Bloom like sunflowers 🌻


Barely blossomed. 
This is how I used to think of myself. As something that was in a state of growth. Not there yet. Constantly.

 It took years for me to change that thought process. Not because there was anything wrong about it but because it didn’t accurately define me. Not completely; because I simply chose to stop waiting for an indefinite time when I will bloom. That thought process had so many limitations. Does that mean that afterwards I would then wilt and that would be the end of me? Would I have even lived? What if this magical moment doesn’t come? What if someone plucks me and stomps on me for their own vanity while I’m still waiting?


The first time I grew sunflowers I realised that I was more like them. That I was in a constant state of growth, yes - but also that every stage I found myself in at any given point is a bloom. The lessons I learned about grief and loss this year are already forming a new bud which will grow on the back of the current bloom that I am. And as this bloom that I am completes its lifecycle, another bloom will open with another Jas that’s just a little better than the last one. I am in a constant state of metamorphosis like the sunflower. Always growing on my experiences. I dare to live that way and each bloom is just a little braver, stronger and kinder than the last one. 



A different bloom for a different part of me. Sometimes an experience teaches me about loss and patience simultaneously. Sometimes I could be experiencing two different situations at once - one good, one bad - and both are influencing me and changing me as I experience them. It’s like two sunflower heads budding simultaneously. And the next bud that will grow after their lives have ended, will carry their experiences and forge ahead. There is only continuous growth. A network of lifetimes lived at every stage. 


When my life reaches its inevitable end, at whatever point. I would have lived several lifetimes instead of stagnantly waiting for an unknown factor. A spouse, money, a child or even an opportunity. This is the way I choose to live.


Juicy Raindrops! ♡
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No more


That last little crumble of you faded today 
I felt it leave
I even waved it goodbye
Like that old blue T-shirt 
Faded from too many washes
Faded from too much wears
I gave it away on my own 
It didn’t need to be taken from me
I knew when it was time to let go 
It is time now
I am not waiting for you anymore.

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Juicy Raindrops! ♡

The alchemist


I disconnected completely from my old life 
I collected the shards and pieces of my broken heart 
I took all that pain and mess and became an alchemist.

I turned it all into fuel
Fuel that powered my art and ambitions 
And it burned for many years
But now it is all burned out 
I am not broken-hearted anymore
but I am shut down tighter than Fort Knox
No more inflow of pain
No more fuel
I’m all burned out 
So I can not focus 
I can not even live right 
What I’ve felt was missing lately 
It was the pain
It was my motivation
Now that it is all gone 
I do not know what to do
Because this was what I had to become to cope
My bodily functions are now powered by this particular brand of fuel
And I’m all out of it

I didn’t develop in the conventional way
I used a dark force to build my empire
And now that i have run out of it, 
I don’t know how to maintain what i have built 
I don’t know what other people use
And even if I did, my body would just reject it as unsuitable 
It has been many years now 
And i have come so far like this
How am i supposed to go on now?

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Juicy Raindrops! ♡


Still


Someone asked me about you today 
A new friend 
Well not about you in particular
She asked about my heart
And when last I had given it away
So I told her about you 
She replied almost immediately 
She said you didn’t count because it had been so long ago
Because we had been so long ago.

I replied to her that in that case
I had never given my heart out then 
and the conversation continued until it changed to something else
She dismissed you as nothing but a teen fling 
She dismissed everything that we were and had been 
so thoroughly, so swiftly 
That she didn’t even bother asking your name
And it occurred to me that it really has been a long time.

13 years.. of course she’d discount you 
What care she that I tremble still
What care she that I have to take a deep fortifying breath
What care she that my dreams are still haunted.

No longer, are you worthy of being even a ghost
Now, you are a blip in the past
A youthful folly
And somehow that is even worse.
Because according to all their books
You don’t matter anymore.
.
.
.
.
.
.
So why do you still?



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Juicy Raindrops! ♡



Oblivious


She looks at the stars and I look at her.
This is how it has always been and I fear that this is how it will always be. 

Juicy Raindrops! ♡

The son of the bean


I sit and I wonder of the flavours of the universe
Of the things we have discovered and the things that remain a mystery to us 
Of the things discovered, I am immensely grateful for you.

J: don’t you think that’s a little too much praise for me?
M: You? For you? This isn’t about you. It is about the son of the bean… paired with this awesome-sauce garlic and onion infused oil.
 
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Juicy Raindrops! ♡

-
There is a northern Nigerian dish called “Dan wake”. It is sort of like dumplings made with bean flour, augmented with other flours (usually yam) and baobab leaf powder. It is usually enjoyed with oil, onions, tomatoes, salt and pepper. The literal translation of the word “Dan wake” is “Son of the bean”. 

What i have done here is called SANTI in Hausa. It is an appreciation for food so good, it inspired a piece.

Progress over speed


Anything that’s better than nothing is not insignificant.
Never scoff at progress. No matter how small.
Consistency is what wins the race, not speed.

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Juicy Raindrops! ♡

Relative wellness


Things that cannot be measured in absolutes cannot be deemed fake. 

Wellbeing is subjective and relative. 

I can still 
technically have flu but feel better after aromatherapeutic steaming. 
It is not ‘fake’ health or recovery just because it is temporary. 
I feel better than I did before. 

Subjective AND relative. 


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Juicy Raindrops! ♡
_
Inspired by a pretty awful case of the flu - which may or may not have been covid.



Be careful what you wish for..


This is why one shouldn’t complain
Especially not about good things.

I complained about a lack of fuel.
The pain that fuels my work and creativity
I complained that I 
had healed and lacked fuel.

Well the heavens heard my cry
And promptly fulfilled my wish
Now I am filled to the brim with an abundance of fuel.

Yay me.
Yes - I will bleed constantly, but I will make art.
After all, it is required for a beautiful pie-ce.


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Juicy Raindrops! ♡

is this what it takes?


I know you are in pain.
I know you are not content.
I know that she is not the easiest person to live with.
I know it is well within your rights.
But..

But I CANNOT HELP THE WAY I FEEL!!!

And what I feel is that 
you want to make a new family that will satisfy you better.
You are risking what we already have, 
held together by bandages that it is, 
for a gamble. 

There is no way that this decision will FIX us 
so this isn’t to FIX what we have
it is to give yourself an escape. 
Another option. 
Another go at it. 
Something shiny, new and better.

I feel awful even thinking it. 
Call me selfish, call me immature, 
call me whatever you want 
- but I have to get it out 
or I will not be able to stop crying my heart out right now.

All I can hear is that you have given up on this family. On us.
Will it truly make you happy Baba?
Will burning down the house we already have make you happy?
Will it take the pain away?
Will a new family be what it takes to make you content now?

If it truly will, 
I will find it in myself not to resent you for giving up on us

But not now... not today.


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Juicy Raindrops! ♡

Delayed reaction


You know,
I really don’t like delayed reactions.
Sometimes the opportunity for some badass, epic comebacks is lost.
Other times you will be making your bed on a Wednesday afternoon
After forcefully pulling yourself out of it
and suddenly end up in a puddle on the floor 
drowning in a pool of your own tears like Little Alice.

I thought I was fine.
I really did.
When she told me, i thought I was fine. 
For days.
Almost an entire week.
And then today I broke down without warning.

I should have known. 
My vague reaction to such shocking news should have been a warning. 
I should be able to recognise the signs by now. 
Fully immersing myself in the fictional, magical world of books
Unwilling to leave my bed for days
Craving connection and yet denying myself, 
Being overly bright and compensating when in company..

My mind was protecting me from the harsher emotions as usual. 
Letting me feel them in small increments over time 
so it doesn’t overload, short-circuit and crash. 
So my heart doesn’t cease beating in shock.
So I don’t end up clutching my blanket on the floor 
barely able to take a full breath through rapid gasps
barely able to type through my tears.

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Juicy Raindrops! ♡

Live for you


Do not shy away from pain or turmoil. 
I know we’ve been conditioned to hide. To fake it. To put a brave face on it. 
To pretend that we have it all figured out and we are perfectly in control.
So much that it becomes paranoia. 

Am I saying that you have to publicly share your troubles? No I am not. 
What I am trying to talk about is denial.
 And the pursuit of contemporary/perceived perfection. 

Just live your best life. 
For you. 
That is all.


Juicy Raindrops! ♡
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Nature vs Nurture


I have been on a KDrama spree on Netflix. All the great love stories - Ashes of love, Eternal love, Rise of phoenixes - and the newer ones like ‘Love between fairy and demon’ etc.

And each time, in each one, there is a point where the two are separated by death after some huge misunderstanding that has kept them apart has been cleared and they were finally together. Then death comes and what should have been the beginning of their happily ever after is ruined. (Until the miraculous rebirth of course).

This separation and wait is supposedly a test of time and true affection. I watch the person who is left behind waiting, sometimes I even share their grief and tears with them and I ask myself out loud:

People actually WANT this? 
Crave this? Why, for the love of all that is holy, would you want to carry such a heavy burden willingly? Or is it that they are already trapped in it and now there is no other way?

But then, those who aren’t in it.. we who have been in it and know its cruel sting.. why do we want to go back? Are we just all huge masochists hiding our depravity behind the veneer of love?

Is love just a concept after all, an abstract idea that we have created to explain away our secret desire for self harm? And is this auto-injury an inherent trait or a learned one, do you think?

Is love nature or nurture?

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Juicy Raindrops! ♡

Borrowed light


They say the moon doesn’t shine
That it simply mooches off the light of the sun. 

Yet despite all the twinkling, shiny stars in the dark sky on this eerie night
the only thing I can see is the moon.

Borrowed light it may
 be,
but it is what guides the path before me in this new and strange world. 
And for me, that is enough.

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Juicy Raindrops! ♡

The language of love


He could shout and scream until dusk
Until his throat is sore and his voice hoarse 
but it won’t reach her anymore than it would have 
had he softly whispered the words directly into her ears.

She only understands French and he is calling out to her in Mandarin. 
Even a child can see the obstacle here. 

Just because it is spoken louder, 
doesn't make the message any clearer
- not when the language is wrong.

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Juicy Raindrops! ♡

(About love languages and how we must learn to speak to our loved ones in ways which they can actually hear).

Begin again


I know this feeling 
I remember it from before and recognise it for what it is 
It is my heart giving away little bits of itself at a time to another that does not exist within it. 
Without my permission, without my consent.  

As if I would let it continue. 

Juicy Raindrops! ♡
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The only way


I have already come too far
I have not only drunk the kool-aid
I have bathed in it
So it is too late for me
There is only one path before me and 
The only way is through

I can’t go back
I don’t want to go back
I have already come so far
I am in way too deep

Even risking a single glance backwards
will open portals to worlds of regret
And I have given up too much
Risked too much
Sacrificed too much
Lost too much on this path of mine
For this belief I hold so tight
That I cannot even entertain the possibility of an alternative

If I didn’t back then -
Even when it was difficult
Even when I didn’t fully understand it
Even when it just was a small feeling in my gut 
- Back when it would have made a difference
But I held on tightly
And let go even as I felt my soul split and crack
Even as my heart soundlessly shattered

I can’t go back
I don’t want to go back
I have already come so far
I am in way too deep

There is only one path before me and 
The only way is through.

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Juicy Raindrops! ♡


Love is warfare


Our ‘Flight or Fight Instinct” is triggered when we start to fall in love.
Accelerated heart rate and breathing 
Elevated blood pressure
Release of adrenaline
Increased circulation to muscles and brain
Muscular contraction of stomach and intestines..

We have romanticised these warnings of course
We say:
“she made my heart skip a beat” 
“she took my breath away”
“he gives me butterflies in my stomach”
“I feel flushed and flustered around him”

As if these are not the same reactions our bodies have 
in times of high stress and danger,
like when we are facing a predator in the wild.

So falling in love is a form of trauma.
An existential survival warfare
which triggers our natural psychological reaction
honed through many years of evolution.

When your heart starts bounding in time to those drums of war
drop that heavy chainmail armour, lest it slow you down - 
and run.
Run while you can.
Run so maybe you can actually survive unscathed.

Juicy Raindrops! ♡

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By rights


Them: You’re an activist.
Me: Really? I don’t think so. 
T: Why not?
Me: Because I don’t have causes. I simply have things I believe in and that matter enough for me to speak about. That is not activism. It’s human rights.

Juicy Raindrops! ♡

Happy Democracy Day!???

Mind your cuppa


That is the thing with this life. Not every cup of tea is yours. 

*this she thought as she watched the stevia flavoured tea go down the drain, rinsed out the cup and went away to make a new cup of tea* 


Juicy Raindrops! ♡
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(Lesson from discovering and experimenting with new tea blends and flavours).
This is the first and last time I try stevia as a sugar replacement.