Page 162 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 8

Forum

Africans urge people not to despair. Difficult times are sure to come but
they will eventually pass on: Water does not stay in the sky forever (Ka-
lenjin proverb), The remedy against bad times is to have patience with
them (Egyptian proverb), Daylight follows a dark night (Masai proverb)
and However long the night may last, there will be morning (Moroccan
proverb). In these days of demand for instant results, the pressure to suc-
ceed is ever present and failure can be devastating. However, to fail is
normal. How do we deal with failure? Wisdom teaches us: Do not look
where you fell, but where you slipped (Liberia proverb). On persistence
and never giving up if you know the path you walk is the right one: Cou-
rage is the father of success (Nigerian proverb).
On exercising discernment and caution: No one tests the depth of a river
with both feet (Ghanaian proverb). On focused living: Work on your
reputation until it is established; when it is established it will work for
you (Tunisian proverb). Giftedness is a combination of learned skills and
natural gifts. We know that each individual is uniquely gifted and no one
can take away your talents: No man‘s path lies in another‘s (Akan pro-
verb). This points to the need for each of us to know our gifts and not to
waste years persisting in an area where we are not skilled or gifted: Leave
alone a dance you are unable to perform (Lega – DRC proverb). How
do we discover talents? Natural giftedness shows itself even with little
encouragement: Even without drumbeats, banana leaves dance (African
proverb). Special gifts can be quiet and unassuming, and even the ability
to watch others and encourage them in these days of stressful compe-
tition is a gift in itself: If everyone is going to dance, who, then, would
watch? (Cameroonian proverb).

The Spirit
A whole person takes care of their spirituality. Africans are religious, be-
lieving that whatever exists owes its life to the Supreme Deity. In this re-
gard, creation is the most widely acknowledged work of God throughout
Africa. Various proverbs on God and creation remind Africans to live
in humility and awe of God. This is wisdom recognizes God as the one
from who all life and creation emanate. Pride that does not recognize this
sovereignty is termed as foolishness: If you are filled with pride, then you
will have no room for wisdom (African proverb).
Keeping fit spiritually is based on the health of the soul or spirit. This sy-
stem houses life’s sense of meaning and significance often called existen-
tialism – knowing and living out our life’s purpose that is linked to God’s
reason for our individual existence. The human being is just a tiny dot
in God’s universe. Apart from planets, how many stars do we have in the
universe? Astronomers estimate that that there are “at least 70 thousand
million million million (70 sextillion or 7 × 1022) stars in the Universe.
The Universe probably contains more than 100 thousand million (100
billion or 1011) galaxies,” (Fact Files, Royal Museums, Greenwich). One
such galaxy is the Milky Way of which our sun is part. What is the size
of a galaxy like the Milky Way? The best estimates suggest that the Milky
Way contains about 500 thousand million stars and a total mass equiva-
lent to 1.9 million million Suns.

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