Thus Spaketh Idd Salim

It is a dusty *cough!!-cough!!* beautiful morning here in J2. The Fact that @ekaduki and MugambiSaf are my neighbors always tells me that I am in the right neighborhood. I am all smiles as I rise to day 1 of 30 of Ramzan.

I slept well last night especially after watching Julie read out the numbers from Vodafone mPesa about how much was donated in the #kenyansForKenya #feedKe campaign.

It is eye-soaking what ‘good-hearted’ people Kenyans are. I heard of the story of the Mboch who told the employer NOT to pay her fully for July but donate HALF the money to #111111.

The mellifluous @JulieGichuru went on to talk about the flurry of amounts streaming in and I was so proud of the Man U fans for all the 20 bobs and 30 bobs that were streaming in. This was a case of people LITERALLY giving the little they had. Actually, the LITTLE they always have. The fact Man Urinals Team A beat Barcelona Team D and won the American Chumpions league might explain the selfless generosity, but nevertheless, every little bit helped. No matter how little. Little.

But that is not the topic for today. Today we talk about the philosophy of life, as usual.

The phrase “One cannot have their cake and eat it” [1812] is a adulterated version of the original phrase: “wolde you bothe eate your cake, and have your cake?” [John Heywood - 1546].

The original version was straightforward and meant what everybody would decipher. You simply cannot USE something conclusively [e.g. the irreversible act of eating] and then still HAVE it [at hand and ready to be re-eaten].

The new version, loosely translated, means either of 2 things.

In my readings, Paul Brians, Professor of English at Washington State University, explains it best.

Meaning one

One cannot have their cake and eat it, where have means possess, own, hold etc and eat means use, benefit from etc. It it a common thing in modern society. You cannot enjoy the fruits of your smart [or hard if employed] labor.

There are always things/situations/people to make sure you don’t enjoy life despite the rewards you have. Pesky city council officials, gutter press, laws, mututho, emergencies and accidents etc. You simply do not have the peace and space to enjoy what you reap after sowing.

Meaning two

One cannot have their cake and eat it, where have means eat, devour [e.g. have a cup of coffee etc] and eat still has the same cyclic meaning but with an intended beneficial end to it. This is the classic example of someone wanting to use their butter and sell their butter.

Meaning 2 is similar to the saying that one “cannot have it both ways”. Or one cannot have “the best of both worlds”. Stop being greedy. It is either-or.

They both, have their place and meaning in modern life, nevertheless. It all depends on implementation.

Hope this helps clear the air. Wiki away, too.

Back to code…

Wazi!