Online Reporter
Rutendo Gwatidzo
Changing Perspectives
I recently got involved in a discussion that was both sad and eye opening. One of our family friends started building her dream home two years ago and it was her desire to have completed the project by end of the year.
Due to the effects of the pandemic, her income was cut significantly and her husband lost his job, hence they were no longer able to complete the project this year.
The couple thought of putting up a roof on one side of the house so they could move into the house to save money, and then progressively complete the project whilst staying there. As she shared this story, she even shed tears.
Why cry?
“Why are you crying?” I asked her. “Do you know that many people long to be where you are right now?” I asked her again.
She looked at me and continued sobbing. She then reminded me of my uncle. Years back, my uncle started building his dream house in one of the low density areas in Harare. He was so determined to finish the project that he forgot about himself and his family in the process.
He drove around a ramshackle vehicle even though he could afford to get it repaired or to buy another one. He did this in the name of saving money for the building project. His family could go for a very long time without basic things in life to save money.
The double storey mansion took three years to reach roof level. One day, my uncle got sick and one thing led to another and sadly he didn’t make it.
We all cried bloody tears, but it was already too late. Only if he had paused a bit to enjoy his achievements whilst he could! I told my friend this story and it sparked an interesting discussion.
When is the right time to celebrate?
At what point should one pause to celebrate life? Life is not always easy, it is a series of battles and challenges at every stage and we need to overcome them in order to move to the next phase of life. Edwin Louis Cole said “life is lived on levels and arrived at in stages.” This simply shows how we ought to celebrate life at every stage.
I wish my uncle had paused before his death to celebrate victory when he completed the foundation level.
He could have done the same when he completed the deck level and when he reached the roof level. This would have given him a chance to celebrate his hard work whilst he could.
Think about it
As we inch towards the end of the year, a lot has happened, both good and bad. I would like to remind someone that for being alive only, you ought to celebrate.
Some managed to complete certain grades at school, some moved in to incomplete houses to save money and ought to celebrate that move as well, especially if they own the incomplete house.
Some lost their jobs, but they still have all their family members alive. The list is endless. The limitation is that, some people put themselves in a margin because they feel that their victories in comparison to others are not worth celebrating. Sometimes the beauty of achievements can be seen when we refrain from comparing ourselves to others unnecessarily.
Here are some tips to help you celebrate life.
- Train your eyes to see what is good in every situation.
- In as much as we set targets for ourselves, let us pause to celebrate every milestone we meet despite how small it may be.
- When you really feel that you have nothing to celebrate, then join the celebration of those people you know and share community with. Consider their victory yours also, in one way or the other they are your destiny helpers anyway.
Celebrating victory doesn’t mean you should stop working towards more achievements, it is just a way of re-energising yourself for even greater accomplishments, keep going.
There is an African proverb that says, “Those who celebrate the small victories and simple pleasures win the game over and over again.”
Find something worth celebrating as we round up the year. This will boost your energy levels for the upcoming year.
A simple remark from someone saying, “Because of you, I didn’t give up this year,” is worthy celebrating because you made a difference in somebody’s life.
Rutendo Gwatidzo is an entrepreneur, HR consultant, team builder, Transformational speaker and author. She is managing director for Africanglow Enterprises that does corporate wear and interior designs. She’s a strategist who draws her strengths from seeing things from a different perspective to make a difference. Contact details 0714575805 / [email protected]
