TIMES ………………….
author: Leon Botha
There are times in life when you truly wonder what this time we call “life” is all about.
When last did you have the opportunity to sit still somewhere – anywhere on your own, not having to listen to someone blowing his or her horn, not having to try and be intelligent or for that matter think what to say or do, next?
Look and listen, hear and interpret, think and work out the answers – how the hell do I make more money, live through the next hour, survive the next day? This is an ever lasting circle we got ourselves into.
When we are born into this shambles we call “the world” or “Life”, we are destined to be here for a certain period. Normally the period will last for about 75 years – but that is only the plan. We have developed and introduced our own factors that have the ability to interfere with destiny and many of us will not see the second day of our life’s (especially not if you are born in certain hospitals), never mind the intended 75 years if all goes well.
You see, the problem is that we or for that matter most of us, believe that our task during the first 50 of the intended 75 years we may have, should be spend on changing the world. To make such an impact that at least 25 people will attend our funeral and 2 will talk about us for about a week after we depart from the road destiny planned probably at 183km/h and go into a tree or a taxi filled with previously disadvantaged, and still not so well off people, who took their own destiny in their hands by taking a taxi to work.
Most of us are serious to be remembered – which of course in the normal setup as we have worked it out, is all good and well, except we fail to make the sums correctly.
You see, the facts and figures are simple to work out and you can actually determine it yourself.
Go out into a field – unfortunately I have to add that you need to take a few body guards with to protect you against others who also seem to think that it is important to be in the same field in case any person gets this craving to spend some time alone, in peace.
Anyway let the guards keep clear while you go and sit down on a hill with you back to a Baobab tree (just in case on of the guards would like to pull a back stabbing stunt on you) and at first look over the veld ahead of you.
You will notice how vast it is, that is if you manage to miss some or other water and energy absorbing golf estate designed by Frik de la Rey or whatshisname who never made matric, Ernie Els, or a shopping centre to be erected in the middle of a game reserve by a Greek company who got the rights through a certain ex Sandton traffic official or whatever now working elsewhere too close for comfort.
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Although you think you see it all - "all" is really never ending.
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If all else fails and you are prevented to get a clear picture, go lie on your back and look up – look at what we call heaven.
Start thinking about the distance to wherever you would like to travel in your thoughts. Go there mentally and think further – imagine another million light years or so on – think what objects you have passed in your mind, how many million planets, satellites, debris, Russian vodka bottles and American fast food boxes floating around in orbit – think just how far you can think, and you will realize that not even in your mind, you can actually reach infinity!
If you would like to think quick – I mean determine the speed of “thought” you have another think coming because if you thought light had a good pull away, you have not seen “thought” going yet. Bam – Bangkok, wham back in Cape Town, boom – Jo’burg, tic Pretoria – see what I mean?
Light will still be farting around on its way to Nigeria when thought is on its way back from a billion light years away.
This however is not a lesson in speed – it is simply a way to tell you that, that spec lying on its back looking up at the sky applying what I have just suggested – does not really matter, to tell you the truth that little spec will in 99.9% of all cases not really make a difference, and will most probably fail to leave the smallest of marks on what happens around us.
In short we decide to take a quick flip in a chopper, we decide to take the little boy that played with our son with, invite a friend, or go because the friend wanted to feel what it was like – no matter how much money we have, now matter how much we have achieved – the journey ends many years short of the intended 75.
A week or so ago I discovered a poem apparently written by a teenage cancer patient.
I am not going to saddle you with all it says but you may also appreciate the last two verses of the poem called "Slow Dance":
When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift...
Thrown away
Life is not a race
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.
Some of us enjoy a better life – or so we think because we have more to enjoy, but do we really “enjoy” life as it was intended or am I wrong in believing that we take it much too seriously?
In your life – you play the game – you set the goals and the time you spend on reaching them determines the quality of the rest.
Take it easy my friend - you will reach your destiny.
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