Where is it written that we have to eat roast goat during Christmas?
This article is not really about roast meat and our obsession with it, it is about the various things in our lives that we continue to hold on to year after year.
Last Sunday, we held a family meeting to discuss Christmas, which we have held in the village for several years now. The main agenda was the menu, after which we discussed how much each household was to contribute towards the party. Every year, the centerpiece of the menu is always goat meat. The men complained that the price of a goat had shot up, with one costing between 14,000 to 15,000 shillings. It was too expensive, they said, even though they still intended to buy one.
Being a practical person, I wondered why they had to spend so much on one goat that might not even satisfy everyone, why not forget about the goat and spend a fraction of that money on several pieces of chicken? You should have heard the gasps and seen the utter looks of shock and disbelief that greeted my statement. It was as if what I had suggested was akin to a cardinal sin.
What is Christmas without roast meat?! Someone bellowed. And not just any roast meat, but meat from a goat that they had slaughtered themselves, another quipped. I hastily raised my hands in surrender, and assured everyone that it was a suggestion in response to their complaints, besides, I dared add, change was as good as rest, a comment that drew more protest. So, as you can deduce, I will feast on unaffordable roast goat meat this Christmas.
If I remember correctly, there was a time when a goat cost around 4,000 shillings, during the Christmas season no less, then this went up to 6,000 shillings. Last year, I heard talk of one going for 10,000 shillings. This year, the much-loved Kenyan delicacy is up by 5,000 shillings, but many families are still determined to have roast goat because we believe a celebration isn’t a celebration without nyama choma.
That conversation regarding the Christmas menu got me thinking about the many things that hold us hostage just because we have done them for years, such that they have become tradition, expensive activities that we believe we cannot cast aside in spite of them being costly. This article is not really about roast meat and our obsession with it, it is about the various things in our lives that we continue to hold on to year after year simply because they have become part of our lives for so long, that we cannot imagine waking up one day and letting go of them.
The irony is that some of these things might be a source of distress and pain, or are preventing you from achieving your full potential. If you cast them aside, you are assured of a more fulfilling, happier and more prosperous life. It could be habits such as alcohol and drug abuse, or an abusive relationship or marriage. Or procrastination, a bad attitude, poor work ethic, dependence syndrome, never owning up to your mistakes…
You know the state of your life better, what are those ingrained habits that have held you back from achieving your full potential yet they do not impact you positively in any way? As the year comes to close, it may be a good opportunity to start afresh by shedding the negativity around you. And I’m also talking to myself here.
And yes, I still insist that if you can’t afford a goat to roast this Christmas, the sky will not fall. It has been a brutal year, financially, so if you didn’t manage to save for Christmas, it only makes sense to have a Christmas that you can afford. Why do I get the feeling that you will still spend money on a goat you can’t afford?
