Its been ages since I started this blog and I haven't had an opportunity to write something on it. I'm not sure if it is because I'm too busy to write or its simply because writing is really not my thing! Anyway, we'll see how its going to work out. So I've had an early morning today because I voluntarily chose to join the rest of the continent (if not the world) in celebrating the Legacy of one of the greatest African Statesman, Nelson Mandela. I've had the privilege to join some of the most respected delegates of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University staff including the Deputy Vice Chancellor to visit Primary schools in the disadvantaged communities of Port Elizabeth. The experience was fun, I have to admit, the kids were so adorable and you know when you do something good for someone you kinda get a good feeling yourself and that's whats happening with me right now. Its just amazing! Honestly speaking I really don't know much about Mandela and I think it will be safe to say I know what an average citizen knows about him so there isn't much I can write about him. In fact, a lot of writings have been dedicated to the man already so there isn't much left to talk about therefore I'm going to be a bit inspirational to you guys today. Just a small word directed to your conscience about what you may need to consider.
I honestly can’t remember how many times my dad has told me about living a fulfilling life. He emphasises that life of a human being should be supported by the three pillars which are equally important to everyone. These three pillars are said to be prayer, work and fun. Prayer doesn’t necessarily mean going to church on Sunday but it has to be lifestyle that we must be accustomed to. The second pillar is work and like they say, success is always sweet- but even sweeter if it comes from sweat. I am yet to meet a person who doesn’t want have fun and when we work or have fun it has to be prayerful, that will give us healthy and rewarding lives. But then, how do we get to balance the three pillars? We need principles and priorities! That poses us with yet another questions, What are priorities? What are principles? What is the significance of having priorities and principles in life? Is it really important having priorities and principles in our lives? If so, how? Or rather why? All these are questions which we’ll sooner or later need to ask ourselves if we are to find our real purpose in life. If you’ve already found your purpose then thank God because He has blessed you! But again, for those who haven’t- what is our purpose of living? With all this in mind, we’ll get to the greatest question of all- What is my destiny? What I will tell you here is something you have always known; maybe you simply didn’t pay much attention to it. In this article and others to come we will try and combart all these questions.
I am of the opinion that the starting point to getting most, if not all these answers to the questions above is to identify and know what exactly we wish to achieve with our lives. We need to find that single thing or things we are passionate about, the thing(s) that will drive us to go that extra mile even though the available resources may be telling you otherwise. I believe if we can get that straight then figuring out all the answers will not be as difficult. We must however- regardless of what each of us chooses to do- strive to express our uniqueness in our society. We must be human beings that are worth more than a simple profession in which we will be occupied in. We are worth more than what we can ever imagine.
Most of the people reading this blog are amongst the 10% of the world’s population that has had the privilege to walk through the corridors of a university or college, not mentioning the fewer who actually received a certificate from that university or college. In most cases when we enrol at a tertiary institution of education we have an idea of what will become of us eventually. If you get into Law School, your future is almost certain of what you will become! That’s when that question comes up again. What am I going to be? And we need to focus more on what we will be after being conferred graduates.
We need to converse with the inner being within us, bring out the Champion within you! We must come to terms with what our inner beings think about our future. We need to know what they want to become and we must share ideas on how best we can plan and live our future together. We must set the rules from the beginning and make a vow to each other that we will go through all the way regardless of what stands in our way. The minute we come to an agreement with our inner beings our priorities will smoothly fall into place. I believe if we can achieve this we would have opened one of the main doors towards success.
The fundamental thing we need in life especially when making decisions is God’s counsel. It is without doubt that God is the only source from which we can draw real wisdom from! In His word He promised that if we trust in Him, everything will be delivered unto us! The bible also says seek ye first the Kingdom first and everything will be added unto you. This doesn’t and mustn’t stop us from working for we have obligation to fulfil but our work should bring glory to God. One of my mentors says we should love the Lord with all we have but in everything we do, work should come first and with our work- we must praise God even more. This is the spirit with which we should approach life.
We need to develop a culture of serving others and taking care of the weaker members of our community. There is so much that needs to be done and we can all play a role in transforming our communities. We must stop being selfish and start thinking out of the box. My mentor also said that if we actually take the initiative to change and be different, we will soon realise that there is no box at all. The world is for us for the exploring, we have unlimited capabilities but we can’t do it all ourselves. We need each other and the spirit of the Lord. We ought to cultivate a culture of giving ourselves the liberty to spread our wings and let go. All it takes is the right state of mind!
As we ponder on these thoughts and making decisions, we need to seek ways to become different and stand out in all we are doing. For all we know United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) estimates that in the next 20 years more people will graduate from universities than ever in the history of the world- that thought is scary. The way I interpret it is that it is very much possible that 20 years later having a university degree may be more like having an A’ Level or Matric Certificate. This calls us to think fast and be novel. We definitely and desperately need to be innovative. This is when the whole business of priorities and principles tie up together with the bigger picture. Our priorities and principles should be aligned in such a way that they allow us to achieve more. What are we doing to ensure that our priorities and principles are synchronised with our desires? It’s time we take charge of our lives. Why try to fit in when we can stand out? Don’t be afraid to experience new adventures. Don’t leave it for others to do it, be proactive and lead the pack! It is the little things that make a difference. Do more than what your curriculum asks of you- register for a French class even though you are studying accounting or business management. Who knows what opportunities await for you in the future? Don’t be afraid to be a dreamer; spread your wings and like the eagle- be in your own league!
Its almost 67 minutes- my time is up!
Much love and respect!
