adminabout someone just complaining of a headache and the next thing they are gone. We read about road traffic accidents almost every other week and we all know how sudden and devastating that is.
A casual glimpse at the funeral notices in the newspaper the other day got me to realize that a lot of people are dying.
Some of them, if you see their year of death, you literally develop goose bumps over your skin because they are just too young.
Thus as I thought a bit about my life the other day, after being favoured with yet another full year of life, I realized that life is not to be taken for granted and that the very best gift any of us has been blessed with is that of life itself.
While in the past I was mostly anxious about what type of presents I would get each time my birthday came up (I still anticipate but the anxiety has gone), I have since learnt to realise that the blessing of living yet another year may very well be the biggest present of all and the only one worth agitating over.
However, there is really no need to agitate over it for there is only one being able to grant the gift of life and that is My Maker himself.
So while the presents were welcome during the week in celebration of yet another birthday and are still welcome, this year is all about making it count.
I heard a motivational speaker talk recently about how important it is to ask oneself from time to time just what value you bring by being alive.
While I initially thought he sounded corky, as I became older by one year this week I could not help but think back to what that statement really meant.
The speaker said it is not about how many years one lives on this earth at the end of the day but about how they utilise that time spent on earth.
He said some people in their 16 years of life can live longer that some people who are blessed enough to be around for 50 years do.
That is true if you look at it. Some people in their youth bring about so much passion, zeal and love to what they do and to those around them while some people may have lived longer but spread very little in terms of goodness to those around them.
Some older people are also all about mentoring, sharing experience and love and making a difference while those who have more energy, the younger ones are just about self indulgence and laziness.
So for me the challenge each day I am blessed with henceforth is to see what added value I can bring, not just in my professional life but in my personal life as well.
Life coaches argue that there is need for a healthy balance in all we do for life to be truly well lived.
This means that while one brings value to their professional sphere by being delivery and results oriented in their chosen career or business, there is need to be known for delivery in the family sphere too.
A big No to being a workaholic who forgets their wife or husband’s birthdays and does not make time for children’s key events, they always say.
A big No to making money at all costs even if it goes against one’s moral code, spiritual beliefs and the family’s well being.
A healthy balance in life is about finding time for the people in one’s life, loving them, laughing with them and sharing with them.
The advice goes further. A healthy balance is about eating well and taking care of the body through exercise and maintaining good hygiene.
It is about not drinking too much or driving too fast for no reason.
It is about taking care of the spiritual aspect of life. We all know about those drivers who speed through red lights as if they have an emergency only for them to park their vehicles at home.
When one is making it count, such bad habits should go out of the window.
Something else I have been taught on and have begun to appreciate is the ability to count one’s blessings. And in this my year of self actualisation, I take it on board and would like to share it with you.
Next time you want to gripe about waking up early to go to work, think about the many who do not have jobs, next time you want to gripe about your house being ugly, think of those without a home, next time you want to gripe about waking up, think of those who have left this world.
Next time you think your children are too noisy, just think about those without children or those who cannot hear.
Next time you want to complain about your visitors, think of those without family or friends.
Next time you want to complain about Zimbabwe, think about those places where earthquakes and hurricanes are an everyday thing.
Or maybe those states where gunshots and bomb explosions are an everyday thing. Those places where women are raped willy nilly. Then you may begin to count your blessings.
There is something about being thankful and living in a constant state of thankfulness that truly adds value to one’s life.
A person who is in a constant state of thankfulness is also someone who is full of love and patience for those around them.
How about making it count by striving to be a better person? How about living everyday to the full so that the one who gives life can be satisfied with our presence on this earth?
Here is to making it count.
Online Reporter