THE LONG WALK TO TRANSFORMATION

Have you heard the catch line, “You do not owe anyone an explanation”? You surely must have heard it, at least once. And if not, then this should be familiar: “Ma lo ma shalaye”, which literally means the same thing as the first anyway. This has been my mantra for about a year now.

Whenever I get boos and jeers; when I walk into a room and brows begin to raise from their natural positions, eyes tilted and squinted, lips twined to one side of the mouth sealing in the charade of comments, expressions of displeasure and disapproval, or outbursts, in some cases, I smile. And I ask myself, “What is the worst thing that could happen in this gathering?” They would confront me and ask why the new appearance. Or go further and chide, reprimand and lash at me. Worst of all, they would treat me as an outcast undeserving to be in the midst of people. Tell you what? I have experienced every one of the possible instances I described above.

Now, recall that I said despite the overwhelming facial expressions I received amidst other forms of responses and feedback owing to my transformation, drastic/sudden change, however you choose to call it, I have stayed true to my mantra: I owe nobody an explanation. But a few days ago, I sent out a link for people to send me anonymous messages, telling me whatever. And ninety per cent of the messages came back with expressions indicating that people had been bothered all along by my "sudden change". It is amusing and not so. Hence, I decided it was time to shalaye at last. I was going to write about it anyway. So, why not now?

I have broken this series into posts, narrating how I have journeyed from one phase of my spiritual development and evolution to the other. The purpose of these posts is to take you on a walk in my shoes. This way, I believe, you would gain insight into my 'why', how I think and how they guide me into my beliefs. I implore you as you read through each one of the posts, to do so with an open mind. Also, bear in mind that the narration is in no way trying to convince you out of your set beliefs or way of living albeit I sincerely hope that it rings deep for you and expands your horizon further.

Will you not like to read about the beginning of it all? Grab a seat and get on the ride with me!