Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication
Hello,
This is a Special BLOG to hear the voices of mothers around the world, Women of Kenya!
They all take part of one same community in Masogo, near Kisumu in Kenya and all volunteer at Golden Girls Foundation. I had the great opportunity and luck to visit them last year with my 13th years old daughter and 6 additional moms and teenagers! I wrote about it in an earlier post you can read HERE. This was an amazing trip thanks to all those women and moms (the ones who traveled with me and the ones who welcomed us there) but also thanks to many companies who gave their time and donated products.
The Special includes 5 posts, each post concentrate on one question and the answers of 12 wonderful women of Kenya! This is Number 4 question and number 4 POST!
You can read Part 1 HERE, where I first introduced those wonderful women and moms. First Part of the Blog SPECIAL dealt about the question “Are you proud to be a woman? and why?”
In PART 2, I have asked those wonderful women a 2nd question: “What are the 5 skills you wish to ensure your kids have for their future?”
In the 3rd part, the 3rd question was: “How do you show love to your kids? “ You can read it HERE.
Let me introduce those 12 amazing mothers (if you have not yet read the first 3 posts):
4th question: "Do you play with your kids? What kind of games? Do you honestly enjoy it? "
Here are their answers:
- Elizabeth Akinyi said “Yes I play and enjoy it. We sing and tell stories. I do this to get closer to them.”
- Golda Sawala Ayodo said “Yes, Jests and jokes. Sometimes I do it to please them.”
- Goretty Atieno Wasira replied “Yes. Moulding with mud and making baskets. Yes I enjoy it. They are the ones who usually start off the games when I am sitting quietly.“
- Helida Odeny answered “Yes, I tell them I am a sports person and I show them my skill. We play
Ball games, tell stories of how life was before they were born. Yes I enjoy it. I laugh at some incidences when I remember.”
- Jackline Awino Adongo said ” Yes, Ball games and sometimes we dance to music from the radio. Yes. I love it. I use it to break any ice between us.”
- Magdalene Akinyi Odhiambo replied “Yes, Ball games. Yes I enjoy it, but I also do it to please them.”
Mary Akinyi Odero said “Yes, Draft (almost like chess). I enjoy it. Their father brought it. We all enjoy playing it in the house.”
- Mary Anyango replied “Yes, Making stories and hand crafts.“
- Milka Atieno Modi said “Yes, Jests.”
- Miriam Nyandigo Sire said “Yes, Ball games, rope skipping and athletics. Yes I truly enjoy it because when I do, I feel I have exercised.“
- Sophy Akoth Otieno answered “Yes.
With my youngest child, we play with bottles. With the rest, I tell them stories of how things were long ago.”
- Susan Awuor Juma said finally “Yes, Jokes and Jests.“
“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” Steve Jobs
You know what I love about those ladies? their honesty and simplicity!
First, we all play with our children and mostly enjoy it!!
Secondly, here, in my blog, I write every few days about toys and games, what gifts to buy for 4 years old, 7 years old, party games for teenagers, which ones to buy for his birthday or which games to use to teach respect, discipline, sibling bonding and more!! and here we see 12 moms connecting to their kids thanks to a ball, jokes, storytelling, radio music and craft with mud!
Isn’t is just BEAUTIFUL!!
so real, simple, down to earth!
How far are we from being simple? How far did we get?
Unfortunately though we do live in a different world. I have visited them there in Magogo, Kenya and I can tell you that Life seems to go there slower. Time has a different value. Simplicity and appreciation are keys. People seem so happy of what they have. I am sure they also have dreams, want more, but somehow, they live their life happy with what they have. At least, this is what I felt being there, talking to them, watching them.
This is one of the reasons I believe we all want to go back there. Even my daughter speaks about it daily and begs to go back to Masogo! literally speaking begs! this is making our minds so simple, clean, free…
In our day-to-day, we live too fast, too crazy at times. We want it all: want to be great moms, great wives, successful business women, good daughters and I forget many other roles we want to be great at…
This is actually my personal path and I am pretty sure many of you feel the same. By wanting to be great at as many things as possible, we miss the simple flow, acceptance and we sometimes forget to enjoy the ride!
This is probably another reason why so many people enjoyed being in quarantine with their kids when the Covid-19 started. The life rhythm got slower, we had less tasks since everything was closed! We could finally be here and now, without wanting so much to do, get, reach, buy, succeed! We had time and energy to just BE. Our kids enjoyed it and many of us felt this.
Travelling to Africa was never for me a way to give to the local people what they do not have. I always saw that amazing trip as a cultural exchange as I knew we have so much to learn from them and this is what remains with me until now.
A year later and based on this interview, I am still learning.
Let’s try to remain simple, a lot more “BEING”, much less “doing”, accept and enjoy the small moments where we sit and our children get closer to us, dance with radio music, play with mud or sand, makes jokes, laugh and tell them stories.
Humor is crucial in any relationships. I am working on it! I even wrote about funny games since I do everything through play myself!
Becoming a parent is too serious: the responsibility, making sure we both work and bring enough $ for our expenses, making sure our kids get the right education, being conscious of what they learn, they see, they experience, making sure they become good people, good students, teach them the right balance to invest time in family, friends, themselves, sport, nutrition…too much of too many goals and expectations!
I have decided to “LET IT GO”, accept, enjoy them and stop pushing for better and more! maybe not to stop pushing but less pushing!
I started in my new path towards more flow, acceptance, joy, less goals. I promise to let you know of what comes out of it! So far, I feel this allows more creativity, more connection, more efficiency! but still at the beginning…
I welcome you to join me…and share your thoughts here in the comments below.
Dance like no one is watching,
Live like you’ll never be hurt
Sing like no one is listening
Live like it’s heaven on earth.
– William Purkey
