CODED

Relationships hurt the most, Paramia Cmanto Family. Love them or love them not, there’s often a limit to what you can do with the difficult ones. You can’t live with them and you can’t make them join the circus. When there’s a lifetime of emotional investment involved, it’s likely that any response will hurt and will require a huge push, whether it’s walking away or fighting for the relationship. Even if you decide that the price of being in the relationship is too high, it’s not always easy to leave. Sometimes it’s just not an option. Whether you’re on your way out or bracing for more, here are some ways to protect yourself from the ones who scrape you: Don’t let anyone else’s behaviour change who you are. Be dignified. Be brilliant. Be kind. Don’t let anyone reduce the best of you.  Make it clear this isn’t personal. Insecurity is at the heart of a lot of broken relationships. Insecure people will feel attacked even when no attack is made. If this is ...

An Open Letter To My Heartbroken Mom Forever and always. Always and forever. Panamus Cmanto, F irst of all, don’t be mad that I’m writing this. When I told you I’d be writing for the Odyssey, I’m sure this isn’t what you had in mind for one of my first articles. You’ve always been my best friend, my biggest fan, and my secret keeper. You’ve always been the one to hold me in my times of heartbreak and give me the best advice. You’ve always been there for me, but now it’s time for me to do the same for you. Promise me to remember these things in your time of heartbreak NOTHING YOU'RE FEELING IS “wrong.” Everything you are feeling is a completely normal process. You’re handling things the way you’re wired to handle them. Everyone grieves differently: some jump into their normal routine, some take time to themselves; some want to talk about it, while others would rather not. So what if you cry every day or if it’s hard just to get out of bed most days? You aren’t...

The level of ignorance, or is it pure devilry, is staggering. Majority of the people of Khartoum, blinded by the venom of religion and general political bigotry, looked down on Juba, felt no empathy and even called for and cheered their complete suppression through annihilation. The people of the South were called derogatory names and they were made fun of in their years of struggle, agony and grief. Here in Kenya, the same people who cheered Jubilee mafia when they bribed and maimed and shot dead opposition supporters and made fun of those who boycotted staged elections are now up there with angels, talking solidarity with the awakened masses of Khartoum. You are heartless fools. Oppression is oppression, home or abroad. I am still waiting for you to wake up from your dictatorial sleep. It is true that the demons of the tribe ate your brains and now, your empty heads swing on stiffened necks. And to think that Jesus died for your redemption. Sad affair. Shenzi sana! Riswa!

NJALALE'S DIARY Four weeks of emptying out and refilling are over. You don't need to be jealous of me anymore. I have eaten fresh food. I have inhaled clean air. I have enjoyed tree shades and the beautiful sight of sunrises and sunsets. I have listened to an orchestra of grateful birds at the break of dawn. I have taken busaa to my fill. I have 'dished' boiled chicken and fresh mangoes and guavas and groundnuts. I have enjoyed the company of kind people. "Village Diary" concludes today because its author has eaten the departure ingokho and has a bus ticket in hand. Back into the urban dust and rationing and cacophony. This is a sad departure, boys and girls, but that which is of absolute necessity. One thing though, I never met any of my village ex-girlfriends. Where did they go? Anyway, the balding process on my head continues. Good thing is, I have a full beard to deflect your wandering and indiscipline eyes. It was four weeks of wellness and reconnection....

Baby brother walked into the house shortly after the 7:00 pm Kiswahili news. Afternoon was all downpour. The air and the walls and the grass were wet and cold. He grabbed me by the hand and said something about beating the cold. 'Explain,' I hesitated. His was a crazy idea. He'd already gathered bonfire wood. He lit it. We fetched chairs and rubbed our hands and watched the flames rise and fall and expand and threaten and quiet down. The ash was piling and we were talking about intimate things like love and dreams and tomorrow. We'd forgotten it's the rainy season and we were 'free' and sipping tea from a thermos flask, not whisky. Rem this was a surprise thing. Whoever will marry my baby bro will either be too happy or too otherwise. Hear me, there is no middle ground with him. He's the scoundrel in the pic below. Someone was leaning back and the chair was sinking in the soft ground and he was falling backwards and another person (me) was laughing. My...

Dear Baba, You have given me the best things in life: Your time, your care, and your love. I am truly grateful to have you in my life.Thanks for acting like a kid when I was a kid, acting like a friend when I needed a friend, and acting like a parent when I needed one.  I am truly grateful to have you in my life.You are the best man I know. Today I choose to CELEBRATE you.Although time and distance may separate us, your guidance, advice, and love has stuck with me through it all. I would not be who I am today without you, for the older I get the more I realize how important it is to have a dad like you. You have provided stability in my life and the love and acceptance I needed. ⭕HAPPY FATHERS DAY⭕ To my hero and role model. Thank you for everything you have done for our family. We love you with all our hearts. Your lovely son, Panamus Kiiru C. Simanto ,

Dedicated to my two good friends who lost their lives in January: Pilot.Emmanuel  (5th January 2019) Styler.Henry Ocheni (   19th Jan 2019) I wish you

Dear Cpt. J. R. Simanto N. , DADDY.You have given me the best things in life: Your time, your care, and your love. I am truly grateful to have you in my life.Thanks for acting like a kid when I was a kid, acting like a friend when I needed a friend, and acting like a parent when I needed one.  I am truly grateful to have you in my life.You are the best man I know. Today I choose to CELEBRATE you.Although time and distance may separate us, your guidance, advice, and love has stuck with me through it all. I would not be who I am today without you, for the older I get the more I realize how important it is to have a dad like you. You have provided stability in my life and the love and acceptance I needed. ⭕HAPPY FATHERS DAY⭕ To my hero and role model. Thank you for everything you have done for our family. We love you with all our hearts. Your lovely son, Panamus Kiiru C. Simanto , ◼️🇰🇪

COMPARISON IS THE THIEF OF JOY Watching people and comparing yourself with them will not make you better but bitter. My equals are getting married, my equals have a good job, my equals have children's, my equals are buying luxury cars, my equals are this...my equals are that...                                                        Yes it's true, but you literally forget your equals who are buried, your equals who are unemployed,your equals who sleep in street. Thank God for all he does in your life. Be grateful and enjoy what you have.live a day at a time

Giants don't come in life to destroy or embarrass you, they are there to highlight the king you were anointed to be. To slay giants in your life you need to remind yourself the previous victories, how God has brought you this far.