Tag Archives: dailyprompt

Health and Wellness, Life, relationships

So many small slights

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Are you holding a grudge? About?

I actually started reading a book about boundaries. I’ve had discussions with my sister and it has been communicated that I may let people “take the piss” once in a while. I’m holding a grudge about the treatment I have received from people I think should have cared more for and about me. I try to meet people where they are as I expect to be met where I am but even I sometimes feel like the WTF is going on here from my interactions with people.

I try to forgive but to be honest in the heat of an argument I think it takes me a lot longer than it should to let something go. Oftentimes, I give people chances who end up doing the exact same thing and if I was more religious I would justify it by saying no one is perfect and give others grace but somethings seem intentional to me. Some slights are on purpose or repeated because of the lack of concequencses.

My aunt posted a great meme it said have you ever forgiven and then gotten new information. That’s how I feel, that I forgive then inevitably new information comes forward. So to answer the question yes I am holding a grudge and honestly I probably won’t stop because why did you do that? Why did you say that? Why weren’t you there for me? But while going through the other posts I saw the following quote

“Forgive, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace.”

Labour and Employment, Life

Podcasts swapped for water cooler gossip

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What do you listen to while you work?

I religiously listen to podcasts while working. I will occasionally listen to music but podcasts are my default work companion. Once in the full “work zone” I will usually stop paying attention or lower the volume if there’s an interesting discussion amongst coworkers.

Today I forgot my earphones needless to say the walk from the parking lot was gruesome and when I finally sat down my thought was eurghhhhh why me?!??

Well it wasn’t all bad I did that thing where you connect with people infront of you instead of strangers you’ve never met.

I heard some awkward conversions, started some uninteresting ones and what do you know I didn’t die from not having something in my ear all day.

So what do I listen to at work podcasts with a touch of gossip inbetween episodes or ad breaks.

Religion

The Pope Is Dead: A Sign from Nature

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The Pope is Dead.

That sounds like a movie line—except usually, it’s “The king is dead.”

I woke up today, and instead of reaching for my phone, I thought to myself, How about starting with a prayer? I do that sometimes, but it’s not a daily habit. I usually wake up and read something—or more likely, check my bank account to see if anyone has accidentally gifted me a million dollars.

I remember going on a date once with someone who asked me what I do when I first wake up. I don’t remember what I told him, but later I realized the “right” answer might have been to pray. When I turned the question back to him, he said, “Thank the Lord I woke up.” That ended up being our last “date.”

This morning, I found myself wondering—as a non-practicing, questioning Catholic—what right do I have to feel or express anything if the Pope is dead?

But then I went outside and saw a red Northern Cardinal, which apparently means angels are near.

I took that as a sign that I do have the right to feel something about my faith. That bird felt like a message. And it reminded me of how, when my aunt went to Portugal, she brought back some little religious statues. I looked at them with hesitation, thinking, I don’t think I’m that much of a Catholic to have a little statue. I do have a little headless Buddha that was a gift but none of them really called to me—except one. The one I was drawn to was of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and the environment and on the statute he has two birds on his shoulders

Later that day, I looked out the window and saw two pigeons sitting there, staring at me, as if to say, “Keep the statue. This saint might be for you.”

In all my questioning, I’ve realized the place I feel God the most is in nature—looking at the ocean, sitting on a flight above the clouds, or seeing perfectly green mountains.

I always think, Someone had to have made this. Who that is, I’m not sure. But someone had to have done it.

And today, the Pope will find out exactly who that is.

Update – 24 April 2025: In another morning reading, I discovered that the Pope was the first to take on the name Francis, and yes, it was in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi, just like my little statute.

Black Politics, Life, Labour and Employment

Extended Contract – Labour Movement is in Shambles

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Can you share a positive example of where you’ve felt loved?

I worked at a job that started as a 6 week contract that kept getting extended. Now the person I was covering for eventually came back and the company looked for a way to evolve my role. I know it’s cheating and that isn’t really a positive example of “feeling loved” but it is a positive example of feeling appreciated in the workplace which I think on this internet of ours is a rare occurrence.

As we enter 2025, I didn’t make a New Year’s resolution but I decided to trust: trust people, trust the process and most importantly trust myself. I am starting a new blog collection, based on the current labour market and I will start with this as our foundation “Asking your work if they are laying people off is like asking a man if he would ever cheat on you or a woman if she likes money” . . . If you like go and argue with your ancestors 

An intro to the Labour Movement is in Shambles – An examination of work in 2025

food, Life, T Taste

Meat Lover?: Growing Up Vegetarian-ish in Europe

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What are your feelings about eating meat?

During the height of the 2000’s some of the popular kids at school were talking about “dolphin friendly tuna” and that’s all they would eat. Now, as an 10-11 year old African in Europe I wasn’t 100% sure what dolphins or tuna were but “dolphin friendly” seemed the way to go.

Fast forward a few months later and there was a lot of talk about mad cow disease, foot and mouth disease in animals that combined with some ideas I’d probably picked up from all the books I used to read I decided to become vegetarian. Now again as an African in Europe how does one become vegetarian? I think I started refusing meat — not all meat but some. Then my dad found out and I think he demanded I eat it but I think he also asked for the reasoning and I explained the mad cow disease story — or at least that’s how I remember it.

I managed to avoid eating meat most of the time, but I had a deep love of the stir fry at the Chinese restaurant my father used to take us to but eventually I stopped eating beef. I usually say red meat but I do occasionally eat pork. Bacon was my favourite thing for the longest time even though I love pigs. I tried to give it up, I succeeded for a year or two.

By 2017-2018 I was at the height of my of vegetarianism. Veganism had failed but “no meat weekends” was great. Sometimes I would go the whole week without meat. But eating out? That was one of the biggest challenges along with eating at family or friend’s houses. I love veggie burgers but there’s always a delicious chicken alternative. I also love seafood — a lot.

I am no longer the little African girl with no real idea what tuna is and while I am still unsure about how I really feel about meat I will say these three things:

  1. I sympathize with the animals. When I think about it too much, I feel guilty that we are eating them. But at the same time, I also love many meat dishes.
  2. In Zimbabwe there are many dishes without meat. I wish people would embrace that instead of feeling like food is “less than” if it doesn’t have meat. Millions of people live their whole lives not eating meat — it’s not proof of poverty
  3. I have an ongoing suspicion of meat. There are so many stories — some true, some completely ridiculous — the dog/cat meat in Chinese food, the horse meat scandal from Tesco, and the snails and frog legs that are taboo to me or any Zimbabwean but are delicacies in other places around the world

How do I feel about eating meat? I feel conflicted.