By Billy Osogo "Educate, Empathize and Empower all!" That was the comment by my friend SnapDragon X on my previous piece. A brilliant choice of words, if I do so say myself! As I mentioned heretofore, the subject of racism is one that we must continue to have genuine conversations on. Educating yourself, allows you... Continue Reading →
SnapDragon Speaks: On All I Need.
Tired Beauty, 2021. St. Andrews State Park, Florida. Original Photo by SnapDragon X. All rights reserved, yo. Greetings, Dear Reader! The SnapDragon Family is currently on the road, seeing some sights during this all-too-depressing season of lockdown during winter in Pennsylvania. (starts shivering, and hides head beneath a blanket) We’re cozied up in our Berkshire... Continue Reading →
ON BIG NOSES
IMAGE: OXYGEN.IE (*Sniff*Sniff*) Do you smell that? Imagine living in a world where the size of your nose determined the quality of your life. A large nose would guarantee you access to good schools, quality healthcare, higher wages and everything in between. Conversely having a small nose would automatically disenfranchise you from everything that people... Continue Reading →
BRICK WALLS
Death is a subject we seldom discuss yet we know it is inevitable. A few years ago I attended a requiem mass for a relative at the Holy Family Basilica in Nairobi. It was a teary and somber service. A sniff would start in one corner, a pain-laden sigh in another and soon, the entire building... Continue Reading →
SnapDragon Speaks: On Thought-Jelly.
Still Here, 2019. Paris. Original Photo by SnapDragon X. All rights reserved, yo. Hi. SnapDragon here. It's been awhile. And who knows why, really. I mean, I do have a toddler. I tend to the house and home. I technically work full-time, although it's more like a part-time, online gig at the moment. (No complaints.... Continue Reading →
TWO FOR THE ROAD
IMAGE: PINCLIPART. COM Paulo Coelho in his best-selling book, The Alchemist, writes of children; “A child can teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires.” COVID-19 hit Nairobi sometime in March. That's... Continue Reading →
ON THE TRUTHS WE HOLD, THE POWER OF WORDS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN
Happy New Year! I recently watched in shock the chaotic scenes at the US Capitol building. The brazzen attempt to subvert democracy seemed almost impossible for the world's most advanced democracy. Another reminder that democracy, like a baby, needs round-the-clock tending to. Even more reason to look forward to January 20th. One hopes that Joe... Continue Reading →
Missed Connections
“Throughout our lives we long to love ourselves more deeply and to feel connected with others. Instead, we often contract, fear intimacy, and suffer a bewildering sense of separation. We crave love, and yet we are lonely. Our delusion of being separate from one another, of being apart from all that is around us, gives... Continue Reading →
SnapDragon Speaks: On The Stranger-Friend.
Don't Wait, 2020. Original Photo by SnapDragon X. All rights reserved. Once upon a time, when I had recently graduated from college and found myself alone in a large city, I felt those first unsettling pangs of depression. Quiet. So quiet. So very very quiet. At 22, it was the first time in my life... Continue Reading →
The Blame Game
“Blame doesn't empower you. It keeps you stuck in a place you don't want to be because you don't want to make the temporary, but painful decision, to be responsible for the outcome of your own life's happiness.”- Shannon L. Alder Let's be honest...we have all played the Blame Game. It is easy to do... Continue Reading →
How Are You “Feeling?”
“We try so hard to hide everything we're really feeling from those who probably need to know our true feelings the most. People try to bottle up their emotions, as if it's somehow wrong to have natural reactions to life.”Colleen Hoover I have been thinking about my "feelings" a lot lately. Emotional feelings that is,... Continue Reading →
SnapDragon Speaks: On The Unwritten Page.
Silent Shrug, 2015. Belgium. Original Photo by SnapDragon X.All rights reserved. What is with us humans? Why do we have a tendency to trivialize other people's problems, but when they happen to us, it's the end of the effing world? We compartmentalize for our friends: Hey, at least you don't have to worry about: the... Continue Reading →
SnapDragon Speaks: On Starting Over.
Slice it Up, 2019. Original Photo by SnapDragon X. All rights reserved. If I could start all over again, I'd only focus on my body being strong. The hell with the numbers. If I could start all over again, I'd go into meetings with confidence. I have a right to be here. If I could... Continue Reading →
SnapDragon Speaks: On The Mirror.
Gentle Spirit, 2019. Marker on Paper. Original Doodle by SnapDragon X. All rights reserved. Like an elusive vapor, my reflection floats, then gently fades before my eyes. Like a favorite novel, its binding and its pages warp with the inevitable passing of time. Yet its story--its spirit--stays the same. . . . When I look... Continue Reading →
SnapDragon Speaks: On Jealousy.
Reach, 2020. Pennsylvania. Original Photo by SnapDragon X. All rights reserved. Why do we get jealous? It's inevitable, really. Because for a time, in one way or another, we all feel it. She's so much skinnier than me. *pout* He has a summer house he never even uses. *scowl* They pop out a kid every... Continue Reading →
Want vs Need
In a world full of stimuli, we want everything. And with everything, frustration and regret comes. You start to double-check every decision and you keep comparing it to the endless potential. And for what? The biggest problem raises from the fact that we rarely analyze what we really need in life. We want this and... Continue Reading →
SnapDragon Speaks: On Listening.
I'm a bit under the weather, friends. My apologies for both a delayed and limited post. But I'm listening to my body; she's talking to me. She needs rest. She needs warmth. She needs time. I wish you and yours a comforting weekend. All of my love, SnapDragon
SnapDragon Speaks: On a Cast-Iron-Kind-of-Life.
Grandma's Favorites, 2019. Original Photo by SnapDragon X. All rights reserved. Don't be fooled: I'm no chef. While I may be Food Network's most faithful follower, I'm pretty much lost without a recipe. I also tend to balk at the idea of creating a mess in the kitchen, which my cooking inevitably requires. So a... Continue Reading →
SnapDragon Speaks: On Self-Love.
Home as Print, 2019. Original Painting & Design by SnapDragon X. All rights reserved. Greetings, friends! As you may know, I took a short break from the blogosphere for much of September. Shit happened (as it does) and I needed to turn off and unplug as much as I could, for the sake of my... Continue Reading →
I need to vs I have to – Reblog
We do things every day. Some of them we enjoy doing, others to do because we have to and some we do because we need to. There is this thing I’ve noticed: whenever we have to do things, we sometimes feel worse compared to the things we need to do. Why is this happening? I believe this happens because... Continue Reading →