This message is not meant for everyone for these words will fall upon thorns and rocks for many but will find fertile soil for the one this memorandum intended for. This person’s pupils are more open than most and he/she has a keen understanding of exactly what is taking place at this moment.
If more than one person takes action inspired by this missive, that would be wonderful, but all I am looking for is one man or woman to make a decisive put instead of staying call and watching as arrows are aimed at the heart of humanity. I know one thing about traders, if one makes a bold step, the rest will stamp and heed because they don’t want to be broker in the afternoon than they were in the morning.
This person I’m looking for is someone like Matthew who was once a dishonest tax collector before Jesus reached his heart and turned a broken man toward his better angel. I don’t write this to judge you but to reach you because I know—irrespective of your actions—there is good that lives in you. If you are driven to succeed at any cost, there is a reason for that and it’s related to why I detest money and why I bash billionaires. You see, taking too much and giving too much are opposite sides of the same image.
It was hurt that motivated you to get as much from this world as you could and it’s that pain the makes you want more no matter how much you accumulate. I am your reflection in the mirror; I too bear scar after scar of memories that continue to haunt me from the time I was a child to the last year when I lost my mom to Covid-19. Growing up, my mom was my best friend until one too many painful experiences marooned her in depression. Unable to make her smile anymore, I built walls between us in order to protect myself because I could not bear to see her hurt herself.
I am motivated to “save the world” because I could not save my mom. My mom was a beautiful soul but some people see light and they cast their shadows. One too many hardships and harsh judgments drove my mom into deep angst, I lost my mom long before May 15th, 2020. What I could not do for my mom, I tried to do for everyone else but left myself out of the equation. The same way you went to the extreme by “not caring about anyone but yourself”, I walked that same path even if it was in the opposite direction by “caring about everyone except myself”.
There is a reason why you and I continue to chase and yet feel empty, your pursuit is the cache of money and my chase is the currency of acceptance. Our actions, though they seem to be completely divergent, are spurned by the feeling of unworthiness and abandonment. You make millions, maybe billions, yet the more you attain, the lesser your happiness becomes. I likewise keep trying to “save” everyone I meet only to become more and more lonely.
You see this little girl below, I do not even know her. I just saw her picture once when I was editing a video about Ethiopian history and searching for pictures of Ethiopian children. The minute I saw her, I froze with instant sorrow because I saw the anguish in her eyes. I cried that day uncontrollably and I weep each time I see children hurting or women who are suffering. What I know now is that these tears are as much for my mom, the sadness I refused to let myself feel. Sorrows buried manifest in other ways, like having a god complex by trying to “save” everyone or having devil may care attitude while hurting everyone else.
Both of us are driven to make an impact because that was the only way we could make sense of the world when painful experiences shattered normal. What I realized recently is that external pursuits are like narcotics; the more you consume them, the more they keep consuming you. The answer is not out there, it’s inside because the key to healing the agonies that keep us up at night and taming our demons is by forgiving people who hurt us, especially those who are the closest to us. Only then can we be released from the past so that we can have a present of peace and a future of possibilities.
As much as we must forgive others, we must also forgive ourselves. The truth is that all of us, from prince to pauper, have our hands in the machine that is crushing humanity and demolishing our planet. It is not fair to single you out for punishment any more than it would have been right to condemn me for the Iraq War because I once worked at a defense consulting company called Booz Allen Hamilton.
Let us stop hurting ourselves and find the middle ground between your “selfishness” and my “selflessness” because occupying either space is not a virtue but a vice that always leads to destruction. As a believer, we are instructed to love our neighbors as ourselves. We are not called to care for others at the cost of ourselves nor are we called to care for ourselves by hurting humanity. Your past mistakes don’t matter, no matter how unforgivable you think your actions were, just say sorry once and the same God who led me out of homelessness will lead you towards redemption.
I have always been drawn to the Gospel of Matthew because it presented Jesus as a king who had dominion over the world. That depiction spoke to my ego because I wanted to become king of Ethiopia in the footsteps of my forefather Atse (emperor) Tewodros II. It was not until recently I started to realize the power of Mark because Jesus is presented not as a king but as a servant who had no problem washing people’s feet.
I am reaching out to you inspired by both Mark and Matthew. The same way Jesus was a servant-king, I am praying that one who is reading this will decide to become a servant-king as well. Rebel against the hidden agendas of pharaohs, Pharisees and profiteers and instead be a prophet of peace. You have the means to do so at your disposal, the same way insiders have the ability to make the markets do a flash dance—which they have done multiple times in the past and are doing at this moment—I hope you beat them to the punch and initiate a transaction that will expose their agendas.
I grow leery and I have not slept that much lately because I have been busy trying to save the world while neglecting myself. I am going to get some rest and will finish this up tomorrow. While I am sleeping, I am praying that the one I’m trying to reach—somewhere in Shanghai or NYC—meets me in the middle by refusing to only believe in self-pursuits and instead cares about others as much as he/she cares about himself. If you step towards the middle by sacrificing money on behalf of humanity, you shall be more exalted than me because it’s easier to sacrifice when one has little versus when one has in abundance.
I will give this advice to all traders who are eying the markets. I am sure most of you know about the classic “prisoner’s dilemma” so no need to delve into it. What if this article reaches a big-time hedge fund manager who has been feeling lost and hopeless like most of you feel, as the famous philosopher Biggie Smalls said, “mo’ money, mo’ problems”. What if this person named Matthew or someone who exhibits the traits of Matthew in the Bible decides he’s had enough and sells off his assets to be on the side of the “little guy” instead of protecting the assets of the billionaire class?
Sometimes it only takes one bold step by a man or women inspired by justice and the rest will follow. This is a clarion call to find Matthew #BrokenSparrow Click To TweetWhat that person would do is expose the diabolical plans of the globalist aristocrats who are about to unleash hell upon this earth. The person who acts out of faith and parts with his possessions in order to follow the Christ who lives in all of us will be rewarded with everlasting joy and serenity. Those of you who tarry will lose twice over, your fortunes will dwindle and you will have no legacy to live on other than the broker who became broke. One last bit of friendly piece of advice, be more like Matthew in the Bible, choose salvation over riches.
In honor of forgiveness, I leave you for now with a song above by Hebist Tirunesh (which means mana you are well in Amharic) as she sings Yikirta (which means I’m sorry). You will find the purpose you have been looking for most of your life and the joys that keep eluding you once you press play to hear Hebist’s song and then press send on behalf of humanity. You will go from a #BrokenSparrow to being a sparrow who is no longer caged by money.
“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” ~ Matthew 9:12-13
- Mark Out From the Market: Looking for Matthew to Answer the Call and Make a Put for Justice - October 6, 2021
- Broken Sparrow No More: the Revelation We Have Been Waiting for Starts with Us - October 3, 2021
- Arm David with Five Smooth Stones to Slay Goliath Lies - October 1, 2021
