I have not blogged in a while or I should say I have a plethora of unfinished blogs- Ok so maybe I’m exaggerating but I have more unfinished blogs than I would like to admit. As frustrating as that is, I understand that is has been beacuse of my state of mind lately – confused, unsettled, unable to explain many things especially other people’s actions and mostly ending up with incomplete thoughts filled with asterisks, exclamation and question marks. The last 4 months have been a whirlwind of events happening to me and at me and I having NO control of the situation; only helplessly and hopelessly looking on to see where the dust settles- so far it has not settled well, and the jury is still out on where the other things pending may land. One thing I am thankful for is that things are settling and I am getting some clarity and direction back in my life. The experiences taught me yet again how important it is to be in good health spirit, soul and body. I lost all three during this period and I’m slowly nursing me back to good health on all 3 dimensions.
They say if you put words out in the universe it gives it life and it comes to pass and since I am a firm believer here goes- I have committed to taking care of my body again a vital part of which has been a consistent (I hate that word) and frequent workout routine- and so far so good. In what feels like another lifetime I succeeded at consistently (arghh) and frequently working out and I tried to re-visit how I was able to do it. It finally came to me; it was the beautiful gift of music that stuck by me even when I was angry at my muscles at 5am in the morning for not cooperating with my determined mind. Music literarily spoke to me and catered to both my physical and mental sensibilities. The following are my top 10 Nigerian work out tunes- rain,shine or any weather they get me going.
1) ”Revolution”- Iyeoka – usually at the beginning of my workout and marries my love for spoken word and music. The tempo is just perfect and it serves as my war chant for the 40- minute feat that I am about to attempt.
2) “5 Minute Freestyle”- MI- feat Djinee- Great Tempo leading me further into my war zone. By now I’m almost a quarter way there and it’s a great distraction
3) ” Bosi gbangba ” -Eldee - By now I need some pep in my step and this hits the spot
4) ” Dat Ibo Boy” –Illbliss- One of my all-time favourite Nigerian artistes and I love the tempo
5) ” Street credibility” 9ce and Tuface-. I suddenly feel invincible believing every lyric and I have a constant image of Rocky jogging up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art only this time it was not Rocky it was me.
6) “Kolomental”- Faze- At this point I’m cursing myself for doing this thinking how insane I must be for doing this, yet feeling some rush to keep going
7) “You go wound!”-Illbliss, Kel, Tha suspect- By now, I just want to give up and it’s a warning to myself about what could happen to me if I keep at it. It’s also a not so subtle warning to anyone that tries to engage me in corporate America shenanigans that day because I am never in the mood for it.
8) “Ota mi”- Eldee- At this point it’s just expletives in my head directed at anyone really-such pain!
9) “Ojuri”-Nomoreloss- Finally, the tempo starts to slow down and I start to have a pity party for myself for the torture I just put my body through. (Ojuri means the things I have been through)
10) “Send down the rain”- Majek Fashek- Finally the last few minutes that signal the end of this ordeal. All I can imagine it a cool soothing rain – never mind that I am drenched in my bodily fluids filled with salt – imagination is a powerful thing thankfully!
At the end of it all it's a worthy venture and I give myself a pat on the back. Not sure how long this will last, but I’m trying not to think about that. As with all the crazy things going on in my life now, I’m learning to take one step at a time, one day at a time and one hurdle at a time. Whatever you may be going through, one is the magic number so I encourage you to strive to stay whole and healthy spirit, soul and body.
