What I learnt from Jjaajja Muguluma in Kifuuta
Step well, my sons and daughters. Step well.
This world is an equalizer. Do not be fooled by what you see today.
The king and the beggar sleep on the same soil in the end. The beautiful girl and the ugly girl both grow old. The rich man and the poor man both cry when their mother dies. The man with ten cars and the man with ten legs, both with legs to walk, must face death alone.
Time equalizes. Death equalizes. Shame equalizes. Hunger equalizes.
That is why I tell you: do not worship money. Do not worship beauty. Do not worship power that is borrowed. Make the meaning of life. Make it with your own hands.
What is the meaning of life? It is not to eat and die. It is not to show off and die. It is to leave a mark that the rain cannot wash away. A road. A child who is disciplined. A name that people mention with respect when you are gone. A house that stands after you are buried. A word you spoke that still heals someone ten years after you spoke it.
Step well, because every step you take is writing your story. The world is watching your feet, not your mouth.
WORK HARD LIKE A LION, BUT ACT LIKE A FOX
Hear this, and hear it well. This is the secret of those who survive.
Work hard like a lion, but act like a fox.
The lion works hard. The lion does not beg. The lion does not wait for meat to fall from heaven. The lion wakes up hungry and goes to hunt. The lion roars, and the whole forest knows: I am here. The lion protects his territory. The lion protects his family. The lion does not sleep when his children are hungry.
Be a lion in your work. Wake up early. Hunt. Build. Sweat. Carry heavy things. Do not be lazy. Do not be soft. A lazy man is a dead man walking. A lazy woman is a curse to her own children.
But do not be a foolish lion. A foolish lion charges every trap. A foolish lion roars at every hunter. A foolish lion dies with a bullet in his chest because he thought power was only muscle.
That is why you must also act like a fox.
The fox is quiet. The fox watches. The fox listens before it moves. The fox knows where the trap is. The fox knows when to run, when to hide, and when to smile and walk away. The fox does not fight every dog. The fox lets the dogs bark, and it goes to eat the chicken in peace.
Look at life. Look at the clever ones.
The farmer who is a lion in the garden but a fox in the market does not sell his maize when everyone is selling. He waits. He stores. He sells when hunger comes, and he eats double.
The woman who is a lion at home but a fox in her marriage does not shout at her husband in public. She waits. She speaks to him in the night, softly and wisely, and he changes.
The businessman who is a lion in building but a fox in dealing does not sign every paper they bring. He reads. He asks. He walks away from a bad deal, even if they laugh at him. Later, they come back begging.
The lion gets you respect. The fox keeps you alive. You need both. Power without wisdom is suicide. Wisdom without power is slavery.
STOP PLEADING FOR LOVE, MY SONS AND DAUGHTERS
Now, this one will pain you, but I must say it because I love you.
Stop pleading for love, my sons and daughters. Love is not a charitable activity.
Love is not a church donation. Love is not a government programme for the poor. Love is not pity. Love is not sympathy. Love is not something you beg for on your knees like a beggar in Owino Market.
If you beg for love, you will get pity. And pity rots fast. Pity will feed you today and insult you tomorrow. Pity will sleep with you today and laugh at you tomorrow.
Look at life. Look at real life.
A man who calls a woman twenty times a day, saying, "Please love me, please pick my call, please do not leave me," has already lost her. She will not love him. She will fear him. She will run from him because love cannot live where begging lives.
A woman who cooks, cleans, kneels and cries, "Please stay, please do not go to another woman," has already lost him. He will not stay because she begged. He will stay because he respects her. And respect cannot be begged.
Love is voluntary. Love is a gift. Love comes when it wants, and love leaves when it wants. You cannot chain love. You cannot buy love. You cannot force love. You cannot cry love into staying.
I have seen a rich man buy a woman cars, houses and gold, and she still left him for a boda man who made her laugh. Why? Because love is not a shop. I have seen a beautiful woman give her whole body, her whole youth, to a man, and he still left her. Why? Because love is not charity. You cannot pay for love with your body.
Do not plead. Stand up. For love, true love is sent by the Cupid angels.
Make yourself a person that love wants to find. Build yourself. Clean yourself. Work like a lion. Think like a fox. Have your own house. Have your own money. Have your own peace.
When you are full, love will come to eat with you. When you are empty and begging, love will run away from you because no one wants to carry an empty tin.
THE EQUALIZER WILL JUDGE YOU
Remember, my children, this world is an equalizer, as has been observed by the Oracle of Kifuuta Katooke, Kyotera, Buddu.
The man who begged for love will be equalized by loneliness. The man who built himself will be equalized by honour.
The woman who chased men will be equalized by tears. The woman who built herself will be equalized by choice. She will choose; she will not be chosen out of pity.
The lazy man who waited for luck will be equalized by hunger. The hard worker who was a lion and a fox will be equalized by plenty.
So, step well.
Step like a man who knows the ground can swallow him. Step like a woman who knows her steps are teaching her daughters how to walk.
Do not beg for love. Do not beg for respect. Do not beg for a place at the table. Build your own table.
Work hard like a lion. Act smart like a fox. And let the world equalize in your favour.
From the shrine of Kifuuta in Kyotera, Buddu, I tell you: Your Omujjwa is blessing the man who stops begging and starts building.
