A night under the stars: Post cards from the Milky Way

The same way I expect my mom to know everything about the kitchen is the exact way she expects me to know everything about everything else. Except that I only know so much, which is about everything she has ever taught me or made sure that I was exposed to. I always find myself wanting; nonetheless, mother-son relationships have no pressure and are very awesome!

Cheers to the starry nights! To the amazing quiet and the sound of crickets and insects. I hope that when I see a million fireflies, I will cry. God loves me. If ever I had any doubt, now I know, so I have to cry about fireflies.

Have you ever wondered why being vegan sounds odd, at least to me? I learned something from my movements in the bundu, pasi penyika uko. There is something called balance. I think I got my “circle of life” lesson, #LionKingEnergy. The balance means that everything acts as it should. An elephant in mana pools will eat tree bark, leaves, and all its yandis, while a lion will hunt and feed on prey. So why can’t human beings do what’s in their nature? Of course, there is free will, so do what you want. Vegan or not, it’s really your choice, and salads with the right amount of feta cheese and olives really slap.This may not be about veggies, iykyk.

Balance means that everything in the world or on earth does what it is meant to do. For the same reason that fish live in the sea and people live on land, that’s how it is with everything else in the world. Some time ago, I tried fishing for the first time, and patience is really a virtue. It’s what makes the dance fluid, like well-lubricated pistons (not my handwriting here; I’m 24 and I know nothing about engines).Well, the fish has to think that the worm is a natural thing, like it’s part of the water. The line has to be firm enough for the disturbance to be felt without making the fish sus . The fisherman has to wait until there is significant tugging, BUT one can always pull too early or too late, and the worm is stolen from you, worst of all by something that you want to steal.

The fish.

Anyway, I did catch something, but only after I had convinced myself to forget about the fishing rod and my worm, to forget that I was fishing, and to start thinking about all the pee in the ocean and why wooden floors are IT. A lesson I learned from the internet about how It’s all about being a visitor. For example, if there is a person in a room, the space that the person occupies is not “the room”; it’s the person instead. The room is everything else (air, floor, ceiling, furniture, etc.). It’s like turning the sentence “you are not the field you are walking through” backwards. “The field you are in is not you”. Therefore, you can’t dwell on how long the field is but on your experience with the field. They call it zen, mindfulness, or stillness. So be still and know…

Then the tugging tugged, and well, we did catch some big Kariba bream.

On a rock in the sun was a lizard, basking, doing lizard things… You know how they are cold-blooded and bask in the sun to warm their bodies? Scintillating really. While observing this phenomenon, a random thought visited my small brain: if I were to meet God today, what would I ask him? So we kind of had a conversation about it and
It went like this:

Me: How do you do it? Like, how do you continue to love and forgive us all the time? Especially when we wrong you so consistently.

God: Look at the lizard; it basks in the sun because that’s nature; every lizard basks just as much as every human being sins. I understand that its in your nature, and I can let that go.

Me: But every time?
God: Yes, every time, so much so that my son… My only son was crucified for y’all. This is a story about love and nothing else.

Me: wow!

So maybe the key to forgiving others is knowing that it’s in their nature to do wrong, such that as long as they are trying, they too deserve some grace. Forgiveness is more about us than it is about the people who wronged us. Being one with Christ , mercy should be a simple thing. Understanding that we too sin is a good starting point in the journey of forgiveness. Realizing that we too need to be forgiven is paramount. How could I mention your dirty water when mine is murkier? The mirror often looks like a horrendous choice, but it is definitely the correct way. I think my biggest test will always be that of forgiveness. I hope that every time it comes, I will be reminded of my shortcomings and impressive ability to sin. Then, upon reflection, I will repent of my failure to love as Jesus has loved me and finally let go.

See, there is more to life, like how bird watching is amazing. Birds are not only real; they’re also very beautiful (shoutout to r/BirdsAren’tReal). It’s just fascinating how they know how to fly and hunt. How the pied kingfisher floats in mid-air and then, in one quick swift swoop, gushes in the water, only to show up with a fish in its beak 2 seconds later. The patient fish eagle that sits on the tallest tree, scanning for fish in the water, all the while looking like it’s not paying attention, then… I won’t even mention the painted dogs.

I am loved. I am love because I and the universe are one. We were all created by one , Yahweh. The universe is for me to marvel at the creator and I was created to glorify him. Would the skies be the same if we never saw them? Oh, how I’m grateful for my eyes. Oh, what a blessing it is to actually see. To gaze with my eyes at the beauty that is the world. The odd shapes of mountain ranges, the vastness of water bodies, and the fear they bring. The blooming of flowers, the autonomy of life, balance, and finally Gloria’s beauty. I’m grateful for the blessing of sight.
Have you ever seen a reflection of stars in a water body? Have you looked down and seen galaxies twinkling in the water? Have you looked at an elephant, the grace with which it walks, its gentleness, and the sheer SIZE of it, and thought, What an awesome God!?

There is so much grace and love in creation. So much gentleness, I’m actually overwhelmed. Whenever I’m lost, these memories will be treasure troves. Little lights to guide me home. Home to my maker, Jesus Christ. Home to the love of my life. Home to where my heart is.

Here is a playlist to listen to when you feel like music

Son, you are loved. Son, you are love. All because you are one with God.

You are loved. You are love. You are loved. Stay Dandy.

Yours, milky way.

For my friends who scrolled all the way down, the suffix gate is used for most scandals because of the Watergate scandal, which ended the Nixon presidency in the early 1970’s. Several of Nixon’s top staffers (with the president’s knowledge) were running an illegal “dirty tricks” operation that authorized a break-in of Democratic headquarters, which was then at The Watergate, a hotel, apartment, or office complex in Washington, D.C. It was such a huge political scandal that the “gate” suffix has now been applied to other events that cause similar panic, drama, or whatever. Zimbabwe even has its own Asiagate scandal.