Kigeugeu: Why we can avoid faking it.

For a work of art to be successful in song, act or painting it must tickle the emotions of people. The song kigeugeu (untrustworthy) has been a hit in Kenya in the recent past. This means that we can identify with the theme of the song. Why would people be so unashamedly unreliable and untrustworthy? The demands and stakes of life are so high that we can not avoid to  sacrifice our integrity.

I went to a Campus which also had a medical school unit; we had a morgue right inside campus. My first time to enter the morgue, I came out with a new mindset. I saw a whole bunch of naked corpses of different ages and stages in life, lying on tables. I could classify every corpse by social status yet they were all lying lifeless. The beautiful and not so beautiful, the wealthy and poor shared a roof and a table. It did not matter if you had bravely borne a serious illness or you met death suddenly. Death had aggregated their lives yet to make up for their shortcomings, their friends and relatives were preparing to send them off in a way that befits a status they did not need.

We are all rats, running in a maze for a life we won’t come out of alive. I always have this drive to prove myself, to show the world that I can do it and that I can make it. There is always this drive to get out and fight for a piece of pie I don’t even know. This kind of life is stressful, boring, energy consuming and empty to the core. I want to be perfect, get the perfect job and a perfect spouse too. These desires are enough to make me cut corners and fake it.

We still do everything to keep up with the rest. The world is so competitive that even children no longer have time and space to grow; they have to be perfect from birth. The world is not patient if you cannot meet the cut, and no one will wait for you to get up and learn from your mistakes. If you are not worth the part, someone from China is ready to replace you in this global village.

Do you feel caught in the cross hairs of a sniper you can only sense his presence but you can’t see? It is a life that one needs to always calibrate just to remain focused. Jesus Christ who transformed Simon (swaying reed) into Peter (a rock) graciously enables us to always return to base and study the map of life. I don’t have to prove myself to anyone, he has justified me, I just need to sit at his feet and hear from him. Without this I will be a kigeugeu.

© Copyright 5th June 2011