Bev Nambozo Nsengiyunva: Using Poetry, Public Speaking, and Writing, to Influence

 Poetry is an unparalleled form of communication.

 You may say, ‘It’s a nice day today.’ Or you may say,

‘Today, the sky smiled at me, and my heart escaped into the sun’s warm embrace.’

Both sentences describe the day; but the second is more memorable.

 

I’ve always been fascinated by the musicality of words. Music in itself, is my happy place. I listen to rap, love songs from the eighties and gospel music, while I’m in the bathroom. And I often follow leading poets and speakers on YouTube. I’m restless, when it comes to immersing myself in poetry. I take risks when it comes to speaking and creating. From working on radio, where I felt at home, from 6:00am to 10:00am every weekday, I woke up Kampala City.

 The term, ‘Morning Person,’ suited me, and I have since then relished waking up from 3am to 5am, starting the day with verve and prayer. There are countless reasons I could complain; aren’t there always. Truthfully though, the lockdown has placed my mind into a space where I am only able to receive abundance. Starting with videos posted on my growing YouTube channel (35 subscribers, as of 15 August 2020), then growing clientele for my public speaking training sessions, and above all, a heightened sense of purpose. By purpose, I don’t mean that short-lived superficial fuzzy feeling when you’re walking in a daze. I mean the grounded and consistent meaningful purpose, which despite what life may throw, I keep going. I could never have learned this on my own. Gratitude goes to individual advisors; those living across the ocean, and those nearby. There are a handful, but the calls, messages, and emails, are a constant motivation and blessing.

 

I pray too; not as often as I used to, because I want to do more receiving of the things I’ve been praying for, over the decades. I do pray, though and read the bible, at least three times a week. Listening to audio-visual sermons are important, too.

The lockdown has been my ultimate happy place, over the past few months. Saying that with the knowledge of the devastation it has caused businesses, I’d be frugal not to share how I’ve been blessed. I don’t mean the kind of blessing that undermines others’ challenges, or undermines others’ struggles and honest hard work. I mean the blessing that keeps on appearing, as a reminder that God is actually in my life.

It’s been a life of hills and valleys, the past 44 years; but during the lockdown, I had to kick the consistent roller-coaster of highs and endless lows, in the groin. I had had enough. Just as one challenge was closed, another fifteen would reappear, and some so subtle, like a dormant volcano, erupting in the most unusual of places, disrupting my short-lived bliss.

 I’ve been blessed towards a sharp sense of realization. I had been missing it all along. There have been warning signs blaring red; for so long, but can’t be ignored.

 Amongst them are:-

I need to follow my gut; always. This could be the prompting of the Holy Spirit, God’s leading, but ALWAYS. Whenever I haven’t, it’s been disastrous.

God, first thing when I wake up; no matter the deadlines.

Small things like someone arriving late for a meeting continuously; I should never ever work with them, since they have no respect for time, or work ethic.

 If someone constantly talks about themselves and never acknowledges my own story, or voice, that is a clear sign that they have no interest in me.

If someone shares my ideas on social media; with no explanation from where it originated, it reflects a level of narcissism and lack of originality that should be avoided like a plague.

If someone keeps complaining about others; both online and offline, then they’ll complain, whine and gossip about me too.

 If someone uses friendship or sisterhood, to get out of payment for my professional services, then that sisterhood may as well turn into nothinghood.

If someone uses Christianity to perpetuate misogyny and sexual abuse, then I need to flee, and warn all the people within a 1,000 mile radius.

Don’t chase people. Don’t put them on a pedestal Challenge them. If you place someone on a pedestal and show them you’re in constant awe, they will hardly respect you and only see you as a fan.

 These are just a few.

 

Being in lockdown has given me significant time to reflect, and introspection is something I never shy from. I have diaries full of my thoughts and lessons learned, in quiet moments.

 

The spread in The Full Monitor, Saturday 15 August 2020, is part of the story, and part of the promise from God. He and I spent copious amounts of time talking, or maybe I did more of the talking. He knows I need this, and more. I know it’s time for change. I’m enjoying the process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BABISHAI AND BUTTERFLIES: ICONIC MOMENTS

 They are diurnal; active during the day, like most humans have been trained to be. With large activity during the day time, they act as agents of pollination, laying a copious number of eggs, for their own life insurance. Their eggs are often eaten by all types of predators, from spiders, ants and a few birds, therefore reducing the risk of predation, by increasing the number of eggs that they lay. While butterflies come in about fifteen thousand types of species and vary in their lifestyle, after exploring for a while, not as an entomologist, but as someone who’s fascinated by their curious nature, I unearthed (pun intended), a few images of butterflies, taken in 2014.

Photograph by Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva

The Babishai Niwe Poetry Foundation, which promotes African poetry coordinated an East Africa poetry exchange programme, with a Kenyan poet, Michael Onsando, who visited Kampala for a few days. During his visit, he led discussions on the politics and aesthetics of poetry, during an evening hosted by Femrite, where the discussion varied from the potency of East African poets, to the validation sought by African literary gatekeepers, to sustainable livelihoods in poetry. It was a vibrant evening, laced with intellectual and creative discourse.

Photograph by Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva

Babishai and the butterflies. Getting to that. A friend of Babishai’s and a personal friend of mine too, Tom Forrest, a retired British Diplomat, who has lived in Uganda for decades of years, with a house on Buziga Hill, overlooking one of the most breathtaking views in Uganda, invited us to a brunch. Together with Jackee Batanda, a writer and entrepreneur, and Sophie Alal, writer and winner of the 2010 BN Poetry Award, we had a remarkable time. Tom is a nature enthusiast, whose garden boasts of such a wide variety of plants and flowers, that we were immersed in it for a while. My mother, who runs a successful landscaping business, introduced me to the magnanimity of plants and flowers, and I’m always enamoured by the experience. It was here while we chatted and walked in the garden, which a few butterflies kept flitting around us.

Like any human with fairly good eyesight, we were drawn to their essence. With Jackee’s camera, thanks to her photography skills, we were able to capture some iconic moments of this butterfly. One black and yellow species was by the window sill, stately and striking. How do you capture such beauty in just a photograph? How do you sip enough of it, to quench your insatiable need for nature’s grandeur! It’s impossible. We tried, though.

It was later that I discovered butterflies never fly in straight lines, to confuse their predators. They do not want to leave obvious flight paths, as that would make them easy prey. On reading Robert Greene’s ’48 Laws of Power,’ he too recommends that we should leave a little mystery to our habits and schedules. A change in routine, puts people off-guard and you not only brighten your vibe, but also heighten your security.

I’ve seen photos and videos of heavy set adults chasing butterflies down across miles, with butterfly nets. Their indirect flight confuses the butterfly catchers, and it’s quite a sight to watch.

Lessons from butterflies: We must lay a large number of eggs; because that raises the assurance of survival. Live in such a way that even with half of your ideas, plans, or activities failed, there is assurance that your legacy will remain intact. Not because you had a million ideas, but because the predators could not reach them, or destroy them.

Lessons from butterflies: Be unpredictable. Don’t live such a monotonous and regular life, which leaves no surprises. If you’re a dancer, change the music. If you write, change the characters, and if you’re a parent, change your style.

There are hundreds of iconic moments with Babishai, which were captured in photos. I’ll be sharing more.

Thanks for reading.

Babishai edits poetry, and if you have a collection of fifty poems or more that you would like us to look at, email babishainiwe@babishainiwe.com, or call +256 751 703226.