Tanzania Mourns and Rejoices

2021 has, thus far been a tough one for our nation, Tanzania. Very prominent government leaders lost their lives to health conditions. To add salt to that wound, we lost our President, Dr. John Pombe Magufuli on March 17th. This has been a tough pill to swallow to many (Tanzanians and non Tanzanians alike). On the flip side, the then Vice President, Samia Suluhu Hassan, was sworn in as the first FEMALE President of the United Republic of Tanzania March 19th. 

The nation and the world alike are grieving a loss and celebrating this huge mile stone for Tanzania. Thus far, Tanzania is the only East African country with a Female President. WOW! It gives me chills just thinking about it, let alone seeing with my own eyes that we now have a MADAM PRESIDENT. Pardon my caps, I am not shouting at you, I am screaming in text format at the amazement of having a female President, truly history has been made. 

Tanzania is a secular country, which means we have the privilege to belong to any religion, and government leaders can come from any religion that's practiced in the nation. That being said, all Tanzanians see is a FEMALE president regardless of her religion. I love this about my country, that we celebrate our nationality PERIOD! 

It's about who we are as a nation and not which church or mosque a person goes to, or which region or tribe a person comes from. We may not be 100 percent perfect when it comes to democracy, but I am happy to say, there is hope for me, you and our female children when they say 'I want to be the president when I grow up' and we can nod our heads in agreement with our children because we know it can be done. 

Photographing Irena Stoyanova

I spent March 13th doing this shoot, it felt good switching lenses on my Nikon. 

Model: Irena Stoyanova

 

The Magic of Not Giving a F*** | Sarah Knight | TEDxCoconutGrove

 

I think someone needs to hear this!!! 

Practice Gratitude

Image by gemineyeproduction.blogspot.com

One of the easiest yet hardest thing to practice in life is Gratitude. Gratitude is one of those things that slaps us in the face very often and we end up being reminded that we need to practice it more often, but then her evil sister walks in and gets our full attention then we forget about gratitude instantly. We all know the evil sister, she is called Complaining. Boy oh boy, aren’t we happy when complaining walks in. I mean, I feel like we become friends with Gratitude because we get a wake up call that we have what someone else is dying for, but maaan, complaining is our best friend. We just love her. As a matter of fact, Complaining is perhaps that one person that we constantly stay loyal to even during the wake up call moment. Did you complaining can be detrimental to your health?

I told myself last year that I will practice gratitude. I made a point to share with my close friends only the good things that have been happening to me, but can I be honest though, it was easy for me to forget the good things yet very hard to forget the bad things. And I found myself wanting to complain more than I wanted to be grateful, that’s the kinda stronghold I am talking about here. 

But, just like everything else, we only get better with practice. As the word goes, practice makes perfect and I do believe someday I will be able to share all the things I am grateful for more than the things I want to complain about. 

Being grateful means you realize that what you have now is what you used to pray for, fast for, and wish for. But the problem with us humans is that it’s always about the next thing.  I’ll be happy when I get that phone, I’ll be happy when I get that Man or Woman, I’ll be happy when I buy a house or car, or gadget. We tend to put happiness on hold until the next time we get something that we want, but we fail to remember that we should constantly be happy because what we have now is what we prayed about and wished for a while back. 

So, my dear readers, what are you grateful for this year? What do you currently have that you’ve had for a while? Yes! You read right, I want you to be grateful for what you have now that you’ve had for a while because that’s what you wished for a long time ago. Don’t get caught up in the lie of complaining for what you don’t have and forgetting what you currently have. 

We prayed for 2020 to end, and it ended, we are in a new year, yet 2021 is still a mystery. How about being grateful for being alive and healthy because you spent 2020 praying you don’t get sick or die, and you are now alive!!! Hurraaay!! 

As you step in the second month of this new year, make a point to remind yourself to be grateful even in the midst of trials and tribulations because that’s what life is all about, the good, the bad and everything in between. Besides, being grateful is good for your health and makes you happier.

XOX

Mama Tembo Safari