Fashion and Style

Pic by Catherine Muchira  Now, part of being a nomad does involve socialising, although this probably hasn't been all too evident in my recent posts! The evening of Thursday, the 5th of November found me attending an invite-only event entitled 'Fashion, Food & Furniture' at the Rouge Deck , hosted by Panesar Interiors . I was allowed a plus one, and decided to make my best friend tag along with me. I must admit, when I first received the invite, I was a little curious to see how the 3 themes were meant to fit together, but everything flowed seamlessly on the day of the event! I must admit, I was quite impressed. The Fashion Pic by Official Photographer The clothes on display were designed and created by Njema Helena , a company that was formed by a mother and daughters team in honour of their late daughter and sister, who passed away from cancer a few years ago. The designs were absolutely beautiful, and I loved the modern take on traditional African prints. There were ...

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. -Martin Luther King Jr. Pic courtesy of Unsplash If there's anything that I've learnt from this past week, it's that we as humans have almost lost our capacity for kindness and empathy, and have become inclined to pessimism. When I talk about the loss of kindness and empathy, I'm not even talking about those who were responsible for the horrible events that transpired last week, from a number of places in the world, not just Lebanon and France. No, I'm talking about the rest of us; those who were directly or indirectly affected, those who learnt about the attacks through some media, those of us on the other side. People who changed their profile pictures on Facebook were attacked for doing so; those who didn't were criticised. We said, yes, great that you're supporting Paris; but where were you when all these other atrocities happened? We continued ...

One can argue that one of the things that unites us as people is the inevitability of death. Yet, despite knowing that this end will come for all of us sooner or later and we have no way of controlling it, we refuse to make the most out of today. Sure, we don't want to actually live like we're going to die tomorrow; no work would ever get done that way. But at the same time, we sometimes act like we're going to live forever. Why is that, I wonder? Photo courtesy of Death to Stock   I won't move to that new country just yet; you see, I'll have all the time after I'm gone. That holiday my kids have been dying to go on? We'll go, definitely, after they're gone. I have a friend in Hong Kong I've been meaning to call and catch up with; but no rush, I can do it after she's gone. That person I've been wanting to ask out? Why rush it, I have all the time in the world. There's a song I've been wanting to write for years now, but hey. I'll ...

Pic courtesy of Death to Stock This weekend, I found a writing prompt in my drafts, and it talked about how we found the space to create. I have no idea where it came from, but to whoever was responsible for sending it my way; thank you! Our lives have become so busy; sometimes unnecessarily so! Nowadays, we seem incapable of enjoying the simplest of things without the obsessive need to document them. When is the last time you enjoyed a sunset without taking a picture of it? Rather than enjoying and experiencing our own lives, we have become observers. Let's remember that there's nothing wrong with being observers; but it's important to realise when to stop observing and start experiencing, and if we can, to do them both simultaneously. I'd really rather not look back on my own life 60 years from now and realise I spent all my time collecting memories instead of making them. As a writer who also enjoys photography, this is something I definitely need to be careful abou...

Courtesy of Unsplash How many of us are holding onto things from the past that we no longer need? We all have baggage that we carry around from the past; indeed, our past is part of what makes us uniquely us. We all have a combination unique experiences, memoires, hard times that we've faced and triumphs we've celebrated that we share with no other person on the planet. However, isn't it true that while our past guides us and informs us , at times it may also prevent us from moving forward?  Sometimes, our past prevents us from viewing the world from a fresh and exciting lens ; instead, we look at it from a weary and suspicious one. Your past can make you afraid of confronting your future and of enjoying your present. Think about it this way; haven't we all at some point or another had a difficult relationship? With family, with friends, with lovers, with coworkers? And sometimes, when forming new relationships, don't we tend to be pessimistic about the outcomes ba...