BANZA June 2016 Issue | Page 8

Love & Healing One and Only by Adele, 21, is always on my playlist. The lyrics give me the feels and my heart warms to every single word in that perfect composition of love and healing. She says, or sings, ‘you never know if you never try to forgive your past…’ Unfortunately, this is the story of our lives. MOST of us. Here’s why. In reading a devotional text by Crystal Williams titled ‘Our Sacred Reflections’ she says, “you know when your mirror is foggy after a shower, and you really can’t even see your own face? Well, that’s often how we see ourselves; we aren’t getting a clear picture.” It goes without saying that most of us aren’t quite happy with ourselves. We are not good enough, not thin enough, not attractive enough, like Pamela said in her Banza interview, we are just not enough. And our foggy mirrors have for a long time shown us a glimpse of who we are; bleak outlines that hint but don’t detail. Our parents have also played a role in this. Crystal calls it one of the three mirrors we turn to in a bid to finding ourselves. EDITOR’S NOTE They say, ‘Oh! you look like a doctor. You’ll become a doctor.’ And all our lives, we believe we are doctors. Or our peers who tell us we need to post more pictures on Instagram because we need affirmation. It is as if we, keep lying and insist on trying to be something we are not. And finally, the societal mirror which sets the norm; dictates the outcomes for our lives failure to which, we are doomed to eternal condemnation. Here’s the problem. We run away from our true selves, and finding the true self is a feat too huge to dare try. Here’s the solution. Dare yourself to be you. When we wipe off the fog in our mirrors, we will see ourselves. And maybe we might not like who we see. But, it’s still us. And our creator loves us for who we are. So why should we not love ourselves? Loving you for you is the first step towards self-healing. The pain that is underlying for years has left a wound. And you can heal that wound if you choose to see where it is. But you have to start looking inside. In the words of Jordan Rakei, your yearning and search for something [or someone else] will wear you thin. Quit lying and stop trying to be someone you’re not. Maybe you can’t see, but you are the masterpiece. Happy reading. Eric Maingi Editor-in-Chief