Alistair Shaw, Author at 1Africa

Decorate Your Life with Attraction

December 25, 2014

Imagine for a moment that there is a table in front of you with 5 different Christmas gifts, and you could choose any one of them for yourself. Chances are you’re going to go for the one that looks most appealing to you. There is nothing more inviting or intriguing than a well-wrapped Christmas gift! The prettier the wrapping and the tidier the ribbon, the more attractive it is.

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’. Well, as wise as that statement is, we do judge books by their covers anyway. You see, assuming you chose the most beautifully wrapped gift on the table, there is no guarantee that the gift will be as pleasing to you as the wrapping…

No matter how much we cover up on the outside or put on a fake smile and act like everything is okay, the bottom line is, whatever fills your heart will flow out of your mouth through your words and that is what everyone will see. We are more transparent than we think. More people can see through all our facades than we’d like to admit.

Every day we have the opportunity to influence those around us. What we carry on the inside will rub off and either enhance someone’s life or contaminate them. Make sure that what you carry inside is as attractive as the exterior prettiness you portray because those around you deserve your best!

Losing Our Minds Together

Alistair Shaw

December 24, 2014

Men are from Mars, women are from Venus! I bet you’ve heard this one often. As people we all have different ways of doing things and different ways of reasoning. It is a scientific fact that women use far more words in a day than most men. In light of this, watch this short comedy clip from Tim Hawkins on ‘losing our minds together’. Men, can you relate?

Peshawar School Massacre

Lifestyle

Alistair Shaw

December 18, 2014

If you’re into sci-fi movies then you’ll be quite familiar with the typical plot of aliens invading earth and threatening our existence. You see how mankind joins together to eradicate the imminent alien threat and restore normality to a broken and almost destroyed earth. While this makes for great entertainment, the reality here on earth, in the real world, is that aliens are not threatening our existence, nor are they destroying earth, MANKIND is doing that all by themselves.

‘Back in the day’ our world used to run on kindness and love, doing good to your neighbour even if you didn’t see eye to eye, forgiveness and a great motivation to see your community exceed in life; inspired by good morals and healthy beliefs. Now, we find our world thriving on crime, hellbent on revenge and the insatiable desire to ‘get even’ and retaliate.

We’ve heard it on the news when someone gets killed for less than a dollar, we’ve possibly witnessed other forms of injustice of a similar nature, but what are we thinking when we intentionally open fire on roughly 132 children, like in the Peshawar school massacre in Pakistan?!

There is something severely wrong with mankind and our lack of humanity! What happened to the love for life and the enormous value we once placed on it? Call it ethnic cleansing, call it religion, call it what you want; no matter what name you give it, it’s inhumane, immoral and disgusting to see how we have drifted as mankind.

Forget religion for a moment, forget your selfish desire to see ‘me’ advance no matter what the cost, forget every cause you believe in for one moment and pause. Search your heart and check your motives and agenda in life; think about creation and consider the beauty around you – the birds, trees, flowers, people…We’re to blame for what’s gone wrong in the world, not God. You and I are to blame for the mess and decay we see around us.

I dare you to take up my challenge today and put someone else first and forget about your selfish desires. Dig deep, see the beauty and value in people around you, and cherish them, even if you don’t know them – they matter, you matter!

Music has the incredible ability to convey what mere words can’t, check out this video by Michael Jackson, reminding us that life matters, mankind matters and you matter:

Carols by Candlelight

Alistair Shaw

December 17, 2014

What makes you tick? What inspires you to get out of bed everyday? For some, it’s the sound of early morning birds chirping away, for others the fast paced hustle of city life and traffic that sparks sheer joy.

This year may have been a rough one for you, with many challenges and difficulties, what matters most is how you reacted and responded, how you dealt with the troubles life brought your way.

I’d like you to humour me for a moment. Imagine that your life and who you are was like burning candle. The brightness intensity of your candle determined by your morals, your maturity in difficult times and your ability to persevere. You see, candle light in a dark room is not only beneficial to you as the candle holder, but also beneficial for others in the room too. So too, the brightness that you radiate from your ‘candle of life’ needs to not only support you, but also influence those around you.

When we pour effort into things that matter like relationships, friendships and marriages, we will reap great harvests. This Christmas, what are you spending time, energy and effort on? Things that matter most, or are you wasting time and resources on pointless things that don’t achieve much or things that don’t add value to your life and the lives of people around you?

It’s easy to light a candle and participate in a carols by candle light event, and just sing along for the sake of singing, but unless you take ownership of your life and apply yourself in this world, you’ll hardly be noticed.

Remember, no matter how bright your candle burns, every ounce of light is necessary to disperse darkness – this Christmas, let’s all strive to burn brightly, making necessary changes to our lives so that we can burn accurately and brightly, a beacon of hope for all to see.

Christmas Wrapping

Alistair Shaw

December 11, 2014

Life is full of surprises. Surprises are generally unexpected and completely unknown. I have such fond memories of Christmas as a child; from the decorating of the house, to the anticipated arrival of the gifts under the tree.

This is where I want to pause for a moment, the gifts. Everyone loves receiving gifts, whether it’s for a birthday, a farewell, a ‘get well soon’ or Christmas itself. We all enjoy the feeling of surprises, especially when they are completely unexpected. As a child it’s the utter joy of unwrapping the gift to see what you’ve received, as an adult it’s more about the utter excitement that someone cared enough about you to take the time to buy or make the gift, wrap it ever so neatly, and then deliver it to you.

You see, gifts cost you as the giver. It either costs you money if you’re purchasing the gift, or it could cost you in time or resources if you were to make the gift. Giving a gift is really an act of unselfish love. It says loudly, ‘I put you first and even though it cost me something, I don’t mind, this is for you as a token of appreciation ‘.

This Christmas, why don’t you become that unexpected gift for someone else? How about you wrap yourself in an attractive and genuine Christmas wrapping of love and care, and offer the world a tiny piece of heaven on earth, ’cause let’s face it, we could all do with a change of scenery when it comes to life. Remember, a gentle unexpected smile can turn someone’s day around.

Here on 1 Africa, we’d love to share the story of someone who has already done the very thing that this short article is talking about. If you’d like to find out more, please click on the link directly below and allow us to share that story with you.

Is It My Fault?

Alistair Shaw

December 6, 2014

What did I do to deserve this? How could it have been avoided? Is it my fault? Questions like these are all too familiar when terrible things happen to us. You might be the victim of a terrible crime or injustice, and no matter which way you look at it, there is often an element of guilt that sets in. In light of our campaign, speaking out against violence towards women and children, here are a few thoughts that should never cross your mind: “If only I didn’t go there”, “if only I didn’t wear that”, “if only I stayed home” and “if only I was never born.”

When it comes to trauma, crimes of abuse or just simple injustice, chances of it being your fault are pretty much zero. At the end of the day, the person who has abused you is the one who did wrong, NOT YOU! You can never make excuses for someone else’s misbehavior, neither can you assume responsibility for their criminal abuse towards you.

Atheist Kid’s Songs (Tim Hawkins)

Alistair Shaw

December 3, 2014

If you ever went to Sunday school and sang children’s church songs, you’ll have a couple of favorites as an adult. What would happen if you were to change those lyrics? Take out the words you would associate with Christianity and replace them with words an Atheist would use. It will make you giggle, but it will also make you think!

Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say

Lifestyle

Alistair Shaw

November 26, 2014

We’d all like to think we’re honest to some degree. We’d all like to think we wear our hearts on our sleeves – at least I do anyway… You’ve often heard the phrase ‘practice what you preach’, I prefer ‘say what you mean and mean what you say.’ Far too often we make empty promises and leave people with broken dreams because our yes is in fact not our yes. When things don’t go our way, or we have a misunderstanding with someone, we immediately have the desire to get even with them, in some form or another. Well, most of the time anyway. Why is it that when people disappoint us that we react or respond so negatively towards them, yet when we are the one’s that disappoint, we feel angry and shunned by the person we have just disappointed? Sometimes we even take offense at the thought that we are charged with an accusation of disappointing others. It seems most humans can be quite two-faced when it comes to integrity and honesty, but what can be done about this phenomenon? My solution is simple: If we all just take responsibility to live our lives with honesty, integrity and let our yes be yes and our no be no, then the world would become a better place.

Can you relate to me on this matter or am I flying solo on this thought train? Please do leave your thoughts and comments below, I’m itching to hear your thoughts!

I Don’t Wanna Live Forever

Lifestyle

Alistair Shaw

November 18, 2014

Since the beginning of time, mankind has been fixated on finding an elixir of life, consumed with the idea of immortality and living forever. In our futile attempts at prolonging life, we’ve managed to come up with impressive life-saving surgeries such as organ transplants and various other medical breakthroughs, and for those more concerned about the devastating effects aging has on their appearance, overpriced anti-aging creams and various other cosmetic surgeries offer some comfort.

Much to our dismay, centuries later, we have found that we indeed only have a short time on earth and then, it’s all over. While all this is going on in the back of our minds (’cause lets face it, we’re all concerned about aging and the end of our lives), there is another big elephant in the room no one wants to talk about – the actual time we have on earth and how we are maximizing our time here. No matter where you find yourself in life, there are a few things common to all mankind – we all have emotions, we all have dreams and at the end of the day we’d like to know that our life has counted for something.

Our biggest enemy is time, or rather the lack thereof. Sometimes, because of the experiences of our lives and the regret of decisions made, we wonder if we can still do anything of value in the time we have left. How are you maximizing your time on earth? Are you so concerned about winning the latest argument and proving yourself right, catching up on the latest gossip and building your own little empire; or does the lack of time inspire you to become a better person and enjoy the people around you and further develop strong, healthy relationships? So, what attitude are you taking on today, I don’t wanna live forever, or I ain’t gonna live forever?

If you possibly feel that you have lost time, all hope is not lost. For as long as we have breath in us, we can move in the direction of a better way. Choose that better way today.

Fatherhood

Alistair Shaw

November 5, 2014

So, I’m by no means a father, but I stumbled upon this short clip which is both humorous and thought provoking. Fatherhood can be quite challenging, this short clip serves as a reminder that dad’s are super cool! Check out this video for a healthy laugh and a sobering moment!

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