"We have been conditioned to see ourselves as shadows of who we are" – Zoe Modiga
I am inspired by the story of ancient Greek and Cynic Philosopher, Diogenes, who gave up his house and the comforts of family life to live in a cave. He abandoned the luxurious trappings of a wealthy and flashy Greek urban life to experience the vagaries and the many pricky ravages of poverty and vagabond just to prove that boundaries can be broken between prosperity and poverty; to prove that powerfulness and powerlessness do not come before humanity, beliefs, knowledge and dignity.
When his dear friend Alexander the Great, after conquering the whole world as it was known, visited him to try to entice him back into normal society with promises of Glory, Power and Grandeur; he chased him away … “stand out of my light, because of your shadow I cannot see the many realities and the truths beyond.” He said, totally rejecting the offers and impositions of the world’s most powerful man at the time.
Whilst as a positive thinking African, of South African citizenry, I cannot go to the extremes of Diogenes and abandon my house, my family and the so-called modern life of what South Africa brings to explore the “realities” and “truths” beyond.
Whilst I cannot abandon the normal benefits of an ordinary South African urban life just to dramatize my beliefs and convictions in the capabilities, abilities and potential of Africans, I share Diogenes’ wisdom that we need to move away the many shadows, clouds, blinkers and illusions that stand on our light, cloud our visions and corrupt our judgment of ourselves.
I refuse that we must resign ourselves to the painful station of commoners. Evidence of what we Africans have done, and can do, encourages us to assert that Africa is a competent contributor in knowledge production for human development and advancement from all disciplines of life including arts, science, social, politics, to spirituality.
I reject a notion to depend wholly on the content and ways of knowledge of the West. Whatever Africa do or produce must always be linked to the recovery, replenishment and for revitalization of thousands of years old African knowledge.
Diogenes refused to be stereotyped and to be labelled out of his resolve to pursue philosophy and find his own meaning in life. That Alexander had conquered the globe and owned the world was not enough to make Diogenes feel inferior and doubt himself. We Africans need the spirit and the strength of Diogenes, not that we must go back to the caves, but that we must not wish we were not ourselves.
We have allowed other people’s shadows and clouds to stand in our light and make us doubt and resign ourselves to the misfortune of being the creator’s unfinished assignments and civilization’s mafikizolos. We have allowed other people’s label, impositions and patronizing prescriptions to cloud our sights.
Like Diogenes rejecting the tempting shadow and enticing cloud of Alexander the great that was standing on his light, I would like to challenge and confront the many myths and stereotypes that have been used to shadow our vision and blind our sight of what we are capable of as Africans.
