Gloria D. Gonsalves

“You can choose to create a drama and get what you acted for or remain silent and get what you planned for.”

“I aspire to be an inspirer, not a mentor. As such it would be fulfilling to know that someone read what I wrote and tailored it creatively to serve positively their divine purpose.”

“I have learned that love is not a button which you can switch it on when wonderfully sizzling and switch off when heart broken. When you love you cannot put a past tense to it because if you do then it was never love in the first place. But if love was there, then it persists in different forms such as mutual respect but never hatred.”

“You are not the problem but fashion designers, who are limiting themselves creatively.”

“Right now in this world, a child is dying from an ailment because its family cannot afford to buy charcoal for boiling water.Right now in this world, a girl is striving to find firewood from trees that no more exist, and water from sources that are poisonous.Right now in this world, a boy is out fishing in a lake rich with inedible species.Right now in this world, a mother is drowning in heavy rainfall, to save her belongings.Right now in this world, a man has lost his dignity because all his eff orts to save have been wiped away to poverty by unforeseen calamities.Right now in this world, a family is starving because drought has invaded their once fertile land.Right now in this world, a nation is planning for refugee status due to adverse climate conditions.Right now in this world, you have a choice to help alleviate environmental problems caused by humankind.”

“My lips swelled with red freshness, my chest heaved proudly with a pair of pointed African drums, my face tempted with its sweetness like Kilimanjaro waters and my height spoke a language only a Maasai warrior knew.”

“Then I saw his kind eyes, a comfort I desired. Then I saw his height, a knight I needed by my side. Then I saw his body, a man I surrendered to.”

“The moment of honouring our humanity is now.”

“I do not condemn either the rich or the poor, but the consequences of these two.”

“My thick and full lips shall pout their African ancestry until all sorrows are kissed out of me.”

“The joy of comradeship in this foreign land has been killed by silence and overprotection of personal space. I miss the chaos around me for it makes me realise that I am amidst life and alive.”

“May the economic discrimination you impose on your own people bloat your mind. That polluted rubbish occupyingyour mind-set needs to be swept clean. May the disgusted look you impose on those you judge poor burn your eyes.That evil look occupying your clear vision needs to land in the bin. May that shameful attitude you impose on those you wish to feel lesser bring your soul to restlessness. That fake character you display needs to be thrown out of the window.”

“Everyone these days is concerned so much with privacy and forgets the value of human touch. We still need each other but are scared of how it might sound or appear to the other.”

“There is a pleasure a bee takes in collecting nectar and piling it into a hive. It knows well that the chores involved in such a task will yield sweet results.”

“Have you ever entered a kitchen to find a woman, her legs crossed while the rest of her body is dressed in colourful khanga, smiling at you while her hands are making a melodious song with a coconut grater? Have you ever wondered how any woman size can fit on that grater regardless of their body size? The time for wondering is over. East Africa heartily welcomes you to see for yourself. Go and visit it.”

“May you grow to be a fearless and proud accepting-self human.”

“You will experience a lot of imaginings as usually is for humans although we tend to pretend that all our thoughts are septic and moral. Feelcomfortable with your thoughts. Trust me dear child, no human is spared from wild thoughts and you too will have them. Nothing should limit you my child. But the minute you decide to speak out your thinking or live them, you should be ready for the consequences too.”

“At times we are the worst racist enemies of our black selves.”

“If a lion can growl, why shouldn’t a man cry?”

“A foolish mind would not raise an eyebrow when things are done diff erently in a foreign culture. An educated mind would try to understand the meaning of it all.”

“I refuse to behave fraudulently, as if I was anything else but African.”

“One should use well a mouth for someone will remember your words and the manner they were spoken. One should pose well in a body for someone will remember your image and how you carried it. One should serve well for someone will recall the kindness and spread it among humanity.”

“To eat Ugali is an art of adventure in itself. Forget cutlery because all you need is your lovely fingers.”

“She is a woman, how can you confuse her for a man?”

“To be a woman is not a weakness.”

“She refuses to support the slogan - Men are equal to women - if this translates to her femininity being faded out or confused by trying to please a selfish idea of anyone wanting a woman to be both herself and a man.”

“I was taught how to walk but I did not master the cheating steps of others.”

“What are the lessons intended in the stories we tell to our children today?”

“Drooling over an African figure that I could never have, I feasted my eyes uponthe swaying mounds of my fellow African sisters.”

“Then I learnt of “white Christmas”, which again I found very peculiar since we always have a white Christmas at home for it never passes by without eating rice. That is our white Christmas.”

“Life at home is at a pace which allows you to appreciate what it has to offer. Simultaneously you get a chance to reflect on what you wish from it. Our development also goes at the same pace, which is not something that everyone appreciates.”

“What might be considered loyalty in onesociety might not necessarily be the same for another.”

“Do not fear to find yourself among strangers.”

“We should all celebrate the magnitude of diverse and unique souls that live in our world today, for it is an essence that makes our lives colourful every singleday.”

“Being able to experience and live the differences with sound judgement offers a chance to opt for what is right for one.”

“I am also open minded to embrace strange notions and respect its bearers without harsh judgement. Exposure has made me feel confident and wiser to choose what feels right for me, in order to be the best human being for myself and others.”

“Many years ago, I left my home country very narrow minded. Today I return with an educated mind, able to understand why my culture is as it is and still be very proud of it.”

“To get pure love one has to distil the heart.”

“Spend time to love yourself and the aging process involved. Your growth vintage is priceless.”

“Sometimes this sentence “I am praying for you” can be so dishonest and lowering that there are occasions I have looked up in heaven and asked God, “please don’t accept that prayer”.”

“A mother has two hands but performs jobs of many arms. You will never be able to do the impossible until you realise what your mother did.”

“You may not possess a body that everyone want to admire.You may not possess wealth that everyone want to have.However you should possess a character that will make you worthy to love.”

“Why dwell on yesterday’s pee when you can make a fresh one today?”

“There is nothing wrong for a man to be in the kitchen and cook. There is nothing wrong for a man to like flowers. There is nothing wrong for a man to carry a baby. There is nothing wrong for a man to do house chores. There is nothing wrong for a man to visit a beauty salon. But there is something wrong if anyone of us feels it is not right for him to do any of these.”

“There are days when one feels not like being out there – it’s ok go ahead and hibernate. There are days when one wants to give affection – trust me there are many ways to do that and plenty of people wanting it. There are days when one wants to feel it’s ok to have needs – please don’t hide who you are. There are days when one feels like nobody understands you – it’s ok to play a low key and watch life quietly.There are days when one feels like is giving more than receiving – take a step back to refuel yourself, ask for help and simply stop for a breather.There are days when one feels like not sharing – share to give others a chance to know you.”

“The moans made with pleasure during love making become much louder with displeasure during separation.”

“The mind is your guard, the heart is your maid and the soul is your territory. Nobody else but you should have the control of these.”

“The man upstairs can take it when we are mad. Swear all you want he can handle it. But do not remember God or whatever almighty force you believe in just when things go wrong. I am sure he would want to know it too when you are happy. The same goes for your friends. Don’t dump on them just bad stuff but also share your happiness with them too.”

“The heaviest heart eventually heals to heavenly heights. Never give up.”

“The day I will stop being shocked by human behaviour, is the day I will know that the last bit of my heart purity is lost forever.”