HOW WILL THE STORY END?

By Chikondi Kateta

 
We are often confronted by the past. The past tries to get in the way of the future and frustrate our hope for the future. The world has success stories of people whose beginning was not as pleasant but the end was beautiful. What that suggests is that, our backgrounds have little power over our future than we give them credit for. It really doesn’t matter where you are from or what you have been through, you can become anything. How the story begins is of less importance compared to how it ends

Last year, a World Bank report categorized Malawi as the poorest country in the world. To some that meant a hopeless life in which making it would be at the mercy of the donor community. And others were indifferent to the news, having accepted poverty as their permanent status and not willing to do anything about it. But there is another group of individuals who saw that as an opportunity to make Malawi better.

If you are from Malawi and you are reading this, I hope you are in the group of those that are concerned but at the same time determined to warm up the warm heart of Africa. I hope you are one of those who will take this as an opportunity to rise up the Malawian flag and prove that prosperity has no racial or geographical bearing. To prove to the world that with a vision, determination and hard work any society, community or nation can flourish.

As long as you have wisdom in your heart, a vision and determination in your mind and strength in your body, you can do anything

Don’t let the current status of your life, society or nation drain you out of the strength to do make improvements. At whatever level of disappointment you may find yourself at, don’t sink into a que-sera-sera mode. As long as you have wisdom in your heart, a vision and determination in your mind and strength in your body, you can do anything. You have something exceptional which you can contribute to your society. You have something to bring to the table; something unique because you are unique. Don’t let the past win over your future. Don’t let where you come from affect where you are going. Tap into your inner man and bring out your exceptionalism and unleash it into the world.

Recently I read about a 16-year-old boy from Jacaranda school in Blantyre, Malawi. He has parents but they could not afford to provide for him so he found himself in a school of orphans. He is a good artist, dancer and singer. When he was asked of his skills he said, “I do not consider where I came from, I believe I can achieve anything with the right attitude and determination”. I don’t know what you are thinking but, when I read that I thought to myself, what a perception in life? Facing life with such an attitude by such a lad? I was inspired.

It matters not where you come from. Where you are going is more important. There are people who only talk about how their past was good but now life is miserable. These fellows always say, “I had this in the past” or “life was like this in the past”. Their language is punctuated with an admiration of the “good-old days”, a negative perception of the present and a sigh of uncertainty about future. But what’s the point dwelling on the past when you can never return to it? I believe that, at any given point in time, we have the power to say, “this is not how the story is going to end”. Decide today that your story will end better than it started. Your family, society or country shouldn’t stay as it is. Make it better, bring out those brilliant ideas and change things.

LIFE HAPPENS EVERYDAY

By Jose Masawanie Jun

Life doesn’t happen the day you feel all kind of high. Life doesn’t happen the day she says I do or the moment he proposes love to you. Life doesn’t begin at 40. From the day you were born, life began, and since then, it happens every day. The clock began ticking the day you opened your eyes. Time was set in motion the day you were born and it hasn’t stopped moving ever since.

There has not been any moment when time slowed down or moved faster. There has never been a day when life stopped happening. Times is always running; Life is always happening. It is those that let life happen without them that eventually run out of time.

The clock of your life has no clue that this year had one day more than last year; all it does is tick. The clock of your life doesn’t know that you are not a “morning person” or that there are days when you don’t feel like waking up; all it does is tick. what’s my point? Life happens every day and the clock of your life is ticking every second.

Life does not need your consent to happen; time does not require your approval to tick.

You may wish to take a break. You may wish to relax your grip on life. You may procrastinate. But your clock is still ticking, Life is still happening. You will miss out on a big deal of life if circumstances dictate whether you live or not. You will lose out opportunities in life if you only work when you feel like it. Feelings are overrated.

Make every day count. Live every moment of your life. Don’t allow a moment of your life to pass you by dozing in naivety or fliting with mundanity. You only live once. Heraclitus was right when he said that, you cannot step into the same river twice. Your life is like a flowing river; it is in constant motion. It’s up to you to move with it or to stay behind nursing wounds of failure or obsessing over trophies of mediocrity.

People talk of equality, but time is the only thing in the world that we all have equally. The billionaire sipping champagne at the back of his Roll Royce and the pauper swallowing dry saliva for breakfast all have 24 hours a day. What are you doing with your time? What are you doing with your life? You may not have been born with a silver spoon in your mouth, but you were born with time on you hand. Invest your time; invest your life. Because as I am writing this, time is ticking and life is happening

DON’T LEAVE LIKE YOU NEVER CAME

By Brenda Mwale

There is a reason why you were born in this word at such a time like this. How, when and where you were born could be a whole different story. And for some the “how?”, the “where?” and the” when?” of their birth is unpleasant to say the least. Some people were born out of proper preparation and expectation of their parents and so their birth into the world was greeted with open arms smiley faces. On the other hand, the birth of some was unsolicited and hence they did not have a grand entrance with smiles and laughter. But always remember that the “how?”, the “where?” and the” when?” of you birth do not invalidate or demean your “why?” (purpose). Whether you were born in our out of a wedlock does not matter; what matters is that you are here and that, you are here for a purpose.

Your life might seem a dry, boring and uninspiring, but if you look close enough, you will find out that there is a spark on the inside that can light up the whole world. What you need to do is ignite that fire and let loose. Don’t be afraid of failure, don’t be afraid of disappointments. Don’t let your past experiences hinder you from achieving greatness. If you past does not inspire you leave it behind where it belongs. Maintain an attitude of a winner: An I-can-do-all-things attitude.

Go for that dream of yours. Yeah, that dream you have is possible irrespective of whatever circumstances you may have gone through. Challenges will always be there but your attitude towards those challenges matters more than the challenges themselves. With the right kind of attitude you can do anything. A man who does not quit cannot be defeated. That’s how powerful a good attitude is; it makes you invincible. What people call failure is just success in reverse. What ordinary people call a challenge, is just an opportunity is disguise. The difference between success and failure goes down to “attitude”.

Don’t leave this earth as if you never came. Don’t just “exist” as a demographical statistic, “live”; live to your full potential, empty your life. Don’t be afraid to dream big. Pastor Karen Victor of Christ Embassy Cape town likes to say that: small dreams are boring. Think global. Be a beacon of hope, a fountain of joy, a spring of peace and a stream of love for the world. Remember,

“the extent of your vision is the boundary of your blessings” -Rev. Dr. Chris Oyakhilome

If you can see it with your eyes of faith, you can do it. The term “impossible” is overrated: anything is possible.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

By Chikondi Kateta

The theory of functionalism states that, a society is like a living organism with different parts, and that for there to be a balanced maintenance of the society, each part must play its role; otherwise, there will be an imbalance in the functioning of the society.

Some weeks ago my colleague wrote of how life begins when you discover the reason for your existence. It is called purpose. Purpose is the motivation for creation. That means, everything that exists is vital. That includes you. And I would like to challenge you to wake up to your relevance and take up your responsibility. You matter. You bring to the table something that no one else brings. That’s why you are unique. If you weren’t aware, you are the only one ever, who has a finger-print like the one on you thumb right now; you are that unique.

A lot of people believe that the government is the solution to their problems. So they blame the government for typically anything that goes wrong in their lives. In as much as the government has a duty towards you as a citizen, I believe that you are the only person that can develop you. Clearly, it is those people who don’t want to take responsibility of their lives who blame a higher power, be it political, social or spiritual, for their problems. Someone once said when you are pointing a finger at someone; never forget the three fingers pointing back at you. Let me break down for you: whatever is happening in your life, you are responsible period.

This may sound a little cruel to some, but Rev Dr. Chris Oyakhilome  once said that, your yesterday may have been someone’s fault, maybe even your today, but tomorrow is all on you. You may not be able to change your yesterday and your today may not be as pleasant; but what you do today will determine what you will become tomorrow. So the question is what can you can do? What can you do today that can ensure you a glorious tomorrow?

We are born with a great treasure deposited in us, such that, if these treasures where to be brought out, the world would be more glorious than it is now. Don’t leave the world worse than you found it; It is an error. Strive to make it better, bring out the treasures that are in you.

“Don’t die full, die empty”- Dr Myles Munroe  

Don’t die full, die fulfilled after filling the earth with what you were full of. You can do something about your life. You can do something about your community. You can do it now.

The Question “Why?”

By Jose Masawanie, Jun.

“The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why” -Mark Twain

Why are you here? Why are you here now?

A lot of people in  social, academic and  professional circles have argued that “why” is the ultimate question; the question that underlies every endeavor of human beings. This kind of thinking implies that life has a purpose; there is a reason for existence. All that exist, exist for a reason; all that is, is there for a purpose.

If grains of sand and the dust in the air have a reason for being, what more human beings? We are here for a purpose. We were born for a reason. Our true satisfaction and ultimate happiness in life is inseparable from fulfilling our purpose. Success in life is finding your purpose and fulfilling it. Like Mark Twain said, “The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why“. I daresay, you haven’t started living until you find and fulfill your purpose. Life does not begin when you go to college, or when you get married. Life doesn’t begin at 40; Life begins the day you find out “why”. Life begins the day you know your purpose. life begins to make sense the day you know why you were born. You life fits in into a cosmic puzzle, your absence in life leaves a cosmic gap that cannot be filled by anybody. God did not make you unique for showbiz or just to prove a point. He endowed in you traits and talents that cannot be replicated or duplicated because you have a purpose that only you can fulfill. And combined with the purposes of other human beings, you make the world a better place. Your purpose gives you relevance.

It’s never too early or too late to find out why. Find out “why” and live.

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