THE EXPRESSION

A photo illustration of a caregiver and a special needs warrior. Source:  https://unsplash.com/photos/a-woman-standing-next-to-a-man-in-a-wheel-chair-rXqfl7MKEJ4?utm_content=creditShareLink&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash 🧡 The Silent Strength of Care For two weeks, I was cooking different meals, not because I was a chef or preparing for a food competition, but because one of my siblings was ill and didn’t have a ‘normal’ appetite. Or should I say, he didn’t have an appetite at all. If the general meal was rice and sauce, he’d ask you to take it outside, claiming that it smelled. Ah! That meant making his meals different from everyone else’s, even though he didn’t feel like eating. Fresh fish pepper soup, one of his favourites, suddenly became nauseating to him. Now, let’s not even talk about the stress of cooking two different meals when everyone could have just eaten the same thing at once. The stress of preparing the meals… the mental fatigue from thinkin...

  It’s true you are tall. I can see you are handsome. You are endowed by heaven With beautiful legs like those of the gazelle And eyes as witty as the doves. Your skin colour is as perfect as the word PERFECT . Your accent entices everyone that hears you speak. You are the desire of many. Your beauty is captivating. Your bold chest and sound voice Break the resistance of the strongest woman. Your ivory skin, teeth as white as snow, Flawless skin and accent, Diamond-like set of teeth, or killer shape. I may not know how to command the crowd like you do. My charisma level may just be zero. Yet, I can’t be you. So, stop! Stop pointing at how short I am, How dark he is, how slim she looks, How timid they appear… Just stop telling us how inadequate you feel we are. How you think we can’t make it far, Because you’ve judged us dull and have raised the bar. Just stop dragging our names and toying with our self-esteem. We know we are more! We may not be as fast as ...

For generations, men have worn silence like armour. They were taught that tears are weakness. That vulnerability is a flaw. That emotions must be buried, lest they betray their masculinity. But the truth? They are made of biology, not brick. They feel. They struggle. They grieve. And when the weight is too heavy, they cry. It’s time to rewrite the script. To tell young boys and grown men alike: You don't have to be hard to be strong. You don't have to be silent to be respected. You don’t have to be less human to be more of a man . So here’s your reminder: If you feel, you're not broken. If you cry, you're not weak. You're just human. And that… is enough. ✍ The Expression Voice

There’s a group of people I’ve been thinking about lately. A group rarely applauded, barely acknowledged, yet they carry more than many of us can imagine. This post is for them. You're worth every single letter in this piece. I’ll admit that I’ve been tempted to think of you as more than human. To assume that you don’t feel pain the way the rest of us do. That, instead of blood, it’s some kind of pressurized gas that flows through your veins. That you were molded, not from the soft matter like the rest of us, but from gravel mixed with cement. So we assume you're strong. We assume strength, even when weakness is tattooed across your forehead. We assume resilience, even when your shoulders slump under the weight of silent burdens. We assume you can handle it, even when the pressure at work is squeezing the life out of you. We assume you’re the provider, even when you’re scraping the bottom of an empty cup. And somehow, you still manage to give. To show up. To keep going. Sometim...

  How about you wear a smile today? I get it; your mind is crowded. Twirling here and there like a whirlwind. You’ve got bills to pay . Deadlines to chase . Relationships to nurture . And a thousand little things pulling you in every possible direction. It’s easy to get lost in the cycle of doing , constantly moving from one task to the next, rarely catching a breath. Your body keeps going, but your mind is overwhelmed. Your shoulders tense. Your heart races. Your peace? Nowhere to be found. But just for a moment… Pause. Breathe. And smile. It may not magically erase the mountain of tasks in front of you. It won’t cancel your bills or reschedule your meetings. No. But it will do something small yet powerful: ✨ It will relax your nerves . ✨ It will soothe your mind . ✨ It might even help you see things a little more clearly; perhaps even uncover an easier way to navigate what’s ahead. Smiling doesn’t mean ignoring your reality. It means choosing to face it with a ...

  What was said about little drops and the ocean again? Before we delve into the topic proper, let me share a story with you. Some time ago, I found myself in a village where water was regarded as the next rarest thing after petroleum. It was really difficult to get water to drink, let alone to bathe. But one thing gave everyone hope in that village: rain . Every passing day, we looked forward to the beautiful drizzles from the sky. In fact, we became so observant that we could predict the weather. When a certain part of the sky darkened, we knew it would rain. It's safe to say we became self-made or should I say, condition-made meteorologists. There were nights when we went to bed with high hopes, leaving our pails and bowls outside, trusting that by dawn, we would wake up to water. Sometimes, we greeted the new day with joy. Other times, our hopes were dashed, our containers still as empty as the night before. Yet, life continued. Many times, when we anticipated a heavy dow...

Most times, when the word modesty is mentioned, people’s minds fly straight to dressing. Come, take a seat, and let’s talk. Modesty is all-encompassing. From talking to eating, to dressing, to making friends, to whatever you’re doing, modesty should be considered. So, what is modesty? In layman’s terms, it’s simply doing things in ‘not-so-loud’ ways. Let’s just say: keeping things simple. You’ve probably been using the word ‘demure ’, perhaps because it recently trended on social media, without realizing it means modest. Now you know. Back to our discussion. Being modest doesn’t mean lowering your standards or demeaning yourself. No. In fact, it speaks volumes about your personality. Let’s take dressing as a case study. Some people dress to kill, not to fit. Before you pick a dress and feel that its luxury is what makes you valuable and seen, it’s important to know this: the dress doesn’t give you value. You give the dress value. You make the dress seen . Without you, that dress would ...

Maybe I'm shouting, but it’s only because something needs to be said, loud and clear: Introverts are not weak. There’s a lingering misconception that if someone isn’t loud, chatty, or constantly in the spotlight, then they must be dull… awkward… or even incapable. But nothing could be further from the truth. Not everyone was made to be the life of the party. Some were created to bring light from the shadows; quietly, powerfully. Just as every person has a unique race, colour, or fingerprint, we also have unique temperaments. Introverts are not defective extroverts; they are whole individuals with rich inner worlds. Studies show that many of the world’s greatest creatives and innovators are introverts—people who thrive behind the scenes, away from the noise. People who sat with books played with instruments, built worlds in their minds, and crafted beauty out of silence. If introverts were weak, they wouldn’t have created inventions, written timeless poetry, composed symphonies, or ...

Ever wondered why a farmer has to bury a healthy plant, all in a bid to get a good yield?  What sanity is there to call something ‘precious’ when, in the real sense, it is looking unpresentable and unattractive? You see, ‘precious' is first an inherent property before a surface value. That is what the goldsmith saw in that raw gold and went all out to refine it, bringing its intrinsic worth to the limelight.  That is what the farmer saw when he refused to eat the fine tubers and grains. Instead, he planted them, and they decayed, bringing forth new life. The stress they had to undergo didn't bother them much. The furnace blast and beating, the sweats, the tilling of the soil and weeding… every process that needed to be taken for gold to be, for new plants to be, is a source of encouragement to the goldsmith and the farmer. So is life, dear one. Every pain you have to pass through in your pursuit of a better life, every time you fell while running to catch up with destiny,...

'I will read 12 books this month, attend 7 seminars, and participate in 5 webinars. I will start working out every morning…' 😏 Sounds familiar? I understand the urge to create a long, ambitious list of goals at the start of every month, full of enthusiasm, hope, and that fresh start feeling. It's exciting, even empowering. However, what often happens is that you become overwhelmed. You don’t follow through. And by the end of the month, you’re disappointed in yourself for not ticking everything off the list. The truth is, most of those goals? They were unrealistic to begin with. So, what if this month, instead of sprinting toward too many things at once, you took a more intentional approach? What if you looked back at the past few months, reflected on what didn’t get done, and simply focused on those? Let's make this month different. Here are five practical strategies to help you set more intentional goals and achieve them effectively. (Pay close attention to ...