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Life tips with Charles Mushinga
As a journalist, I have lived a rather privileged life.
I was born in Murewa, a rural area in Zimbabwe, I grew up and went to school in Mufakose, a high-density suburb in Harare and these were never the affluent of places.
But because I chose a career as a journalist, I have accessed mankind’s high and mighty.
I have befriended millionaires and dined with presidents. I could be in Murewa today smiling and laughing with someone who cannot afford a loaf of bread and tomorrow I would be on a plane with then-president Mugabe to wine and dine in the state house of another country. The privilege was not in dining with the high and mighty, it was in knowing life in all its facets.
I knew the face of hunger in Murewa, I knew the face of a criminal in Mufakose and I knew the face of wealth.
Journalism put me in a vantage point where I could observe what makes a rich man cry or smile as compared to a poor man.
What I discovered is both the pauper and the rich man cry.
They both smile and laugh as well mostly over the same things.
The smile I noticed on Takunda when he got a pair of jeans for tilling my mother’s garden in Murewa is the same smile I saw on Farai after he signed a multimillion-dollar deal with European businessmen.
The pain I saw on legendary musician Oliver Mtukudzi’s face when he buried his son Sam after he died in a car accident in Harare is the same pain I saw on my father’s face when they buried my little brother Clemence when he was killed in a cattle-drawn scotch cart accident near Jakopo shops in Murewa.
That single wealthy man is as lonely as my neighbour Ago was when he died without a wife and family.
But one thing that I have seen giving all men – the mighty and the trodden – great joy, is giving.
The happiness touches a different nerve when one gives. It is the best form of happiness.
Whether it’s a toddler breaking their bun to share with a hungry friend or it’s a billionaire paying school fees for orphans, the derived joy is the same.
Yes, receiving is fun too, especially when it’s something valuable that you were not expecting.
But it leaves you with a feeling of indebtedness, doesn’t it?
When someone gives you something, even if they want nothing in return, you feel like you owe them something from that moment on, don’t you?
They may give you money and you owe them loyalty or support or something intangible that you will feel for the rest of your life.
But the giver feels completely different.
When you give with the heart, you just experience bliss.
Bliss that is pure and that does not expect to get anything in return. Yet givers never lack —, the more they give, the more they receive. Giving has this multiplication effect that doesn’t subscribe to the laws of nature.
That is why the biggest givers are rich; rich financially, rich socially (they never lack friendship or company), rich spiritually (they always have a great relationship with God), and rich emotionally (you never see them low no matter what rocks life throws at them).
Look at the “rich” people you know; you will observe they have most of these things in common.
The mistake many make is to assume only the financially stable people must give.
No, you don’t have to be rich to give. The opposite is true.
It’s much easier to give most of what we have when we are of little means. The Christians will remember Jesus’ parable of the rich man and his chances of entering the kingdom of heaven.
Remember, it is not money alone that can be given.
Money is the cheapest form of giving. The best givers share their greatest resource – their time. If you go to the elderly and you make breakfast for them and water their garden every three days — you are way better than the one who simply takes ten seconds on their phone to send them money for bread. If you’re the friend who is there to comfort someone during a time of need, you are the biggest blessing in their life.
Many times you are the difference between whether they continue with life or not.
You are better than the rich companions who send money and gifts even though they may be appreciated more by the recipient.
That is why material gifts or possessions can be destroyed in moments of true anguish. Many have smashed expensive phones or gadgets on the wall in anger, but no one harms a true friend even when angry. So practice giving and you will feel the true genuine happiness that life has to offer. Do not wait for Christmas or a birthday or a special occasion to give, just live a life of giving.
Do not wait to be rich to give, remember, the greatest resource you can offer is your time. Give and expect nothing in return and watch how a life of blessings unfolds. And remember, it’s the little things that count.- [email protected]
Online Reporter