In my dream world!

I can only do this in the way I know.  Blurt it out. I need to find some way to express my frustrations.  I NEED to vent. However, frustrations don’t wear me down. I fly above all my frustrations without being worn out, so in as much as I am tired…defeated…hopeless…forlorn…despondent- I have my dreams. My dreams are at times almost all the hope I have. My dreams are not fairy tales, they are my life, so I can’t be defeated.

It’s summer time, like everyone else I look forward to each day with great optimism and enthusiasm. I look forward to having outdoor parties - a braai and barbecue every weekend. I can eat and enjoy some grilled chicken and roasted ribs.

Anyway that is just in my dream world. In my real world there are no parties. The closest I come to parties is the sound of loud music from the nearby drinking hole as MC Wabwino’s ‘Ndeo yayi’ plays in the distant speakers. In my real world summer becomes too hot to look forward to. My only consolation in summer is that it is the season I look forward to enjoying ice cream outings. YES summer is the season for ice cream and bikinis - the reason so many people look forward to it. Well, maybe not so much in my world. In my real world right now one man aptly called Wynter isn’t looking forward to summer.

In my dream world Wynter is the chief executive of a political party that wins election and forms government immediately creating huge opportunities for it’s citizens economically. More jobs are created; more money is earned by the people in their wallets. In my dream world there is robust lobbying by representative members of parliament (MP’s) for social, economic and legal equity. In my real world, MP’s seek to have more money in their own wallets only, by moving parliamentary motions for their own emoluments. In my real world, all the workers are slapped with a wage freeze.

In my dream world Wynter is the fifth most loved political person in Southern Africa just behind Jacob Zuma, King Mswati, Robert Mugabe and Julius Malema. In the real world, it turns out Wynter is not even popular in his own party which he has been the political number three for many years as General Secretary, effectively the party’s Chief Executive. Upon his dismissal as General Secretary, there were celebrations within the rank and file of his own party. There were even celebrations on social media by people from all walks of life.

In my dream world, we only celebrate people’s great achievements and not their dismissals or any other failure. In my dream world we stick by our friends and even adversaries in their moments of need. In all fairness, how will it profit a nation to celebrate the downfall (dismissal) of one man? Will that bring down the mealie meal prices, high fuel prices or even excessively high electricity tariffs? Will that bring about the enactment of the much talked about constitution or suddenly improves social, legal or economic justice? I doubt that. It will neither bring more money in our pockets nor any other economic empowerment we so dearly crave for. Maybe all these can still miraculously happen, unless of course, I underestimated the power that Wynter wielded in his position(s).  

In my dream world, faith organisations and leaders preach the word of salvation, at the heart of which lie the great commandment, ‘love your neighbor as you love yourself’. The commandment that asks of us, to be able to look at other people’s situations as if it were us in the same situations. In my dream world, nuns show compassion for people in need, people who are lacking and people who are just going through rough patches like a financial crisis. But in my real world, if a nun was your boss and you didn’t get your pay because your employer had mistaken you for a Ghost worker thus you couldn’t pay your rent on time, the nun would lock you out of the house.

In my dream world violence is not tolerated. Any type of violence against children, men, women or even animals is seen as feudal and attracts punishment should a case of criminal assault be proved. In my dream world there is neither gender based violence, nor any violence against those generally classified as feeble. In my real world, men beat their wives as a sign of love. In my real world a man can attack a defenseless nun in front of a TV crew. In my real world, those with money and power get away with assaulting everyone from their wives, workers, journalists etc because they can and because their wealth can protect them.

In my dream world men and women in relationships are faithful. In my dream world, marriages last for life. In my dream world, children are protected from all vices and they do not indulge in early sex or alcohol drinking until at least when they turn 18. In my real world, men and women in marriage cheat all the time without any remorse. In my real world, men and women are too proud thus their egos create constant conflict to live in harmony together and the easy way out is divorce. In my real world alcohol and sex is the reserve for all ages. School boys and girls can organize alcohol and sex parties in broad day light. In my real world, orgies are the in-thing such that even some pastors do three-some with church members after sessions of prayers.

In my dream world newspapers, TV stations and radio stations all give us fair and balanced news. In my dream world news is meant to inform the public of the happenings of a particular day. In my dream world, TV stations give the most balanced news, entertainment and education coverage to all sectors of life. In my dream world, radio stations play the best music and have not only well spoken, but good looking announcers. In my real world, news is propaganda.

In my dream world, people are judged on the content of their character. In my real world, it’s the size of your wallet and the colour or your skin that gets you recognition. Even the shade of colour pigmentation depending on how ‘more black or white you are’ is an issue.

In my dream world, you get recognition and celebrity status for great ideas that lead to great inventions. In my dream world, people like professor Samson Tembo the Chief Executive Officer of Inex Investment and the former engineer of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), have celebrity status thus are easily recognizable everywhere because they are on TV every day and grace newspaper headlines every day. In my dream world, Samson Tembo is one of the most important and recognizable faces because his project has the potential to generate revenue in the excess of  US$ 3 billion annually by extracting fuel from plastic and rubber plus anything of fossil fuel nature.

In my real world, the recognizable faces that appear on TV and newspapers include Sulu, Iris Kaingu, Bobby East and now Juliet Buumba. Yes in my real world you earn celebrity status for shooting a sex video. In my real world, Kim Kardashian, Iris Kaingu, Ray J, Bobby East et al, have been thrust to the celebrity hall of fame (edit to read shame) after leak of sex videos. I only heard a Bobby East song play on radio after he made newspaper headlines for the leaked sex video. Add to that, the fact I am yet to really come across any serious music material Ray J has done apart from the cameo feature on his more successful sister Brandy’s rendition of the highly successful another day in paradise by Phil Collins. In my dream world, fame does not come out of the events done in private and for the benefit of the private individuals but the public things that benefit the public.

Well, enough about dreams, illusions and reality. Everything I know including my expectations of how events will turn out comes from my perception of the world, and reality is really just my experiences. The outcomes of my perceptions and what is real are different and can never be the same. My dream world is definitely not a consequence of illusion but an aftereffect of my experiences and expectations. I love both my dream world and my real world. I am incomplete without either of the worlds. I live each day choosing the best of both worlds.

It is in our expectations that we build or destroy. I dread to walk into my distant mind and find the stale smell of discontent hanging timelessly. There is a lot that doesn’t go well with me, but I still keep my dream world alive expecting for much better outcomes and experiences. This is a blog of my expectations versus my reality.