BANZA August 2016 | Page 17

EDITOR'S NOTE The Lotus offers its beauty to the heaven, the grass its service to the earth- Rabindranath Tagore you and I have been given individual traits, characteristics, talents, among others that make you, you and I, I. Upon realization of this, you and I will stop seeing what the world considers wrong or faults as bad things, things worthy of judgment. I was reading a book by Chin-Ning Chu, Thick Face, Black Heart, and she suggests that all things and creatures are one with our Maker, just as in the material world, all elements consist of atomic particles yet they manifest themselves in infinitely different forms. I have finally gotten a clear comprehension of the phrase 'be you.' All our lives, we strive for meaning. We seek to grow and succeed. We endeavour to be applauded, approved and awarded for our actions. In so doing, benchmarks have risen. Benchmarks of beauty- slender and fair. Benchmarks of success- hard workers and early risers. Benchmarks of good-silent and peaceful. Anything that doesn't match up to this standard is considered not-good-enough if not good at all! And that marks the start of lifelong problems- we focus our energies no wanting to fix the perceived wrongs rather than channeling our energies on embracing ourselves as we are to better the world with our glows and grows. For the month of August, you and I need to realize that we have a responsibility to embrace ourselves and use ourselves to further our universe. Happy reading. Eric Maingi Editor-in-Chief