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Time Flies

February 04, 2018

I had an opportunity to spend part of last week with Mum and as we were doing certain activities together, I realized how different things are now, and how much of our lives have been reversed so that what she used to do for me I am now doing for her.  It was a sad realization but one that I cannot ignore and so this just acted as a catalyst to strengthening my resolve to do as much as I can for my dear Mum while I still have the opportunity to do so.

Being with her reminded me of a time when we used to run after a particular bus every Monday – Friday. Those days the transport system was so efficient you knew exactly what time what bus came and left, and to/from what bus stop. Those were the days when roads were thickly carpeted, nicely labeled with all the right markings on each side so clearly that you couldn't miss the signs. They were also the days when drivers adhered to traffic rules, where traffic lights worked and didn’t need the assistance of traffic cops to instill traffic discipline, neither were there any traffic jams. Those were the good old days where there were no mobile phones to act as catalysts to fatal accidents. As a matter of fact, many people used to carry books to read in the buses as there was no loud booming music like nowadays. To be honest, I kinda miss those days.

Anyway, going back to the reminder, I was taken back to 1983 when I was in class three. Like I said, we used to run to the bus-stop every morning to catch a certain bus until it became a permanent highlight of our morning. Every morning we would do a mad dash for the bus and just as we arrived at the bus-stop, the bus would arrive too. It got to a point where if the driver arrived earlier than normal, passengers who used to board that same bus with us would tell the driver to wait for the lady and her little sister who always board that bus. Much, much later in life my Mum got to find out that people used to enjoy watching us running in sync like we used to. They never thought she was my Mum.

Today, I realize I cannot pull those moves with my Mum anymore; gone are the days when we used to do such things together.  You see, she had the misfortune of getting a few health attacks in the past that left her legs weak but I am very thankful to God that she has immensely improved and even though most of the times she walks around without crutches, when she is walking for long she often needs to support herself with at least one.

Actually seeing her not able to do the things she used to do when I was young made me very sad and though I never let her see it, I felt quite emotional to the point of shedding tears. It is hard to reconcile the strong woman who gave birth to me and brought me up to be the person I am with the not so strong person I spent most of last week with. All the same, I am grateful to the Almighty God because for sure I have proof and evidence that things could have been a lot worse. I know she is getting better by the day and I thank God for that.

This experience had me very pensive the whole of this last week and even as I write this article, I am still in a very pensive state especially considering the fact that just yesterday (3rd February 2018) I celebrated my 43rd birthday.  Of course I am still young and extremely energetic but for some reason the time I spent with my Mum this last week made me very conscious that time is flying and that every day I have is a gift as well as an opportunity for me to work towards achieving the purpose God placed me here on earth for. I say this because in one of our conversations, my Mum expressed regret not because of the things she did and failed but because of the things she never did and now wonders what would have been if she had done them; would her life be different now, maybe taken a different course? She felt that she never really lived up to her full potential and even though she still has the ability to do so, there are some things she cannot do now because her circumstances for now do not allow her. She mentioned opportunities she missed out because of fear of the unknown, as well as the famous question people ask ; “what will so and so think if I do this?”

Today I just wanted to share this with you my readers not to show vulnerability but to make you realize that the time you have today once gone is gone for good.  Just the other day we were wishing each other a happy new year. A few days ago we were wishing each other a happy new month. Yesterday, a lot of people wished me a happy birthday and even as you read this article I am sure there will be others sending me belated birthday wishes. I acknowledge all those wishes (in advance J ) and appreciate the time taken to share them, all the same, this should remind us as all that time is not waiting for either of us. It has its jogging shoes on and as it runs, it keeps increasing its speed.

Today I feel very strongly that I need to remind us all how precious our time is. There are things you are able to do today that you might not be able to do ten years from now. Probably your circumstances will have changed, maybe you will have been barred by your age, or you will have moved from your current location to another which will not be conducive for those activities, maybe the opportunities you have right now will not be available then, or some people who are instrumental in making those opportunities happen will not be there then, etc.

Don’t wait until when you are approaching your late 60s to start thinking of the things you could have done but didn’t do. If you are not on that regret course right now, please take a while after reading this article to think about all the things you’d like to do but haven’t done them for whatever reason. Is it going back to school and getting that PhD?  Is it starting that business even though you failed in the previous one? Is it swallowing your pride and approaching that lady again even though you goofed the last time and lost her to someone else, but now that you know she is free, you know you have a chance with her? Do you feel you want to change your career but you are not sure because you think you are too old? By the way, age should never really be an issue; there are several people who have defied age to do things the world thought impossible at their age. Take some time to research on them and you’ll be surprised at some of the things they did.

Many people have many reasons for not doing the things they want to do now but the number one reason is procrastination due to fear.  That is why in the ongoing #52BooksIn52Weeks2018 Book Reading Challenge, this week I am recommending one book written by Joel Arthur Nanauka called “Overcoming Procrastination”.  There is also a Kiswahili translation of the same book called, “ Ishinde Tabia ya Kughairisha Mambo”

My parting shot this week is this:

Time = Life. You waste your time, you waste your life. Master your time, you master your life. Don’t waste your time worrying about “what if’. 

Sentences that start with “what if” never end in success.

Lastly, never forget this, “The bad news is that time flies. The good news is that you are the pilot” ~ Michael Altshuler

Where are you flying your life to? Food for thought.

 

Be Ignited. Be Inspired. Be Influenced. Become the best version of yourself you can ever be.

I am grateful. I am humbled.

 

PS: This article was originally published in Tanzania's Guardian On Sunday on the 4th of February, 2018, under my weekly column "Thoughts in Words".

 

 

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