The savannah and the broken soul

Dear soul, The Yoruba people of West Africa have a saying that anything either good and or bad that can happen to an individual must have at least once in the past happened to Orunmila their mythic ancestor. Simply put there is no such thing as a new dilemma. This puny epistle is targeted at whoever is feeling down and out i.e. useless. It is scripted purposely in a light hearted manner to cheer and bolster because there are three things which are effective allies in times of trouble. They are laughter, clarity and resolve. Whatever an individual can laugh at he or she can face with level-headedness and tackle. Our Orunmila (borrowed ancestor) for now is actually celebrated Scottish king Robert the Bruce. Legend has it that while he hid despondent in a cave on the Irish coastal island of Rathlin he observed a spider trying to connect a thread from one spot to another (ironically there is an antidepressant drug named Ritalin, maybe they named it after the island since it did once help dry out a damp spirit). The number of times the spider fails varies from account to account as it is with most tales but the common number agreed upon by most is six and that by the seventh attempt it succeeded and gave Robert the Bruce new courage to go back and battle his enemies again. Now the legend does point us to the fact that life and its stipulations on how it chooses to engaged did not begin with us and will not end with us and that much about life can be taught to us by even a valiant creepy crawly. In this case we will observe the savannah and the wondrous creatures and try and glean a few lessons to help you rise like Robert the Bruce (or Bruce lee if the situation needs a bit of kung fu) and go out and maybe get badly beaten up once again or hopefully this time prevail( no money back guarantees). One thing has to be made clear. Animals are animals and cannot be anything else. Their virtues i.e. the perseverance of the itsy bitsy spider which inspired Robert the Bruce did not evolve to ennoble them, they are there to ensure their survival and genetic replication. When they exhibit altruism e.g. bats regurgitating blood to share with less fortunate kin its for the survival of the gene pool not because they await a reward here or in the afterlife (that is mans wager). The beauty of their virtues is that it is not tied to the commendation or condemnation of others. They are wild creatures and that is what they are.

Actually if some animals were humans and subject to our societal laws they would either be behind bars in maximum prisons or heavily sedated in psych wards for the criminally insane. For example spotted hyenas and cattle egrets are obsessive murderers of younger siblings in order to gain their parents sole attention and the award for abusive spouse of all time goes to the delightful looking zebras for a zebra stallion would stomp his step calf to death right there in the presence of it, s mother just to get her back in heat.

Ox peckers and jimmy saviles

The ox pecker (genus buphagus) is a bird frequently found perching on the backs of large mammals in the savannah. It is a cousin of the starling and a jazzy looking little fellow easily identifiable by it, s showy mustard yellow or red rimmed eyes and beak. It struts around like it used to be a headliner signed to Motown record in its hey days. It continually fusses over large herbivores assumedly picking ticks and bots off their hide and in the past was always touted as a fine example of Mutualism in nature. Almost everyone assumed that in return for access to the pest insects as a food source it returned the favor by grooming the hide and reducing the infestation load of its host. Its secondary duty seems to be that of winged lookout because it raises a hiss like alarm when anything odd is in the vicinity of the herd more like the friendly down on his luck district hobo who weeds all the back gardens in return for sole right to the entire streets dumpster prospecting rights and then appoints himself as the local watchman. Its modus operandi at times looks very invasive and one would assume that the host animal would be distressed by its bill digging into its hide or orifices but it seems its hosts are used to the discomfort. They just calmly survey like they are about to go on national TV to read the national budget and this irrelevant dandy stylist crimping and tweezing whilst putting final touches to their look is an image consultant hired by the official broadcasting service. This fellow can be found perching on the crown plate and looking down the nostrils of the meanest looking buffalo in the savannah and its host would just stand still whilst it does what it does.

But not all animals tolerate it. Some will actively shake it off if it tries to even perch on them, especially the smaller and thinner skinned antelopes but strangely of the all the animals which protest, the African elephant is found to be the most vehement. The African elephant is a huge marvel both physically and intellectually. With cognitive abilities far surpassing that of the average herbivore it has been found to possess distinctive problem solving proficiency on par with chimps and dolphins. It can make abstract correlations and respond to situations in ways which reveal its self awareness and acuity .By and large an elephant cannot be fairly labelled as just another dumb beast but more accurately as a seven ton chess and Brazilian jiujutsu loving nerd with the humongous nose you should tease only when you are sure you are leaving town permanently. How does this all tie up? Recent research reveals the seemingly helpful ox pecker is actually a parasite, preferring to feed directly on blood either by enlarging skin breaks caused by tick bites or by eating mainly blood gorged ticks. Rather than just grooming the hosts and feeds on their insect tormentors it actually feeds off the hosts themselves. It has even been observed reopening slow healing wounds first by pecking at the scab so it can get to the serum. In a way it can also be classified as a covert tormentor. Well the point must be stressed that in the wild there are neither villains nor heroes, only hustlers so this is not an indictment of the ox picker bird but an update on our set views on it as an absolutely beneficial bird to ungulates. Its a complex scenario and the ox picker is a complex bird. It has and operates with its own agenda of securing sustenance and replicating. Assumed by many to be the ultimate wing man but it actually is a winged confidence man. Quite a few legends centuries old on the African continent give us reason why the elephant does not permit the ox picker to perch on it usually swatting it away with its trunk. It must have seemed strange to the contemplative natives watching the other animals allowing the ox picker to do its seemingly altruistic work and wondering why the elephant kept rejecting help coming at no cost. A not so aged childrens story alleges that the ox picker let down the elephant his bosom friend because of free maggots provided by the crocodile to sabotage the trip which the elephant appointed the ox picker to take to the land of the spirits as a rain envoy and because of that the bromance was irrevocably broken but it seems that the old wounds the ox pickers presence opens in the elephants psyche are not just that of a folk tale betrayal but real discomfort causing and never healing ones. Elephants seem to be able to see through the ox pickers facade and gauge the merits and demerits of its services and say thank you sir but no deal. it seems to have discerned that mud or dust baths are a much better way to go than allowing the ox picker to go in pecking all over it. Oh well nothing is lost. The old picker has enough marks to live on and strangely it was noted that in a few places where ox pickers had no other hosts the elephants actually permit them to perch on them but this detente lasts only for a short while until their regular

marks returned from their sabbaticals and even then it was noted that they perched far from the elephants head. Now how does all this profit us as individuals? Well if before it came out that the ox pickers are actually parasites if the above stated scenario had happened in the human society elephants might come off as being grumpy nonconformist snobs who just like to make a show of rejecting certified well-intentioned help. If elephants were humans just for the sake of blending in they might have gone with the flow against their evaluations. Well maybe one could call the dank period of medical bloodletting as the era of the human ox pickers and snake oil doctors but ox pickers abound now much more than ever before and access to advertising space on print media, television and the internet has opened more hairy backs than ever before to be bled and countless more gullible ears to stripped of beneficial wax. At the base level palm sized paper advertorials are handed out daily at street corners and stuck in public phone booths touting magic spells with the power to bring back lost lovers, increase the size of ones privates and ultimately after seven doses and a man member the size of a full grown zucchini the final benefit being the newfound ability to now foresee the winning lotto numbers. These outlandish examples seem laughable but the con becomes more refined and in some cases downright malevolent as the notches go up e.g. .the now deceased and ousted English media personality jimmy savile was assumed by most to be a secular saint because of his numerous charity drives until after his death and countless allegations of pedophilia and sex abuse of the frail emerged concerning him. Someone must have known or even tried to warn the world about him but was very likely shouted down by the raging chorus of jimmys adulating fans and devotees but come to think of it jimmy savile did look literarily like an ox pecker with his love of colorful hair dye and garb . His eccentric clothing camouflaged his malevolence which is usually associated by the general public with sallow skinned men with preference for dull colors. Just like in poker even in real life the joker card seems to be powerfully seductive. Nobody is beyond falling victim to human ox pickers; they can be very difficult to spot. With years of experience they have mastered how to clone sincerity by displaying heart melting concern whilst espousing made up mantras of love. This is where honest unalloyed evaluation comes to play. Is this person truly this? Sometimes it does turn out to be genuine and such ties must be fostered but when things on closer inspection do not add up dont just accept, look even closer. No sentiments and also no witch-hunting , just thorough introspection and auditing of all ties, relationships and activities with the sole objective of spotting and excluding ox pickers even if the whole world assumes you are shutting out a saint from your life or even crossing over to the dark side. No matter who that person is or what that activity is, if it is bleeding you, flee from it. The charlatan reverend Jim Jones was vouched for by many reputable people as a compassionate socialist just before he led hundreds to a hideous death in Jonestown Guyana. Come to think of it, that makes two psycho jimmies in the span of one century.

In summary the moral of this savannah revision is that even now some beliefs, actions, line of thoughts and practices which are generally approved by almost all in this era will one day be found to be blatantly false and maybe even insidiously detrimental so whenever an individual discovers a person or practice to be an ox pecker, like the African elephant he or she must refuse the person or the practice to even perch near him or her. Step 1 start by avoiding ox peckers.

Desolation and the individual

The acacia is a tree species which thrives in most arid places around the world. It is very hardy and stands out for its ability to bud and even blossom in extremely harsh conditions. It is fire and drought resistant and has a remarkable arsenal of evolved spiny and alkaloid deterrents against both animal and insect defoliation. If trees were soldiers this one would be an army ranger.

Because of these qualities it occupies a position of prestige in diverse legends and lore around the world. Many claim that it was the burning bush which Moses beheld in the desert and in the book of exodus instruction was given that the ark of covenant is built from its wood. Acacias are widespread in the sub Saharan region of Africa and there in the republic of Niger one tree became as awe inspiring as the burning bush of Moses. Popularly known as the tree of Tenere, a lone acacia tree stood with over a four hundred kilometers barren terrain perimeter around it. It just flourished by itself in the stark desert. For centuries nomads would orient their migrations by it and come to the assurance of where they were or stood because it was always there

abiding alone. It was there until 1973 when a drunk driver with a leeway wider than the span of Monaco, republic of Togo and the Vatican put together knocked it down. The acacia had a defense against everything but a turbaned wino driving under the influence. The deceased tree was moved to the national museum in Niger and a metal sculpture was hoisted to honor it. Research was done into how the tree could have survived and thrived under such austere conditions and it was discovered that its roots went all the way down to a very deep water source. Now the marvel is not that there was water in the desert but that the acacia roots dug down as low as 110 feet to find it. Yet In that same region lurks another intrepid survivor, this time an obscure and fleet footed one, the Saharan cheetah (acinonyx jubatus hecki) The Saharan cheetah is a very reclusive chap with highly specialized adaptations which allow it to survive in regions where no other predator in its category can be spotted. Its habitat is so inhospitable that it does not have access to standing water most times and has to survive on the blood of the animals it hunts down in temperatures which can go as high as 45 degrees Celsius. Maybe it actually brews beer in private, its common knowledge that most of the worlds best booze was created by hermit monks with way too time on their hands. It is primarily nocturnal, ghostly pale and anorexic skinny in appearance in fact it looks like the notorious lead vocalist of a well known indie rock band with serious substance abuse issues. It wears on its mug that blank the world is free to implode while I am stoned look but on a more serious note conservationists were very excited to have found proof that it was alive and thriving in an environment for now beyond the caustic clutch of mankind. In a way these Saharan cheetahs are like four legged acacias because they survive in extreme environments which all others would have abandoned. They abide, cut off in a desolate land yet survive. This brings us to the subject matter of desolation and the individual. If Truth be told desolation could be compared a pick slipped into the hands of a handcuffed man. He could either use it to pick his cuffs and free himself if has or seeks adequate know how ; he could also swallow it in despair and end it all by choking on it or just twiddle around with it as a play thingy to ease his tedium .Its all up to the individual . In the mind of many, desolation instantaneously conjures a picture of a wrecked surrounding but at times it can just be a denuded spot, a place with little or nothing which at times is not necessarily a bad thing. It is actually is a flipped coin. Little or no resources could also be little or no aggravation. Starting In this era and soon to be fully manifest in times to come, such a place or occasion

would be almost impossible to find for the time is just round the corner when men will buy and sell silence and peace and quiet will be traded in as essential commodities. Without desolation there cannot be renaissance. This brings us to the phenomenon which paleontologists call the Lazarus effect. This is to depict instances where species once declared extinct are discovered to be alive and thriving away from the intrusion of all and sundry, the most popular example being the lord Lowe island tree lobster (dryococelus australis) a charming critter with fans all over the world because of its super story. Tree lobsters was very common on lord Lowe islands until a horde of nasty rats came off a grounded ship and ate them all and around 1930 they were officially declared extinct but 2001 two Australian scientists discovered a population of twenty four individuals thriving on a single bushel high on a cliff. One desolate undisturbed bushel, it brings to the fore the bendy idea that if star crossed lovers jack and rose from the epic movie titanic had been fortunate enough to find a larger section of debris to drift away on they might have eloped to a secluded spot somewhere in Fiji and reared half a dozen kids in seclusion but stranger than invention it happened to the tree lobsters. Today they are being reintroduced to the islands and should do well now that those genocidal rodents are either all dead or at The Hague behind bars where they rightfully should be. One constant feature in every Lazarus comeback story is desolation. How does this all tie up with the previous rant about acacias and Saharan cheetahs? Well whenever the individual cries that things are hard and there are only meager resources available he or she should remember the acacia or Saharan cheetah and realize that no matter how bleak the circumstances seem there is still abundant prospect of thriving. It will be costly and at times very excruciating to follow through with but still possible. The individual must not ogle the better off nor resent at how easy it is for others to achieve the same results. That is beside the point. The mission and destiny of the individual which is a very awe inspiring and beautiful thing is proving that it is still possible, to try. This should not be because of others but to satisfy that nagging aspiration even if it is worth zilch to others. The opinion of others must never determine the value of the individuals goals. To be able to endeavor for anything at any age, to able to seek out dreams even if at higher costs than others without resentment and exult if need be in that fact alone is lifes bequest to the individual. Whoever chooses to run for public office even without any hope of winning has the moral right to do so as long as the venture does not become emotionally or financially ruining. This was the message that rabble-rouser Victoria Woodhull was trying to get across when in 1872 she ran for president with Frederick Douglas an African American former slave who had become a social reformer and statesman of note as her vice presidential running mate. Her unuttered query was why not? The right to try is immutable and the mass and impact of the endeavor in comparison to another is

irrelevant. One mans glitter will forever be anothers litter .The Yoruba people of West Africa have an amusing saying concerning the agama lizard. Every time it falls off a tree it scurries away and bobs it, s head repeatedly. The Yoruba claim that it is acclaiming rightly yes it is I, the one who fell off a tall tree and survived, even if nobody acknowledges me, I acknowledge myself In any desolate circumstance just as it is in the Sahara desert there is profusion as much as necessary for the enterprising and prudent soul willing to strive harder , if need be dig deeper than ever or chase down fleet footed prey harder than ever just to achieve what the better off would assume to be ordinary. What is not ordinary is the circumstance in which it happened. Billions walk around the world with ease but when an individual is born with or later in life afflicted by a neurological impairment strives to walk and endures grueling physiotherapy sessions and in the end is able to totter along in shifty steps then a walking individual is not just an everyday sight; it is a glorious spectacle to behold. Pep talks are best left for generals and basketball coaches because the objective here is not to egg on the individual but to argue the point that sometimes when the prize to be won is of a drab hue and the price to pay if truth be told steep many just abandon pursuit but anyone who has witnessed terrible war and upheaval will tell you that even boredom is a very blessed luxury taken for granted by so many. The same boredom which is surplus and scoffed at in many parts of the globe is so cherished in conflict zones that countless would give their lives so that their loved ones escape to a place where they can just yawn out of boredom. The individual who needs approving or disapproving spectators before pursuing the ordinary under extraordinary circumstances has unfortunately grown up sheltered from the off-putting yet candid cost of life itself and will never do anything to impress his or herself . Only in desolation where there is neither applause nor reprimand is the true heft and carat of an individual revealed. Second counsel never dismiss desolate places. They often hide the things you seek the most.

Sisu and the savannah

Now If most people around the world were asked to nominate one animal from the savannah to brawl alongside them in no holds barred mixed specie MMA tag team tournament, the likely favorite nominees would be lions, leopards or maybe even rhinos and cape buffalos but if the same question was to thrown to the actual

natives of this wild land one brute which goes definitely be amongst the top three nominees would be the honey badger. The honey badger (Mellivoracapensis) is a weasel like animal roughly the size of a midsized dog whose favorite movie of all time for sure would be Quentin tarantino, s kill bill. Anyone who has seen kill bill and knows who mad master pai mei of the five point palm exploding heart technique fame is would swiftly be able to appreciate the honey badger. It is a fierce fighter notorious for its appalling penchant for nipping and ripping the scrotums of larger predators or any large animal which aggravates it (hurts just thinking about it). It has almost no ear flaps and it, s skins is so thick and loose that even if it is clawed down or bitten it turns around and scraps like a fiend. Armed with razor-sharp claws, a mean dentition and a weaponized anal sac from which it can release a super foul stench when it really wants to prove a point. It gambols around like a Congo forest pygmy gladiator fitted in baggy black and white chail mail armor wielding ten rusty Swiss army knives. It eats whatever catches its fancy and loves to hunt down venomous snakes as junk food and if even it gets bitten in the face by the dying serpent it just dozes off for a while and wakes up like it just had a relaxing full body rub down and gobbles whatever remains. Even horror movie zombies would have to back down or get chowed. It is definitely not elegant and does not seem to be bothered but it can be put forward as the definitive representation of grace. Spiritual saving grace is an enigma and to claim to able to dissect it is conceit beyond measure so best to stick to the lay interpretation of it and if along the way we swerve into the lane of the spiritual we will respectfully turn back to the secular. We speak not of salvation or the saving grace of the soul. That is for another time. The honey badger is fearless and powerful yet dull looking. It is erroneously assumed that grace is beauty. Saving Grace is active fierce power eager and capable to help us. Concerning even figure skaters or ballerinas it is the potent available power inherent in the unseen cantilevering tendons disposed to do what they are intuited to do that makes the jumps and spins to appear gossamer. Whoever fights to beautify grace is as endearing but misguided as the cheeky urchin who could not discern that his saving grace was the sour faced post man who read his letter to Father Christmas and worked extra shifts to make the money to buy him the boots he requested and then gruffly tossed them at him and not jolly jowled Saint Nicholas. Saving grace can be roughly split in three categories, the spiritual variety which is from above (if the individual believes), the sociological variety which focuses on how external influences (the times, seasons, people) play an essential role in who we turn to be and finally the internalized variety which boils down to what is

latently abundant and pulsing within us, not what we have been influenced or conditioned by others to desire. The internalized variety is a lot like the lowly honey badger for most times because the value system of human society bullies us into shooing it into obscurity yet tragically it is the one thing we truly excel at. It is that thing the individual can do for days on end for free joyfully .at times it valued by others and disdained by the possessor because in life one individuals nightmare may be the wildest dream of another and also sometimes the proximity and the ease at which it made available tarnishes the gift in the eye of the recipient. This also finds its way in how we select partners. I have observed closely and have found that in relationships opposites attract mainly because of self loathing. Whoever doubts this can without bias check up on unions which launched on the heartrending intro riff of you complete me and will soon bear witness to how the adlib we dont agree on anything turns out to become a depressing motif in their dreary duet . When the individual refuses to accept his or her own make, temperament and gifting as unique and valuable in this world, he or she goes about hankering after and glorifying anything different. This can be labeled as anybody but me syndrome. No individual is bereft of a saving grace but same as spiritual saving grace maybe it might not be glamorous enough, complex enough, awe inspiring enough in the eye of the beholder to permit it come forward and take its rightful place. The story of Prophet Samuel in the house Jesse from the bible is a prime example of this. Jesse was told to line up his sons that a king be chosen from one of them and he decided to put what he assumed was his best foot forward. His so called best shots were slowly eliminated until all he was coaxed to bring out what he took for granted as his weakest option. Spiritual grace hedged its bet on the puniest of them all, David the ruddy shepherd boy. the story goes on to prove that David who was preferred amongst the lot was beyond doubt a honey badger for he became the saving grace of his people and mowed down goliath who stood like a hooded cobra glowering as an entire nation cowered like timorous meerkats before him. This phenomenon repeats itself in the testimony of Joseph Stalin when he revealed how he felt the first day he met Vladimir Lenin at the Bolshevik conference in tammefors Finland in 1905. He expected to see a grand figure or as he put it, a mountain eagle but there was short and squat Lenin sitting in a corner chatting away. Over time Stalin himself came to recognize that the same insignificant looking man was the saving grace of their revolution. Well what followed in the years to come revealed that Stalin never got over his predilection to trust in the grandiose above substance and brought great sorrow to hundreds of millions because of this. To delve in that sad story would distract from the objective of this script. Much has been said and where does the individual stand in all of this? Same as humans are individuals our gifting within are individuals as well. One simple line

which can inject intelligibility into all the jargon spewed beforehand is this appeal. Please give the best thing in you a chance. It is just a line but the individual who follows this maxim without hesitating will find that grace does abound and in this the mixed martial arts tournament called life many whom everyone had assumed to be the real deals would tip over and kaput even before the title bouts begin because it had all been a shabby sham, a Potemkin charade cooked up just to hoodwink others and buy time whilst they tried to sort out their knotty state of affairs. The best thing in you always has sisu. Sisu is a Finnish word for remarkably sturdy will. Why sisu? For apart from the snow on the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, there seems to be virtually nothing which connects the savannah to the Lapland but much does tie them. They are both bleak spots where mens spirits either get forged or broken for the wilderness either grassy or snowy land will not temper its hard-hitting schooling though the syllabus may vary. sisu remains the best word to describe the internal makeup of saving grace and yes the Finns also have the bragging rights to one of the meanest honey badgers of all times simo hayha, a five foot three inches army sniper who struck terror in the hearts of invading soviet troops during the 1939 winter wars with 505 confirmed and countless unconfirmed kills. Even when he was shot in the face and half his jaw was blown off he recovered and went to live till the age of ninety six. Judging by his bland looks and build Modern media would not casted him as the dashing protagonist in a blockbuster action movie but that is the beauty of saving grace. It is does not feed off the impetus which comes from the romanticizing of a task or situation. Saving grave is grim faced and entrenched set to do its duty. Give the best thing in you a chance. Let it enter this ring of life alongside you even if at first your worst fears hoot and bend over in laughter. Soon they will be silenced by a honey badger wearing a pink hello kitty tee shirt. Imagine that. Third Counsel - give the best thing in you a chance