If bees can do it why can't we

Photo from www.fotolia.com

Yesterday after church I sat down with my daughter Emma in
the garden at the Cheryl Court apartments where I have been
staying for the past year. It’s a lovely garden with well kept roses
of all types and colors as well as many other beautiful flowers and
a lot of tall trees which provide very cool shades during hot summer
days like yesterday afternoon. So there I was sitting on the bench in
the garden admiring God’s great art when along came a number of
bees buzzing and en-route to collect nectar on the roses. As I
watched the honeybees a thought came to me about how our
country would become a developed nation if we worked together in
harmony like bees, each one of us doing our part excellently in
rebuilding the nation.

The honeybee has one of the most highly developed social structures
in the animal kingdom. At the heart of the hive, which may house as
many as 80 000 bees is the queen but these 80 000 bees don’t just
sit around watching their queen. Each bee has a specialized duty to
fulfill. The forager bees encounter the perils of the outside world to
collect food. The water collector bees bring in moisture to regulate
humidity in the hive. The plasterer bees make a kind of cement to
repair the hive. The fanner bees station themselves at the entrance
of the hive and fan the scent of the hive outward to signal the location
of the colony to lost or disoriented bees. The scout bees keep the hive
alerted to opportunities and dangers of the outside world. The variety
and specialization of the worker bees seem endless and they all work
towards one objective of maintaining the social soundness of their bee
kingdom.

So as I looked at the forager bees collecting nectar from the roses I
couldn’t help but wish we Zimbabweans could all work harmoniously
together, doing our different parts in rebuilding our nation. I imagined
a scenario where there are registered Bureau de Changes in the
country whose rates will be competitive with no black market rates
to talk of thus making it possible for foreign currency from our
Diaspora relatives and from tourists and cross border traders to
eventually find itself in the RBZ coffers. I then imagined industrialists
being able to get foreign currency to buy some raw materials and
working industriously to produce all the goods needed in the country.
I then imagined the wholesalers buying the goods from the producers
at reasonable prices and selling them to retailers after factoring in a
reasonable profit margin and the retailers selling the goods to
customers at get rich slowly prices that don’t cause inflation to keep
rising. The result being a sound economy in our country. I also
imagined all the workers in all the different industries in the country
doing their work excellently without corruption resulting in excellent
institutions and infrastructures in the country.

This is not an unreachable day dream. The Japanese are the
technological superpower that they are because of their ability to
work together like bees towards the development of their country.
The Chinese are hard workers who are always as busy as bees,
working diligently for the development of their country and as a result
they have become a powerhouse to reckon with. The Germans had a
high rate of inflation like ours long back but through innovation and a
development friendly attitude by the German citizens they managed
to rise up and rebuild their economy. There was a time when Ireland’s
economy had become so bad that it suffered a brain drain larger than
the one we are suffering now but through working like bees with a
mindset inclined towards sustainable development, Ireland now has
a very sound economy. Right next to our borders is Zambia whose
weak Kwacha currency we used to make jokes about but just visit the
country now and notice how much foreign currency is exchanged legally
in the many registered Bureau de Changes in the country and also
notice how strong the Kwacha has become as compared to the
Zimbabwean dollar. This is a result of all stakeholders in Zambia
working in harmony towards the same goal of the improvement of the
economy.

If all these other countries managed to do it, why can’t we. If bees can
do it why can’t we. The state of our economy is not because we failed
in Economics it is because most of the industry and business owners
in the country are greedy and not so patriotic such that they let
themselves be bought and used by the great control freak as a means
to a desired political end. No wonder the social contract failed to take
effect. If only we would all have the soundness of our economy at heart
and we would all do our part in rebuilding the nation, working like bees
to do so, in no time this economic meltdown will be history. We shouldn’t
kill our economy because of politics. Let us aim at leaving a legacy of a
healthy economy for our grandchildren and future generations unborn
to time, if not our children.

Poetic justice

While driving down a highway one day an MP is tragically
hit by a truck and dies. His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St.
Peter at the entrance. "Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you
settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around
these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you." "No problem,
just let me in," says the man. "Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher
up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then
you can choose where to spend eternity." "Really, I've made up my mind. I
want to be in heaven," says the MP. "I'm sorry, but we have our rules."

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down,
down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf
course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his
friends and other politicians who had worked with him. Everyone is very happy
and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about
\the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people. They
play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne. Also
present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing
and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is
time to go. Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises...

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is
waiting for him. "Now it's time to visit heaven." So, 24 hours pass with the MP
joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp
and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have
gone by and St. Peter returns. "Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another
in heaven. Now choose your eternity." The MP reflects for a minute, then he
answers: "Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful,
but I think I would be better off in hell." So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and
he goes down, down, down to hell.

Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered
with waste and garbage. He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash
and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above. The devil comes over to
him and puts his arm around his shoulder. “I don't understand," stammers the MP.
"Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster
and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a
wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?" The devil
looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning...today you voted."

The beauty and balance of life

Photo from www.flickr.com

It has been sometime since I last wrote on my blog, the reason being because
there were a lot of issues in my life that made it impossible for me to find time
to sit still and concentrate on writing on my blog. The issues are still there but
I have got used to them and have left them in God’s hands so that he takes over
all the issues. It was only yesterday that I did that and today here I am back on
my blog writing my mind away. Gone is the feeling of restlessness and the
endless search for a breakthrough. In its place is the peace and joy of having
faith that somehow God will provide a solution. I have faith in God the provider who
has an amazing grace and believe that come month end I will get accommodation to
rent in Zimbabwean dollars in any of the low density areas around Harare.

During the past interlude when I wasn’t posting anything new on my blog because
of issues in my life, during one of my early morning meditations I marveled at
the beauty and balance of life. I thought about how there is much about life that
doesn’t seem to correspond with personal problems of unfairness and hardship.
For all that is hurtful and unequal, there is beauty and balance at a later time. For
moments of stress and restlessness, there are times of harmony and peace at a later
time. As age-worn bodies succumb to pain and weakness, children and young animals
play with carefree joy. Each sunset and dawn provides an answer to nature’s need for
rest and renewal. Dark nights and cold winters come with the awareness that “this too
shall pass.” I then came to the conclusion that if there is nothing beyond the grave then
the pattern of nature is stunningly incomplete. I also came to the conclusion that the
economic crisis in my country will also follow the pattern of nature and one day come
to an end otherwise the pattern of nature will be stunningly incomplete. But most
important of all I also came to the conclusion that the immigration-enforced separation
between my soulmate Dumi and I will also one day come to an end and be replaced
with the peace and joy of knowing that the one you love is within reach for you to have
and to hold as and when you want. Having made these conclusions I then decided to
tolerate the thorny moments in my life with the underlying knowledge that “these
thorny moments too shall pass,” and the result was a sense of peace that enabled me to
start writing on my blog again.

God as the rep at the IT customer service desk.

Photo from www.fotolia.com

Customer Service (CS) Rep.: "Yes, Ma'am, how may I help you today?"
Customer: "Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install
LOVE. Can you guide me through the process?"
CS Rep. : "Yes, I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?"
Customer: "Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready to
install now. What do I do first?"
CS Rep. : "The first step is to open your HEART. Have you located your
HEART ma'am?"
Customer: "Yes I have, but there are several other programs running right
now. Is it okay to install while they are running?"
CS Rep. : "What programs are running ma'am?"
Customer: "Let's see, I have PAST-HURT.EXE, LOW ESTEEM.EXE, GRUDGE.EXE,
and RESENTMENT.COM running right now."
CS Rep. : "No problem. LOVE will gradually erase PAST-HURT.EXE from your
current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory, but it
will no longer disrupt other programs. LOVE will eventually overwrite
LOW-ESTEEM.EXE with a module of its own called HIGH-ESTEEM.EXE. However,
you have to completely turn off GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM. Those
programs prevent LOVE from being properly installed. Can you
turn those off ma'am?"
Customer: "I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?"
CS Rep. : "My pleasure. Go to your Start menu and invoke FORGIVENESS.EXE.
Do this as many times as necessary until GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM have
been completely erased."
Customer: "Okay, done. LOVE has started installing itself automatically. Is
that normal?"
Cs Rep. : "Yes. You should receive a message that says it will reinstall for
the life of your HEART. Do you see that message?"
Customer: "Yes I do. Is it completely installed?"
Cs Rep. : "Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need
to begin connecting to other HEARTS in order to get the upgrades."
Customer: "Oops. I have an error message already. What should I do?"
Cs Rep. : "What does the message say?"
Customer: "It says "ERROR 412 - PROGRAM NOT RUN ON INTERNAL COMPONENTS.
What does that mean?"
Cs Rep. : "Don't worry ma'am, that's a common problem. It means that the
LOVE program is set up to run on external HEARTS but has not yet been run on
your HEART. It is one of those complicated programming things, but in
nontechnical terms it means you have to "LOVE" your own machine before it can
"LOVE" others."
Customer: "So what should I do?"
Cs Rep. : "Can you pull down the directory called "SELF-ACCEPTANCE"?"
Customer: "Yes, I have it."
Cs Rep. : "Excellent. You're getting good at this."
Customer: "Thank you."
Cs Rep. : "You're welcome. Click on the following files and then copy them to
the "MY HEART" directory: FORGIVE-SELF.DOC, REALIZE-WORTH.TXT, and ACKNOWLEDGE-LIMITATIONS.DOC. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin
patching any faulty programming. Also, you need to delete
VERBOSE-SELF-CRITIC.EXE from all directories, and then empty your recycle bin afterwards to make sure it is completely and permanently gone erased."
Customer: "Got it. Hey! My HEART is filling up with new files. SMILE.MPG is
playing on my monitor right now and it shows that PEACE.EXE, and
CONTENTMENT.COM are copying themselves all over my HEART. Is this normal?"
Cs Rep. : "Sometimes. For others it takes a while, but eventually everything
gets downloaded at the proper time. So, LOVE is installed and running. You
should be able to handle it from here. One more thing before I go."
Customer: "Yes?"
Cs Rep. : "LOVE is freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to
everybody you meet. They will share it with other people and then return some similarly sacred modules back to you.
The sub -program of LOVE written SPECIAL SOULMATE LOVE needs a password for
it to be accessible, and the one you have been provided with is not complete, 
out there somewhere is  one single person of the opposite sex to you who has 
the other half of the password that will open the SPECIAL SOULMATE LOVE program
and cause it to start running. That program is very powerful it will cause a number of other very good programs to automatically start
running. To mention just a few, there is ROMANCE.EXE, INTIMACY.EXE, TRUST.EXE, HONESTY.EXE, FAITHFULNESS.EXE, SEXUAL FEELINGS.EXE, EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AND UNDERSTANDING.EXE AND UNTIL DEATH DO US PART MARRIAGE.EXE
Once all these very good programs are installed you will experience pure bliss
in true love, perfect peace and profound happiness.
Customer:" Where will I find this one persorn who has the other part of the
password to this very wonderful SPECIAL SOULMATE LOVE program.
Cs Rep.: You can find him anywhere on earth, sometimes at the most unlikely places
but one thing I can assure you is that when you do you will know it cause you will
feel like flying without wings.
Customer: " Thanks for your help. By the way, what's your name?"
Cs Rep. : " You may call me the Divine Cardiologist, also known as The Great Physician, but most call me God. Many people feel all they need is an annual
checkup to stay heart-healthy, but the Manufacturer suggests a schedule of daily maintenance for maximum efficiency. Put another way, keep in touch.