Tuesday 26 February 2008

Celebrate life by John Paul Mugambi

Jus found this piece from last year 2007 …it was my new yrs wish then and it really makes some relevance to this year so here it is

Happy New Year 2007

On Christmas night I went to the one of the many estate cafes to buy take away mandazi for supper. I know several thoughts are running through your head depending on your own inclinations &values.
If you have strong family values you are thinking this guy didn’t go home for Christmas; if you're a health &fitness nut you are thinking -mandazi for supper how unhealthy; if you are a party animal you must be thinking this boy needs to get a life; if you are saved you must think he should have been in communion with other faithful during the holy night.

Well you are right in your own particular way. Send me feedback on that and I’ll add it to my list of resolutions. Back to my story I met a very happy lady buying chips and she tells me “hope you weren’t buying chips because I just got the last Christmas chips”. She was so pleased with herself I couldn’t help laughing and I told her “no I wasn’t buying chips but good for you -the last Christmas chips –that is really something”.

I was still thinking about her …I mean not her –the episode when it hit me that if we could celebrate every little occurrence like we do on these special days then our lives would be one long holiday, our lives would be much happier and maybe if the scientific research on happiness is right much longer.

If we could celebrate every resolution on our list we accomplish and every resolution on our list we tried to accomplish life –though we didn’t really get there but we got close life would be much rosier.

If celebrate each of our bad habits we try to break and the milestones we make in the attempt well the struggle would much sweeter and we would not break the habit along with ourselves.

If celebrate every new deal we close, every innovation in our business, every day completion of routine work of our in-tray pile to our out tray pile, or if we didn’t do a clean slate of the in-tray we did a personal best ….how much more self worth &confidence &purpose &fulfilment we would get from our labor.

If only we could celebrate every career move or every academic qualification or every exam passed on our way to the qualification how much more enthusiastic we would be as we reach for the next rung.

If we could celebrate every car log book, title deed, home ownership certificate, monthly mortgage receipt, insurance policy document (I know you're telling me–‘you wish!’), business renewal licence, business registration document. How much more meaning would the possession acquire? How much more joy would it give you?

I think in this New Year the greatest thing we can learn to do is celebrate life (I know you are saying I have stolen that line from a Celtel advert), celebrate moments; celebrate…..again &again.

I also think in this new we should reach for our ideals we are always bigger than what we believe of ourselves &only by introducing our abilities to responsibility do we realize what we are capable of.
I think in our jobs the greatest satisfaction to get is from meeting wonderful people. That satisfaction would keep you going even if renumerations didn’t. I think every time I think you could be anyone you put your mind to be, you could do and achieve anything you put your heart to do…that your are wonderful person.

Maybe you are thinking this is all too unrealistic ….one can’t be happy all the time. Well you can’t it would not be life but somewhere in that bitter lemon life handed you is the potential for a great lemonade juice.
So after every heartbreak &set back -give yourself a chance to recover and meditate about what happened and you are sure to find not an answer to the “why did it happen?” we are so quick to ask -maybe to the “why should I go on?” we will find an answer.
In this great paradox of our lives
Magic in our lives &in those of the people around us can only take place if we rise up after the tragic.
So this year smile at life through the sunshine and the rain
And the tears and the trials and triumphs
And the success &unexpected outcomes (no failure because you tried &that in itself is a success)
And the effort &the exhaustion
Smile it will all be more beautiful &sweet &lovelier &new …a new year
Of golden tears &sweet perspiration
Of great dreams &new ambitions
Of broken hearts &life after love
Of great accomplishments &dizzying heights
Of great celebration