I REALLY NEED TO BE NAKED WITH YOU, PLEASE!

Now that I have your attention, maybe you guys can help me out here.

I have been pondering on this specific issue for a while now and i feel in my gusts that I am not alone on this.

The thing is that everywhere and everything you go or/and do in this world, perception seem to be a major factor, if not the very thing, people use in accessing who or what you are.

Ever heard of first impression last! Yep, that's it. 

So I ask is perception always right, or it is just a limiting factor, people need to get pass in order to see the real thing?

This 'Perception' thing is so major that every, if not all, organization channel a lot of energy and fund towards it. It is so huge that people have allowed this control their personal lives as well. Why, won't it? People run organization, don't they?

Anyways, the very issue i have with this 'Perception' thing is that, it has made it so difficult for people to distinguish between the 'REAL' and 'the FAKE', if you know what I mean.

Okay, let me break it down. Because people are been judged by perception, people generally work on themselves (even organizations are guilty of this) to be something or someone else as oppose to what or who they truly are. 

Please don't get me wrong, perception is a good thing - if not the Branding industry and the likes will not be doing so well but I'm not going to get into that today. Perception is really understanding who you really are than who someone else is. Don't know if you get my drift?

What I really want to understand is, why is something so good, be so wrong? 

The concept of perception is something I do not totally agree with, well for one, first impression is not always right and because it worked in one doesn't necessarily mean it will work for another. That is to say, 'What is good for the goose may not always good for the gander'. Sometimes, what we perceive may just be limited by our knowledge and understanding of that thing or that someone. 

So why based your conclusion on what you perceive only once or twice even besides, what makes you think your perception is right anyway?

I guess what I am trying to say is that the concept of perception has made us so judgemental that people are forgetting to be who they truly are. In order words, 'fake-ness' (lack of a better word) is the order of the day. Fake relationship, marriages, lives, parts of the body. Every one prefers to be a cheap replica of themselves.

So, Why can't I get naked with you? I want to reap off all the fake masks I'm wearing and be my real self. I don't want to be a stereotype, I just want to be me. Breathing the fresh air of being myself means freedom, happiness and longevity.

Conversely, Life is too short and complicated to play someone else or worse be someone else because someone says so, don't you think?

 

If you go back to one of my blogs titled 'A CRY FOR HELP' though it was about my favourite artist, Whitney Houston, you will discover that this perception thing has gone a little too far.

Pressure to be perfect in an imperfect world, how ironic is that. If truth be told people want to be free, they want to let lose and most importantly they want to be naked when it matters, which is, most of the time, if you ask me.

Perception without judgement, results in people airing their opinions without the fear of been reprimanded thus making them true to themselves and their environment at large. 

So I ask again, may I get nake with you? 

So real and so true

Real Gentlehawk.

DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE?

Well, how do I start this without sounding cliché! 

Ok here goes nothing...

If you are a follower of my blog, you would notice that I love animals. Infact, if you haven't, I advice you should read to see that Animals, Babies, and Mother Nature are my "muse". 

Anyway, read an article online the other day, and the caption was "Spectacular jaguar attack captured on video". I'm sure a lot of people saw this article on GrindTV, I think...if not you should!

Okay, one intriguing thing about this article is the fascinating way the writer described the event. The video is about this Jaguar stalking and preying on a crocodile (Caiman) in Brazil's Pantanal wetlands. The attack was so precise and well-executed that the narrator of the video, who by the way is also a scientist, stated that this particular Jaguar certainly knows its business.

Though the first thought that popped into my head was, "Of course, he should know its business. He is a Jaguar after all, and you of all people should know that".

Though it was meant to be a sarcastic statement, it gave me something to think about when I got pass my silly self. 

Hmm, the honest truth is that this jaguar does really know its business. If not, how can you then explain to me, how a jaguar would think of preying on a caiman, of all animals in that forest. It could as well preyed on something easier like a deer or monkeys, something like that! Why hunt for something as massive and dangerous looking as a caiman? 

Isn't that always our thought! Why take the hard way when I have an easier option in life?

But seriously, this very statement, made me realize that that jaguar must either be mad or does know its business. Yet again, I began to take a good look at the scenario and did a little research on jaguars. And what I discovered, made me so ashamed of me...of you...of us! People!

If only we learn from things we belittle, maybe our lives could better and easier...just maybe!

Firstly, for those who are not familiar with this wonderful animal, permit me to make a quick introduction. Jaguars are the largest cat of the Americas, third largest after the lions and tigers. The jaguar has become a symbol of power, strength, and beauty. Once worshipped as a god, the jaguar's name comes from a native American word meaning “the killer that takes its prey in a single bound.” Jaguars' skill in hunting is partly due to their extremely strong jaws.

The Jaguar prefers to stalk its prey rather than chase and it uses an ambush technique, pouncing from cover on its prey. The Jaguar has perfected this technique and its abilities are second to none.

Jaguars have no real predators, other than humans.

So there you have it. The almighty Jaguar...

Now as I was saying, so during my research I got this revelation. The jaguar knows its business because it knows who and what he is. The Jaguar didn't back down just because the prey looks scary or intimidating. 

Knowing and accepting who you are, placing you in a place where no one and nothing can scare you! It helps overcome anything even when people and situation says otherwise. 

Knowing and accepting who you are helps you see life more clearly, to be true and real to yourself. 

So do you know who you are? And if you do, do you really accept who you are. Not wanting to change anything about yourself? 

Remember you are special and unique for a reason! So live up to your potential.

Real and true,

Real Gentlehawk!

Peace!

I AM MY MOTHER’S DAUGHTER

WHAT THE DAUGHTER DOES, THE MOTHER DID - - (A JEWISH PROVERB)

How many times have you wished you were like your mum (Perfect and Beautiful) but then, when she does something to you that you dislike, you wish and say to yourself, "I will never be like her, or, I won’t be like her?

I was on the phone with a good friend of mine the other day, we were chatting about a lot of things, including his upcoming trips and wedding, but majorly why he hasn’t been keep in touch. 

“Work my dear, it takes too much of my time. I have been terribly busy”, he said.

Can you imagine that? i have been busy with work, is his excuse?
Guy, I really don’t get them when their only excuse is ‘work’. We know that already and stop making the rest of us look so unserious. 

Anyways, that was on a lighter note (hey, up me, i made a joke). 

But seriously, back to what i was saying, while scolding him on that (by the way which I enjoy doing with my guys friends – it is fun acting like their mother, most times they are kids… at heart, irrespective of their Spartan exterior), he said something very alarming and surprisingly as well.

Well for me it was, also my response shocked me even further (read on and you will see why).
I made a comment on something I really can't remember what but his response to it was that, “You sound so much like your mother right now”.

When he said that I was taken aback but really, the surprise was from what I found myself replying. I found myself saying, “Why not, I am my mother’s daughter”.

Well as a girl who partially grew up in what felt like a single parent but actually having both parents (long story…and by the way it is complicated!!!) most of my young life, my mother was my inspiration and anchor (duh! don’t we all say that!). 

As I grew from a child to a teenager/young lady, I didn’t think that anymore. I felt she was mean, not supportive and not smart enough to help me, or better still, befriend me (Do not look at me as if you don’t know what I am talking about or this thought has never crossed your mind).

Both of us are always at each other’s throat…the truth then was, it was either I kill her or she kills me, well, literally, it was simple as that. And you know mothers (a good one, is what I am referring to), they never give up on you.
But as I grew a little older, in maturity I mean, I began to understand and see that despite the fact that my mother isn't perfect, she still loves me with her life. 

Her imperfection may be a thing of confusion to me, but the truth is that her imperfection is what makes her human - loving, caring and giving. So I took a good look at myself, reassess myself and discovered that I am not perfect also. 

So whatever, she is all I have got and ever get and I love her because in her imperfection, there is a resounding and resilience perfection.

And as that Jewish proverb said, i can bet my life on it that she also had the same feelings or reservations about my grandmother as I have of her, yet the amazing thing about all this is that, with every generation, the imperfections get better. 

One way or the other, i feel deep within that It is up to us as daughters to upgrade because we have the imperfection of our mothers (No matter who or what you have achieved as a mother or how much your daughters loves or hates you), it is our obligation to upgrade the imperfection a notch.

I am not saying you should change who you are, well the fact is you can’t, no matter how much you try anyway, but what I am trying to say is this, firstly we need to understand and accept we are our mothers' daughter (love it or hate it, it is the way it is) but if there is something about yourself you know you got from your mother, don’t like, upgrade it.

Okay let me explain it this way to you, let say your grandmother is a version 6.0, then your mother will be a version 6.1, you then work on being an upgrade version of 6.1 which is 6.2 - that is what makes it beautiful. 

To all daughters, I would like to hear your opinion on this subject. Your thoughts, your comments, your stories or advice will go a long way. So why not leave a comment or two.

 

Yes, I am my mother’s daughter, I didn’t get to choose it but by God, I would make the best out of it. My mother may not be all that but she is everything to me and together we will walk out our imperfections - for I know who I am.

So I will be real and true to who I am…

MY MOTHER’S DAUGHTER!!!

IF YOU REALLY KNEW ME

2010 is a year many would not forget in a hurry. A year with so many events, calamities, success stories and many more. So as such i think 2010 won't be easily forgotten by a lot of people whatever their story.

For me, it is been a year of mixed giving, mixed blessings. 2010 have taught me to see things and people differently and clearly. Beneath all those make-up, clothes and what-have-you, we only let people see what we want them to see...or is it what they want to see. Few weeks before the end of the year 2010, i learnt the most important and intriguing thing about life. Do people really knew who we are? Do our friends, colleagues, families know who we really are? They assume they know you but do they really? Please don't get it twisted, i simply wrote this 'cause i want people to understand that, what i have gone through or still going through, won't define me....no matter what.

So here, i am, asking or better still, telling you, IF YOU REALLY KNEW ME...

If you really knew me, you would know that i am not the happy face you see. That behind this smiling face is a frighten, lost girl who wants nothing more but to be free to live. If you knew me, you would know that i am who i am for a reason. That i don't...can't trust anyone, not that i don't want to,but because those who are suppose to be the foundation of my trust are the ones who betray my trust.

If you really knew me, you would know that i would rather be hurt than to hurt anyone. If you really knew me, you would know that i can be successful but i would rather not because the fear of doing it alone. If you really knew me , you will know that i grew up on my own and i had to fight for everything.

If you really knew me, you would know that i want to be free, to be me.....but the question is "who am i really". If you knew me, you would know that i have taken care of me since the day i can remember. And i will give everything i own to have someone take care of me for a change.
If you knew me, you would know that the only thing i want is to live a normal life, no drama.
If you really knew me, you would know that when i love i really love....and i love really hard even if it kills me; that's because i believe in love, i believe in you, i believe in me and i believe in us.

If you really knew me you would know that i'm happy and won't change a thing about my life....it'z been crazy but boy, i love it. And i'm blessed to have lived it and by the way, still living it....lol

So, you see, 2011 will be the year that you will definitely know me....and not what you think of me or what you think of what you know of me. Therefore, embrace yourself for a real and true revelation of who am i, want to be and going be.

Love, Peace and Be true
Gentlehawk

CROSS ROADS

So guys,

What do they say about crossroads?
Some say that it is a point where people met and anything may/can happen.
That it is a time bomb waiting, watching and waiting for the right time to explode.
Cross roads are things from the past, where the present meets the future.
It is pain, it is stain yet so, clean, clear and rare.

Many of us have been there and most of us haven't dare.
We all wish for a point on the crossroad.
so we walk, work and play smart to see those who rule
If we would reach the very point that will either make us or break us.
Cross roads come in the T's or the X's.

Whichever way we call it, it is a meeting point for you and me.
"It's nice meeting you." - "So where are you off to?"
"How can i get there?" - "Oh, it's not too far!"
"Don't bother to go there!" - "And what'll i do next?"
A great and disjoined meeting point it is and can be.

I would hate to be cut in that webbly point but it is a great feeling 'cos it will get you there
if you find the right way
But not to worry, even if you miss it this time, retrace it and you will be surprised
that the cross roads are always there and the same.
Atleast now you know where not take... and what not to do.

We all have cross roads, we all stop or pause there - to catch a breathe or retrace a step
Cross roads are important especially if you are willing to find the WAY
whatever way you wish to go.....be sure to know....That, to be REAL and TRUE...will save you alot too.

So, it's Gentlehawk
Hold it up and be REAL