- Written by: Kamran Mofid
- Hits: 985
‘The world belongs to the dreamer and doer
That lives within you and me
We build a better future when we are willing
To let our best ideas roam free
Today, the world is calling upon us
To activate our power
To dream differently.’- The World Dream Day, FaceBook
A Must-read Book
Photo:amazon
‘Alama, a nomad from the northern desert, sets out on a walk accompanied by Koko Kigongo, his walking stick. Along the journey, he meets women and men who are on a similar walk to find the Source of Peace. Like Alama, they are troubled by post-independence violence due to greed, misrule and corruption. Yet, the elders know that the Source of Peace lies in indigenous knowledge that lives in memories of every community of Yeta. But why can they not have peace? The dilemma confronts Alama. When they meet, the elders exchange their peace staffs and memories. Then they keep walking along their separate paths in quest for the Source of Peace.The imaginary walk of Alama is inspired by the author ethnographer Sultan Somjee’s journey. Initially, for two decades he worked on the material culture of Kenya and indigenous aesthetics. He introduced the study of African material culture into the school curriculum. Later, during the conflicts that plagued eastern Africa in the 1990s, Somjee looked towards communal practices of reconciliation for the next two decades. Using material culture, oral traditions, songs, dances, and his learning from Kamirithu Community Theatre and Educational Centre (1977), Somjee initiated the building of museums of peace with the participation of local communities. Museums of peace are grassroots civil societies that open spaces for communities to speak to each other about their heritages during conflicts and in-between when tensions arise due to political propaganda and sectarianism resulting in hate, humiliation and yearnings for revenge.’
Sultan Somjee-Photo: Daily Nation/Zera Somjee.
‘Sultan Somjee is a writer of unique quality. He has been honoured by the United Nations as an Unsung Hero of Dialogue Among Civilizations. His background as an ethnographer gives him ample material for his story lines. What makes him unique, however, is his insightful, poetic voice. His writing reaches deep into recesses in our being human. It awakens forgotten parts of our humanity, long hidden, covered up by lives immersed in acquisition, self-preservation, and egoistic endeavours. It refreshes the tired spirit, and opens doors to new visions of a better way to be. We taste what Alama seeks. This is Somjee’s art…a privilege to experience. Experience this wonderful adventure of discovery, and understand more.’...Read more
‘For four decades Sultan Somjee has worked on material culture. He introduced learning about indigeneity through material culture in the Kenyan school curriculum (1985-1990). While he was the Head of Ethnography at the National Museums of Kenya, Somjee started village peace museums. The museums highlight indigenous languages, material culture and the arts used over generations for reconciliation and social cohesion. Today, the peace museums have spread from Kenya to Uganda and South Sudan as a people to people civil society movement. In 2001, the United Nations named Dr. Somjee one among the only twelve ‘Unsung Heroes of Dialogue Among Civilizations’ worldwide in recognition of his work. In 2002, Dr. Somjee was appointed to the Global Advisory Board of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies.
The book One Who Dreams is Called a Prophet is inspired by the author-ethnographer’s journey into the world of material culture, story telling, indigenous African knowledge and nature that describe Utu, Swahili for ‘being mtu’ or simply ‘being human’. All over traditional Africa the principle of Utu or Ubantu is used in reconciliation and sustaining peace.’
Reviews of “One Who Dreams is Called a Prophet”
Searching for Peace Within Kenya’s Warriors and between their Tribes, Review Essay, Michael Britton
‘Psychohistory, which postulates that both the unconscious and conscious shape history and are shaped by it, is the terrain on which this tale plays out. As in psychoanalysis, it is through the weaving together of conscious and unconscious minds that peace becomes possible; the world can change as it needs when peace is missing, and dreams can become decisive. A fourth generation Irish American myself, I learned a feel for the importance of dreams in difficult times from my father who had learned it from his father before him. I found in this book an affirmation of a tradition of dreaming not found elsewhere in my world today.’- in the Journal of Psychohistory
‘There is much to admire about Kenya’s Indigenous Peoples as peacemakers that are portrayed in One Who Dreams is Called a Prophet. In this creative fiction, Sultan Somjee intricately weaves together memoir, history, and peace heritage traditions by telling the story of one of the most sought-after ideals of humankind, the search for peace. Alama, the protagonist, walks across Kenya’s red soil meeting Elders, exchanging peace staffs, and with each encounter illuminating the stories of the beauty of peace. During his interactions with Western hegemony, he challenges liberal peace practices being employed and rejects money and fame, turning towards his own honour, dignity and freedom. Ultimately, finding internal peace within his own Indigenous belief system.”- Kimberly Baker, UBC Ph.D Candidate (Thesis: Museums of Peace in Conflict Zones), and Chair, The Living Peace Museum, Canada
‘At a time when the world experiences the seriousness of social and environmental unsustainability, One Who Dreams is Called a Prophet offers a perspective on the urgency of a radical socio-cultural transformation from an African vantage point. It reflects on the existential questions and devastating impacts caused by colonial regimes and the neo-patrimonial political systems that followed them on the Continent. And it does so with a brilliant narrative style, based on African cultural heritage, ranging from storytelling traditions to proverbs, parables and riddles layered in metaphors and satire.
One Who Dreams is Called a Prophet is a captivating reading, very entertaining, with an unpredictable plot and a vivid narrative that paints every scene as a microcosm that unfolds through rich sensorial renderings and spiritual insights. African readers will find inspiration in it, and a path to develop an appreciative and critical consciousness of their own cultural heritage as a gift for peace’. Alberto Parise, Comboni Missionary
Buy the book HERE
See also: Alama's Walk, The Oracle Speaks, the graphic novel is adapted from "One Who Dreams is Called a Prophet"
‘Alama's Walk , The Oracle Speaks, is the first of three graphic novels on heritage stories about Indigenous peace practices in eastern Africa. The three novels are from One Who Dreams is Called a Prophet, a book about a lone elder’s walk in pursuit of the last traces of Indigenous knowledge of Utu during conflicts. Utu in Swahili means the quality of being human or simply humanness or humanity. The walk resulted in cultivating conversations on reconciliation in a conflicted country, among diverse cultures, in diverse languages and diverse arts that led to the making of the Community Museums of Peace in eastern Africa.
The forthcoming two graphic novels, Alama's Walk, Healing the Earth (2022) and Alama's Walk, Ogres of Humiliation and Revenge (2023), similarly radiate grassroots narratives from the walking sticks carried by elders. The walking sticks are respected for they are often carved out of peace trees and used during reconciliation. Each book has a running meme on Utu as viewed by 10 Indigenous cultures through elders’ memories, the environment, material culture, community stories, rituals and spirituality.’
Alama's Walk - character designs based on the Turkana, Pokot and Borana people of East Africa: Watch the Video
Buy the book HERE
Dialogue, Friendship, Forgiveness and Reconciliation, Peace and Justice, Ubantu, I am because We Are
A pick from our GCGI archive
We can all imagine the world we want to build; now's the time to start its construction. -Photo: Via the BBC
GCGI is our journey of hope and the sweet fruit of a labour of love. It is free to access, and it is ad-free too. We spend hundreds of hours, volunteering our labour and time, spreading the word about what is good and what matters most. If you think that's a worthy mission, as we do—one with powerful leverage to make the world a better place—then, please consider offering your moral and spiritual support by joining our circle of friends, spreading the word about the GCGI and forwarding the website to all those who may be interested.
Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future
‘I have a Dream’, 57 Years On and Why We Must Carry on Imagining the Dream
Dreaming About Utopia to Make the World Great Again
‘I Have a Dream’: Yearning for Dr. King’s Interconnected World
Recalling an epoch-defining day: “I Have a Dream” speech remembered
A Must-read book on the “I Have a Dream” speech
Ubuntu Education: Nelson Mandela’s Lasting Legacy
The Spirit of Ubuntu and the Common Good
Celebrating the Centenary of the Man for the Common Good
The Road to Peace, Justice, Prosperity, Happiness and Well-being
The Anxious and Troubled Times: ‘Now we need books more than ever’
Compassion, kindness, hope, courage and joy: The Path to a More Loving World
Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Pursuit of the Global Common Good
- Written by: Kamran Mofid
- Hits: 925
A More Loving World: A must-read Book
‘This is a book that rallies us to remember how much we all long for, and depend on love: how much we need people to forgive us for our errors, how much everyone deserves to be treated with consideration and imagination and how being truly civilised means extending patience and kindness to all those we have to deal with, even, and especially, those who don’t naturally appeal to us.
‘With the right encouragement, all of us are capable of immense kindness. But without it, we can also quickly descend into something far darker. This book reminds us of our better natures and mobilises us to fight for the kinder, more loving world we essentially long for at heart.
‘Throughout, it frames love not as a romantic, idealistic fantasy, but as a hugely serious and dignified force that can save us from meanness and strife, defend us against chaos – and usher in hope and courage.’
How to Increase Compassion, Kindness and Joy
‘The modern world is richer, safer and more connected than ever before but it is – arguably – also a far less loving world than we need or want: impatience, self-righteousness, moralism and viciousness are rife while forgiveness, tolerance and sympathetic good humour can be in short supply.
‘A More Loving World rallies us to remember how much we all long for, and depend on, love: how much we need people to forgive us our errors, how much everyone deserves to be treated with consideration and imagination, and how being truly civilised means extending patience and kindness to all.’- The School of Life
(Photos credit: All the photos above from The School of Life)
Click HERE to read an extract of the book for free: ‘A Loveless World’.
Compassion, kindness, hope, courage and joy: The Path to a More Loving World
A pick from our GCGI archive
Photo:Pixabay
GCGI is our journey of hope and the sweet fruit of a labour of love. It is free to access, and it is ad-free too. We spend hundreds of hours, volunteering our labour and time, spreading the word about what is good and what matters most. If you think that's a worthy mission, as we do—one with powerful leverage to make the world a better place—then, please consider offering your moral and spiritual support by joining our circle of friends, spreading the word about the GCGI and forwarding the website to all those who may be interested.
What if Universities Taught KINDNESS?
Kindness to Heal the World- Kindness to Make the World Great Again
Why a Simple Life Matters: The Path to peace and happiness lies in the simple things in life
Adam Smith and the Pursuit of Happiness
Why Love, Trust, Respect and Gratitude Trumps Economics
Wouldn’t the world be a better place with a bit more kindness? Harnessing the Economics of Kindness
The IPCC Report- I Refuse to give up Hope: Earth Is A Mother that Never Dies
Do we love the world enough to look after it, to save it?
‘Hope is a thing with feathers’
Christmas and New Year Message Holds True: A Time to Be the Voice of Hope
In a world that seems so troubled, how do we hold on to hope?
Christmas in the time of COVID: Let Love and Kindness be Your Everlasting Gifts
The Pandemic and the forgotten Love Story
Good Friday Agreement and the Spirit of Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Pursuit of the Global Common Good
Forgiveness and Reconciliation: The Path to Conflict Transformation and Peace building
Centre for the Study of Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Do you want to change the world? Think generosity
Coventry and I: The story of a boy from Iran who became a man in Coventry
- Written by: Kamran Mofid
- Hits: 600
‘THE RECYCLING PROBLEM: A FEEL-GOOD STORY THAT’S TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE’
‘Recycling feels good. It seemingly gives us power to control our own habits for the benefit of our planet.
We can even call people out for not recycling (shame!), reinforcing our own green behavior.
But that feel-good sentiment might just be a placebo effect.’-
THE RECYCLING PROBLEM: A FEEL-GOOD STORY THAT’S TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. Photo:earthday
See also: How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled
Nota bene
Given who I am, what I believe in and what I do, I never ever could have imagined that one day I can be in agreement with anything that Boris Johnson may say. But, now, there is one exception:
The Prime Minister was speaking to a press conference with children in Downing Street ahead of the COP26 climate change summit on what action young people want to see world leaders take on climate change, where he said: “The issue with plastics is that recycling isn’t the answer, I’ve got to be honest with you.”...“You’re not going to like this, but recycling doesn’t begin to address the problem. You can only recycle plastic a couple of times. And what you’ve got to do is stop the production of plastic, stop the first use of plastic. Recycling is a red herring.”
Well said Mr. Johnson, Our life is plasticised!
Photo:Why recycling is not the answer for fighting the plastic pollution problem
A Plastic Bag’s 2,000-Mile Journey Shows the Messy Truth About Recycling
By Kit Chellel and Wojciech Moskwa Via Bloomberg
Photo: Via Audubon Society of Rhode Island
‘When the British supermarket chain Tesco Plc first started collecting plastic bags and wrappers from customers to be recycled in March 2021, Caroline Ragueneau was thrilled. She was working as a retail assistant at a Tesco store in southwest England when the first white deposit boxes appeared, promising to turn what’s typically discarded back into something useful. Plastic is a notorious source of pollution: unsightly on land, deadly to marine wildlife. Ragueneau, 56, an enthusiastic environmentalist, proudly told friends about the initiative.
In August, Tesco announced it was expanding the pilot to all its biggest outlets. Shoppers from Cornwall to Cumbria were invited to return snack packets, shopping bags, and vegetable packaging. Soon after, the company rolled out a national advertising campaign, featuring an image of a young father with a baby in his arms and the words: “Recycling soft plastics shouldn’t be hard.”
The problem was, as Ragueneau knew from her activism, recycling plastic is hard—especially the material Tesco is collecting. Unlike the clear, standardized plastic used in soda bottles, soft plastic can be stretchy or crinkly or colored, or “metalized” with a reflective coating. It needs to be sorted by hand into different grades, so it can be washed, shredded, melted, and filtered for impurities before being turned into new products. This happens to only about 6% of the U.K.’s soft plastic.
Baffled by the claims, Ragueneau emailed her bosses to ask exactly what was being recycled and how. The company didn’t provide her with clear answers. At the store where she worked, she watched as wrinkled crisp packets filled the bins outside and then disappeared into a supposedly sustainable second life. She couldn’t quite fathom how. “I never worked out where they were taking the plastic,” she said.
The only way to know for sure would be to follow the garbage. And that’s exactly what Bloomberg Green set out to do. We placed tiny digital trackers inside three used plastic items—film that covered some bok choy, a lentil-puff snack pouch, and a Tesco-branded shopping bag—and deposited them in Tesco storefront collection bins around London. The idea was to find out, definitively, what happens to the plastic waste generated by the U.K.’s biggest supermarket chain.
It was the start of a journey that would cross seas and continents, revealing a netherworld of contractors, brokers, and exporters, and a messy reality that looks less like a virtuous circle and more like passing the buck…’-Continue to read
A Plastic Bag’s 2,000-Mile Journey Shows the Messy Truth About Recycling: Watch the Video HERE
Photo Via UpstreamSolutions
Americans' plastic recycling is dumped in landfills, investigation shows
Plastic wrapped in plastic: the wasteful reality of America's grocery stores
Why are we burning our recycling?
Watch the Video HERE
Lest We Forget: The Best Recycling is the British Milkman
…And this is what we have been doing since 1974, thanks to our milkman, Derek Arch and his son
(Two pints a day in, two previous day’s bottles taken away)
Britain’s oldest milkman still delivering to over 300 homes at the age of 88
The Time is Now to Take Action.
‘Time is running out for a world at risk…threats that were considered inconceivable, no longer are.’
A Call to Action from Our Children and Grandchildren.
We Must Not Let Them Down!
Photo:littlesun.canalblog.com
How to Build a Better and more Sustainable World and Save Mother Nature
A Pick from our GCGI Archive
'Western societies tend to see nature and humanity as separate.
But are there other ways of relating to the natural world?’
'Heaven is my father and earth is my mother,
and I, a small child, find myself placed intimately between them.
What fills the universe I regard as my body;
what directs the universe I regard as my nature.
All people are my brothers and sisters; all things are my companions.’- Zhang Zai (1020–1077)
We are not the Masters, We are the Servants: Time to Reassess our Relationship with Nature
‘In all my academic life, spanning over four decades, I have been dismayed, frustrated and overwhelmed with pain to notice that our education model has not embraced the beauty and the wisdom of our mother nature and our sacred earth, corporating them into the teaching curriculum.
This, to my mind, has seriously deprived the students, our future leaders, or indeed, our current leaders, to get a wholesome, values-led education, and thus, has prevented them, to vision and implement policies to heal our world, to better our lives.’- Kamran Mofid
Land As Our Teacher: Rhythms of Nature Ushering in a Better World
On the 250th Birthday of William Wordsworth Let Nature be our Wisest Teacher
Nature the Best Teacher: Re-Connecting the World’s Children with Nature
Detaching Nature from Economics is ‘Burning the Library of Life’
‘Nature and Me’: Realigning and Reconnecting with Mother Nature’s Wisdom- A Five Part Guide
Ten Love Letters to the Earth: “Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet”
‘Nature and Me’: Realigning and Reconnecting with Mother Nature’s Wisdom- A Five Part Guide
GCGI is our journey of hope and the sweet fruit of a labour of love. It is free to access, and it is ad-free too. We spend hundreds of hours, volunteering our labour and time, spreading the word about what is good and what matters most. If you think that's a worthy mission, as we do—one with powerful leverage to make the world a better place—then, please consider offering your moral and spiritual support by joining our circle of friends, spreading the word about the GCGI and forwarding the website to all those who may be interested.
Desperately seeking Sophia: The Wisdom of Nature
And We must save the web of life
- We are not the Masters, We are the Servants: Time to Reassess our Relationship with Nature
- Two years on, what have we learned about lockdowns?
- Trusting each other is the heart and soul of pandemic management and survival
- This is How Putin’s Oligarchs Bought Britain and Turned its Upper Class from Masters to Servants
- Decoding Beatrix Potter’s Secret Life and her Love for Nature