightly because anything you say or do would surely be used against you. Women are jealous. Please if you are in public with her, make sure you are just stealing glances at the other pretty women. Do not lose your focus because she sees everything. Women do not see competition in other women, their competition is with what that other woman is wearing. Whatever her friends think of her man rarely moves her and if she can tolerate your most annoying tendencies, she is prepared to spend the rest of her life with you. All women are two-faced no matter how meek they may appear. She can be your muse or cause of abuse; your heaven on earth and the painful other. She can be both your delight and terror. Women are fragile and should be carried like a crate of eggs; even the "rowdy" ones are capable of incomprehensible emotions when the right buttons are pushed. Women are epitomes of courage, serenity, emotions and unmatched love for all persons and should be marked  "Handle with care because the contents are highly inflammable or satisfying, you decide which comes out". This is Edwin Oko Lamptey. This is a RANDOM  AFRICAN THOUGHT and my WikiLeaks version of the WOMAN. More @ randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com
+233248578396

MALE PSYCHOLOGY 101

I was at a restaurant some time back. I was waiting for a friend of mine. I had to wait longer than I thought because my friend was caught up in another commitment. In the course of my wait, a group of about six ladies walked into the restaurant. They had had seats reserved for them because they had come to celebrate the birthday of one of them. There were a group of guys already at the restaurant before I or even the ladies arrived. These ladies were seated directly across where I was sitting and started their own thing. They were laughing and giggling and sharing their presents with the celebrant. I saw the group of guys suddenly huddle up. I was sure they were planning on "crushing" the birthday party. After about 45 minutes of deliberations and planning, one of the guys, I think the bravest one started making his way to the table where the ladies were seated. I can only imagine the thoughts that went through his head as he made his way to the "ladies zone". When he got there he asked why the ladies had a cake and did not invite him. One lady offered him a slice and gave him a seat. He started a hearty chat with another lady and like clockwork, all the other guys started making their way towards the birthday table. Now, ladies, please pay attention because this is male psychology 101. Many guys dread rejection. We always want a warm reception. If the ladies at table paid no attention to the guy, he would have been the laughing stock of his friends. A lady can totally destroy a guy's confidence if she "shys" him like we say in Ghana. Most guys will not approach a lady because of this. When a guy who has been rejected by a lady sees her in the company of other ladies, his first thought is that they are "gossiping" about him. Guys appear to be more of attention seekers than ladies are. Most guys would only approach a lady if they get positive feedback. More often than not, we would wait for the lady to make the first friendly gesture. Guys are naturally shy and if you want to test a guy's resolve, look at him intently while he is speaking to you and he will fumble uncontrollably. When you speak to a guy and he cannot look you in the face, chances are he really loves you and has grown shy of you. If you want to know how a guy would treat you, pay attention to how he speaks to his mum or sister. If you happen to be seated close to a guy and you keep exchanging glances, chances are he wants to chat with you but doesn't know how to approach you. So please just approach him and introduce yourself. You are going to make his day. Guys are very jealous so please give them your utmost attention. It takes a whole lot of confidence to approach a girl we like. We get angry for no reason when we spot a girl we like so much just talking to another guy. We feel we are in a competition and you are a trophy. No matter how broke a guy is, he would try hard to impress you by taking you to a place you have always wanted to go. Guys love surprises so please surprises us all the time. I don't mean showing up unexpected but doing things that we like. Guys love football and if he changes the channel for you to watch a telenovela then it means he has committed an "offence" and he is trying to make it up to you. If all things are equal, please do not force us to watch your telenovelas with you. Most guys are of their best behaviour when they are with their crushes. Some guys would rather hide from a lady he likes than meet her on the stairs. Majority of guys are afraid of commitment because we know that we would meet prettier women. When a guy sees a lady he likes, he can compare it to hearing his favourite song. That is why we keep smiling all the time. Guys enjoy being teased with a particular lady by calling her his "wife". When a guy often calls you his wife, chances are he loves you. When you find a group of guys gathered please do not think they are talking about you. It is possible they are talking about football. They have noticed you but no one knows how to change the topic so we just fantasize about you individually. Every guy has a dream girl and the selection criteria is based mostly on external features. No matter the age of a man,he is automatically a baby when he is with the woman he loves. Ladies please handle us with care because today you know our secrets and you know we have big issues. Please be receptive, friendly and approachable. Thank you. This is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this has been a RANDOM  AFRICAN THOUGHT. More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com

LET GO AND LIVE RIGHT

Yesterday is a canceled check: Forget it. Tomorrow is a promissory note: Don't count on it. Today is ready cash: Use it! - Edwin C. Bliss.


Sometimes, I desperately desire  to turn back the hands of time to undo certain actions and measures I took while I was growing up but that desire will turn out only to be wishful thinking. Some actions and decisions we took in the past has had a telling effect on our present and sometimes can continue into our future. Some actions of the past made people lose their trust in us. We also lost confidence in people because of their actions. Sometimes when life hits us with a painful reminder of our past actions, we normally breakdown and wonder if things would have been the same if that situation had been taken care of in the past. These  reminders make us dwell so much on the past. It makes us sometimes take life for granted because we think that life has been unfair to us. Some of the actions of the past were inevitable like the death of a loved one, so dwelling on them so much would end up doing us more harm than good. There were many times in the past that people expected us to set  examples worth emulating but we let those people down. In the same vein, there were other times that we also expected more from people but we ended up being disappointed by the actions and inactions of those people, it is a back and forth phenomenon. Now see this, no matter how hard we try, we cannot get back the lost years but we can sure make the best out of what is left. We should be motivated by our present and even be hopeful about our future because it is only what we have as is captured in the words of Charles Franklin Kettering that, "We should all be concerned about the future because we will have to spend the rest of our lives there".We should not let our past mistakes or misgivings or even the inevitable circumstances of the past determine the present or decide our future. Our main focus going forward would be to avoid past mistakes and ensure we do not repeat them because Pearl Bailey was of the view that, "There is a way to look at the past. Don't hide from it. It will not catch you if you do not repeat it". It is one thing learning about the past and an entirely different ball game altogether wallowing in its effects because it normally slows down our progress and I tend to agree with Les Brown when he noted that " If you are carrying strong feelings about something that happened in your past, they may hinder your ability to live in the present". We have this moment and the future to correct the past wrongs. Though our past is written in time, its value cannot be compared to our present and future. The future looks extremely bright with lots of bright possibilities but on the condition that we let go of our past mistakes and live in the present and be hopeful for the future. My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and though I have made countless mistakes in the past, I would not allow my past determine my future. This is a RANDOM AFRICAN  THOUGHT. More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com

REPUTATION PRECEDES A NAME, WHAT IS YOURS?

I have this rare gift of not forgetting faces no matter how long it takes. People I meet tend to be fascinated by this rare feat and always wonder how I am able to keep such an amazing memory of faces. "Last week I chanced  upon a very good friend I had not seen for at least 14 years in a market at night, hence I walked up to him and stood there smiling, thinking he would recognise me too but the young man stood there looking so startled and I had this very "stupid" smile on my face. He tried to place the face but to no avail and the fascinating part is that we are in the same WhatsApp group. So I decided to put him out of his misery by introducing myself and he was like "I remember you the Random African Thoughts guy right"? He is also a twin like myself so I figured he was going to use that as a point of reference instead he referred to me with something I did and not what I was. To be honest I felt really honoured that someone made reference to my pieces and recognized me based on that. I am blessed with the gift of remembering faces but on the other hand, many people are blessed with the gift of or are in the business of not forgetting what other people did or sometimes did not do when they had the opportunity. I realized that not all people can remember faces that well because my friend could not fathom how I made him out after so many years but another observation I made was that, people would never forget your reputation be it good or bad no matter how long it takes and would use that as a reference point should you bump into them in town. Many people tend not to forget easily things and circumstances and will be quick to "christen" you with such a feat. For instance many ex presidents have their names put on certain achievements. In Ghana for example you would often hear Rawlings' chain, Kuffour bus and so on.
People will always recognise you for something be it good or bad and it tells us that our reputation really matters to people. What you do, did and could not do, what you stand for, are things people do not easily forget. People take decisions and even form opinions about people just by their actions and sometimes inactions. As much as people would remember you by your many good achievements, just one blunder can override all those achievements and reduce your reputation to zero. It is sad but it is the truth. Joseph Hall captured this observation too when he said "A reputation once broken may possibly be repaired, but the world will always keep their eyes on the spot where the crack was". People, let us try to build  good reputations so they speak for us wherever we may go. Henceforth, let us watch our actions and always think of who is watching. I could not find a more appealing way of concluding this piece than borrowing the words of Benjamin Haydon when he noted that "The great difficulty is first to win a reputation; the next to keep it while you live; and the next to preserve it after you die, when affection and interest are over, and nothing but sterling excellence can preserve your name. Never suffer youth to be an excuse for inadequacy, nor age and fame to be an excuse for indolence". My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is my RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT.
More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com