The 'S' Crisis

My momentum was at its peak when my husband gave the usual 30-minute alert, which signalled the end of our workout session, at our newly found workout spot in the complex (#LockdownCreativity). Oblivious was I to the depth of reflection a random social media message could evoke before he gave the signal.

Instead of calling it quit for the morning, I was compelled to increase the pace of my workout, which sent the intended message: ‘I still have some scores to settle here honey’. After all, I had some scores to settle with those extra pounds, thanks to the second extension of my #Lockdown experience. By the way, I have been on #Lockdown since mid-March after the closure of schools in South Africa.

My mind immediately deviated to the video I received the previous day. The video was about one of the projects undertaken by a ‘notoriously mismanaged country’ in its effort to contain the #COVID-19 pandemic. I remember being captivated by the richness of the cloud in the video, which was impeccably captured. While the showcasing of the beauty of the cloud may not have been intentional, my eyes chose to be fixated on the image for reasons I will explain later.

The image I saw can be likened to the beautiful picture teachers portray to children about the rainbow in the clouds. It then dawned on me that my perception of this country had been badly distorted by the limited human understanding of God’s presence in a nation, which is perpetuated on social media.

As one would imagine, the pace of my workout was interrupted by these thoughts, which made me slow down for deeper reflections. I pondered on the bad images that had been portrayed about this supposedly ‘hopeless’ country on social media lately and how the country was struggling to contain the virus, against all odds and ironically, amid the 'solidarity crisis'.

My reflection on the solidarity crisis then shifted to how the world seemed to carry on with business and life as usual earlier in the year, while only China battled with #COVID-19. While taking cognisance of China’s unacceptable behaviour towards the escalation of the virus, it appears the rest of the world’s nonchalant attitude was fueled by one of my academic mentors' (Vanclay 2014) ‘NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) and PIMBY (Please In My Backyard)’ analogy.

The pursuit of a solution to a problem is not of immediate concern if the problem in question does not pose a threat - It could be a problem if the situation shows indications of potential danger (my paraphrase and emphasis). It becomes a big problem when the first case is discovered and we all (globally) now suddenly have to close schools, practice social distancing, close borders, shutdown the economy and the list is endless.

What lessons can we as 'Moral Agents' learn from this solidarity crisis?

What are the limits of solidarity?

Is love enough?

How far can love go?

How can we be more proactive in dealing with matters which have no direct impact on our lives, well-being and livelihoods?

How can empathy, proactivity, service and solidarity mitigate social, environmental, political and economic risks?

What are the exponential effects of our silence and nonchalant behaviour on the future generation?

Let's redress the solidarity crisis by leaving a comment. I look forward to yours.

#SustainableDevelopment #COVID-19

 #Lockdown #Solidarity #SocialResponsibility #StayAtHome 

#StaySafe

Coronavirus: Peace for Despair

My heart bleeds for the world as it battles with #Coronavirus. Global supply chains have been badly affected. The tourism industry is crumbling as many flights, hotel reservations and conferences have been cancelled and/or rescheduled amid widespread fear and extreme panic. 

The well-being of many is slowly declining globally. Global financial market indices and stock markets have been dwindling.  Even my five-year old has a lot to say about #COVID-19 and how to take precautionary measures.

While the World Health Organisation (WHO) still insists #COVID-2019 is not a pandemic (as at the time of writing this post), I admonish you to consider this outbreak as one of the many signs of the 'last days'. It seems so vivid but the enemy packages it in a way that many would disregard it as such. 

Just in case you are not convinced, consider the unrest globally, needless to talk about the persecution of Christians not only in Nigeria, being a particularly disheartening case, but all over the world. BBC news and other global world news also reckon.

It is no more news that we need to take precautionary measures as widely recommended. Over and above that, it is crucial to be intentional about remaining hopeful for a decline in the spread of the virus as we introspectively soldier on.

There is no better time to recalibrate on one's purpose, identity and focus.

F for February, F for Focus

It's been fifteen minutes since I have been battling to finalise the title of this post. I have lost count of the number of emails and wandering thoughts I have shoved away within this short period. It will take a lot of willpower not to succumb to these distractions. 

There we go again, an email just popped in. It is from an airline and its title seems catchy: 'Get ready for your trip to Durban' I kid you not, the first thought that crossed my mind was that I had booked my ticket for the wrong date as I was only due to travel in a couple of weeks. I then had to check the email to confirm my suspicion. In the process, I made an intentional effort to calm down and settle the worst case scenario in my head, which would be to pay a fee to reschedule the flight. 

I was wrong. The email wasn't intended to 'get me ready for my trip', neither was it about my booking details. I was rather welcomed by unnecessary ads about the airline's other offerings. I then decided to filter through my old emails to check my ticket, only to realise my booking details were in order. I finally managed to hit the 'new post' button on my blogsite, after struggling with many other distractions and here I am. 

My last post in 2019 was the first of a three-part series I started on  "... how often overlooked relational cues in social interactions may have been influential in building character in this image-driven world." The first relational cue I reflected on was 'sarcasm' and the post was titled: "Guilty Until Proven Innocent".


In this post, I will reflect on the second cue which I have tagged: 'normalised distraction'. I define normalised distraction as whatever you would have considered unimportant or detrimental to advancing your development and growth, in the last five to ten years, which has now unconsciously become commonsense or topmost on your priority list.


I find these five questions important for gaining deep insights into developing a personalised Focus Barometer:

1.  Who are you? 
2.  What are you about? 
3.  What do you want to achieve in life? 
4.  What are the things that are truly important to you? 
5.  What are your key responsibilities in terms of yourself, your family, the causes and people that matter, and your career?

This Barometer seeks to reveal and measure how top priorities, values and aspirations may have been obscured by competing and unimportant demands. This activity will not only enhance the ability to realign one's gaze on top goals and priorities but also channel one'e energy into living a purposeful life.

Mindfulness of these questions can be instrumental for revealing one's threshold on the Barometer. Of particular importance is how the majority of your current tasks and activities advance your answer to each of the questions posed.

Staying focused on one's highest priorities in a fast-paced and complex world such as ours is a full-time job.

Let's walk the talk.

This Year Is Our Year

'This year is our year'. Those were the last five words of 'a petrol attendant with a difference' which made me make a 360 degree turn yesterday evening, in an attempt to dig deeper into the source of the words. 

It was a typical hot summer's day in Durban. I had just dropped my daughter off for her Friday Bible study and had 60 minutes to think through dinner plans, do my last minute shopping for the weekend and fill up my petrol tank in preparation for the new week. It was rush hour, so time went past in a flash. I had just 10 minutes to buy petrol.

Murphy's law kicked in: my engine oil gauge was low so I had to buy a pint of oil. I unconsciously went into thinking mode to finalise my thoughts for dinner, as I waited to be served. 

Then another petrol attendant walked up to me, with a brimming smile. I couldn't miss him, it was the same guy who walked up to me whenever he didn't get the chance to serve me. He would usually say something that will make my daughter and I smile, no matter how hectic the day had been. He even recognised me whenever I sat in the passenger's seat of another car and would walk up to me to say hello, not forgetting his brimming smile.

Petrol Attendant: Happy new year ma'am!

Me: Happy new year! 

Petrol Attendant: I have not seen you in a while. How has your year been so far? 

Me: Oh yea. It's been good, thanks. And yours?

Petrol Attendant: It's been good too, thank you.

Then he moved closer to say those life changing words, not forgetting to demonstrate.

Petrol Attendant: 'This year is our year! 

I quickly added with utmost enthusiasm

Me: AMEN!

I pondered on the words as he walked away. I didn't expect those words at a garage. I made payment and established rapport with the petrol attendant that served me who was equally friendly. Then I made my way out of the garage into the freeway that would lead me to my next destination - to pick up my daughter and prepare to answer all the questions the Bible study would have inspired. 

But my next destination had to change. I made a 360 degree turn into the freeway, back into the garage, even though I was now late to pick my daughter. I explained to him why I turned back. I needed to know the source of those words, to take his picture, and really get to know the name of the petrol attendant with a difference: Simiso Vumisa

I know many people have very high expectations for 2020 and have made resolutions accordingly. It's one of those significant years which evokes a sense of seriousness and dedication. Whatever we do, let's be conscious and intentional about making a difference in our world, one day and one person at a time. Simiso Vumisa just did.

#Thisyearisouryear #Engengarage #Engenmarathonmotor #2020vision

Guilty Until Proven Innocent

I have been pondering on how some often overlooked relational cues in social interactions may have been influential in building character in this image-driven world. I have identified three of these cues but this post will focus on one of them, which is: 'sarcasm'. Watchout for the last two.

I was forced to transcend into peoples' minds at a recent gathering, with a devoted sense intentionality, in the bid to catch the jokes the audience seemed to dismally fail at getting over. Alas! the majority of the jokes eluded me, though I giggled at a few. Here is my point: there seems to be a growing struggle to communicate without having to intermittently introduce often sarcastic humour in order to drive engagement and get buy in. Well, everything is not supposed to be funny! 

The task of reflecting on 'sarcasm' as a topical and rather influential relational cue can be rewarding as it helps to deepen understanding of prevailing thresholds of sincerity and integrity as well as the priority accorded to effective communication over loyalty, or perhaps social licensing.

Thinking aloud, there must be a link between dwindling economic conditions, turbulent market fluctuations and political instability, unrests as well as natural disasters etc. and increasing 'sense of sarcasm'. There could also be a connection between this growing relational attribute and the upsurge of social media interactions and its role in reinforcing cultural exchange. All of these may have influenced the use of sarcasm, perhaps as a coping mechanism for dealing with these issues.

Patterns of the unconscious use of memes and emoticons particularly make a case. For example, I wonder what culture is imbibed when fingers convey ecstasy through smiley faces or teary eyes on social media while facial expressions and  gestures say the opposite. How sustainable is laughter if it can evoke momentary and/or relative happiness, or perhaps disguised happiness in the absence of inner resolution and closure. This increasing culture of sarcasm appears to have been normalised, although many manipulate the blurred line between sarcasm and satire in the name of 'constructive criticism'.

This culture has sadly been infused in supposedly 'solemn gatherings' whereas 'filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting which are not fitting' are not expected in such gatherings.

Not surprisingly, there are many quotes and old wives' tales which support, but inspire deep thoughts on the notion of laughter:

"Nothing shows a man’s character more than what he laughs at."

~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. And dreams are forever."~ Walt Disney

 and lastly,

"Laughter is the best medicine but if you laugh for no reason, you need medicine." ~ Anonymous 

While these quotes lend themselves to diverse interpretations, especially the last one, I am forced to agree with Jonathan Coyle, an American actor and influencer who argued that the momentary pleasure that laughter generates can be deceptive (paraphrased). 

My resonance with Coyle's argument might seem unfounded especially in the wake of the just concluded machine-learning sentiment analysis of the SA #Happiness Index, which showed an unexpectedly increasing trend in the rate of 'happiness'. 

Professor Talita Greyling, a researcher in the field of wellbeing and development economics at the University of Johannesburg confirmed during a talk show on SA FM this morning (29/10/19) that 40,000 - 50,000 tweets where analysed everyday, during the 'week of turmoil' (October 21 - 27). The week of 21 October was the week in which prominent members of parliament resigned from the Democratic Alliance (DA), a political party in South Africa. It was also the week in which the #Springboks won the match against #Wales in the semi-finals to secure a place in the World Cup Rugby final. Greyling reiterated that while the outcome of the study is not void of limitations and biases, it could inform policy development on the general state of wellbeing. 

I find the finding of this study rather ironical given increasing suicide rates and the low ranking of African countries in the #WorldHappinessReport. Based on a recent report published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and a CNN report released in March 2019, seven African countries where on the list of the world's ten least happiest countries, after Haiti, Syria and Afghanistan in the 2019 World Happiness Report. Sadly, no African country made the top ten happiest country ranking. 

The foregoing commentary confirms that happiness is relative, which as a consequence also implies that there is a huge responsibility on recipients of humour (especially in the African context) to intrinsically observe patterns of vulnerability to humour and the tendency to superficially dismiss pain/anguish/confusion /despair with laughter. There are also imminent lessons for character building with specific implications for corporate communication professionals and advertising agencies as consumer affinity with humour-based content can be short-lived.  I propose that increasing awareness of the superficial and manipulative nature of humour in marketing strategy could trigger negative reactions to brand perception, product quality, customer satisfaction and ultimately corporate reputation. 

Could many be guilty until proven innocent?

Signed:

Yours,

Abosede Ijabadeniyi 

Satire works best when the satarist has the courage not just to go for the joke 

~ Gladwell Malcolm

The Paradox of Civilisation

There is no better time to write this than within the first few hours of my return from a 10-day trip to two Schengen countries. You know you are in ‘Mzansi fo sho’ (The South) and Ekaya (home) when several African languages are passionately spoken with no one looking at you like some idol or deity. See, the pursuit of ‘greener pastures’ can take you away from home but you know deep down inside of you (especially if you live alone) that something is missing in ‘Oyinboland’. There is that missing African umph!

Fair enough, you can admire the skyscrapers, canals and monuments in the heart of Amsterdam or perhaps enjoy the Portuguese culture across Barcelos/Porto/Lisbon and persistently question why our African leaders cannot replicate the infrastructure back home but, there is always that sense of ‘butness’, that out-of-place feeling/treatment you get outside Africa. I really can’t wait until tomorrow to get my dearly missed roasted corn from the heart of Berea in Durban. I am just unashamedly African.

The pride of Africa loses its worth when Africans don’t appreciate one another. Nevertheless, what we have in Africa is priceless. We might still be dealing with many teething problems, which seem to drive us apart and make us lose the sense of togetherness, nothing can change one's origin, regardless of conferred citizenship(s).

Deeply ingrained in human nature is an attachment to communal settings and comradeship, which also translates to the feeling you get at family-friendly restaurants. You are often asked: Table for 2? 3? or ... 6?, as the case be may. The question: Eat In or Takeaway? is usually not expected at such restaurants.

  Restaurant layouts and employee rapport often suggest positioning strategy and value proposition, explicating the not so obvious 'Ubuntu threshold'. For example, an entity/organisation is as good as what it intrinsically stands for, regardless of what is otherwise stated/manipulated in annual reports or portrayed in ads and wider marketing strategy.

The term Ubuntu is derived from the following phrase in isiZulu: “Umuntu ngu muntu nga bantu” which means: “A person is a person through other people” I define Ubuntu threshold as the extent to which moral consciousness can outlast cosmetic social licensing - soliciting for social acceptance for illegitimate purposes. The opposite of Ubuntu in the Yoruba moral system is 'Eniyan-keniyan', the antonym of the concept of 'Omoluabi'. In its literary form, Omoluabi is 'the child born to the master of character.' This value system does not only emphasise the importance accrued to the family system but also of the responsibility of the family to raise socially responsible citizens. In Yorubaland, a person called Omoluabi explicates virtue; is courageous, humble, sensitively shuns undue attention and praise, hardworking and respects the rights of others.

The global culture, as paraded in socialisation platforms, is subtly resocialising many, leading to the ‘McDonalisation’ of indigenous cultures. While George Ritzer's notion of McDonalisation relates to societal fast-food mentality, the term McDonalisation is used here as the act of carelessly and rapidly absorbing societal cues, without iterative screening for values-based compatibility. While this resocialisation process is gaining momentum and has turned many would-be Ubuntu/Omoluabi patriots into 'radical individualists', I encourage us to appreciate Africa.

We should also take pride in welcoming our fellow Africans and non-African tourists warmly into our continent, this is what we have, let’s value our heritage.

 #Heritageday2019 #AfricaUnite #ProudlyAfrican #Heritageweek2019

Staying Fashionable and Kicking off the Cold for Less

Winter is very much upon us in South Africa. Hope you got the flu vaccine early enough? The erratic weather, especially the #DurbanWeather is taking its toll on many, through the flu and its associated cousins such as cough, sorethroat, tiredness, lightheadedness, basically being - #sick

Staying fashionable can be the last thing on your mind if and when you are dealing with the flu and its family. You sure need some #WinterWarmers

Five thriving tips for staying healthy this season:

1. Your hand sanitiser should be your best friend now, use it as often as possible - follow your gut feelings.

2. Hot water bottles work like magic, especially for some of us who use heaters sparingly.

3. Head warmers are super cool, they keep the cold away, keep your hair neat and prevent your 'hair lotion/cream' from staining bed sheets and pillowcases!

4. I cannot overemphasise the value of warm socks and gowns - the latter being a proudly South African traditional winter outfit at home, since there are hardly in-built heaters in most homes.

5. Do you really have to use your hands to open and close communal doors, especially toilet doors and taps? Put your elbows and knuckles to good use and tissue-laden hands, making sure those hands are properly washed and dried as often as possible.

Now that you are armed with tips on staying healthy, it is time to pull out your old winter accessories and be crafty about combining them with your newly acquired 'stuff' - you know what. You need not change your entire wardrobe to stay warm and fashionable. 

Be sure to invest in a few formal coats, scarfs and hats for the office-look and not your typical 'winter jerseys' which should be kept for informal evening/weekend gatherings.

Yours in sound health and mind - 3John2.

Abosede