Live.Life.Unhurried

I read a quote today on Facebook from one of those pages that write about wisdom of life. It was quite long but what caught my attention were three words: “Live Life Unhurried”.

This sent my mind racing. Years of flashback came like lightning. I wondered what the words meant. We surf the internet, we read about and we watch so many things every second, every minute and every day, but not everything stays in our minds.

With the world at our finger tips these days, we almost feel like we posses some super  natural powers that enable us to be who we want to be and do what we feel like doing. We are so caught up in catching up with so much in one day that we tend to forget the simplest things in life, namely life itself.

Even when we decide to take time off from our hectic schedules and go on a break, we tend to focus on pre-arranging every detail and worrying about what our money can buy. Some of us go for the best of the best! And indeed we expect the best if we pay the right price, be it the best hotel, the best location, the best services. In short, the best of everything.

But come to think of it, what is the best for us? I tend to ask myself that quite often.

When we for instance get stuck in a traffic jam on a rainy day, we worry about the ensuing chaos and the loss of precious time. Sometimes we fret about the smallest things in our daily life that we forget that there is more to life that we tend to overlook.

This is what I love about travelling. It allows me to switch off my brain and to disconnect myself from the “world”. This means no phone, no internet or anything remotely similar to such monstrosities of quick communication. Just a chance to allow myself breathe and relax.

Yes, we even forget to breathe at times. How many of us snatch a few moments during a hectic day to stop and take a full deep breath? I bet not many. We seem always on the run urgently needing to do something or desperately anxious to be somewhere at any one point.

So going back to the quote I read this morning, I realized I have also fallen victim to living my life hurriedly, without appreciating “life”. The tiny raindrops that fall from the sky, the rainbow of sunrays on the window, the leaves swaying on a tree that has stood tall and strong for decades, the birds welcoming dawn with their song and much more that is beautiful and memorable that I had carelessly forgotten to heed.

As they say, the world is a circle that keeps going round and round with us caught up in its rhythm while sadly overlooking “life”. This is of course much easier said than done. At times we do have a choice, to perhaps settle for less, that is switch off our minds and focus on the little things that mean a lot or even allow our bodies to forget the stress around us.

I think it was no coincidence that I read that Facebook quote this morning. It certainly made me take a pause and view my life slightly differently from how I would otherwise view it as I woke up this morning.

And because of that, I choose today for once to live my life unhurried!

www.grassroots-traveller.com

Going that extra mile

How many of us as children dreamt about who we wanted to be when we grew up? Some of us wanted to be doctors, singers, teachers while others could never really nail it down. For some, it took many trials and errors before “the dream” job finally took shape in their minds.

Circumstances also play a role in deciding whether we at all can accomplish these dream jobs; for one thing our external environment may not always match our inner wishes.  And different individuals whatever their background and wherever they may be can experience this conflict.

Lack of financial or family support may also frustrate one’s cherished dreams. Occasionally, the sheer fear of stepping out of one’s comfort zone and leaping into the dark may be the stumbling block.

Above all, we can only try! A wise man once told me, “if you don’t try, you will never know” and I have always kept that in mind. And when you do decide to do something, you do it whole-heartedly, with no reservations. If something needs to be done, you do it either 100% or not at all otherwise it’s not going to be worth it in the end.

Now this is all easier said than done, as many would certainly agree. But that’s just the hard lesson that we all experience at some point in our lives. We end up doing jobs just to make ends meet or managing to move just one step closer to that dream job.

However, in course of our journeys in search of our daily bread or while chasing our dream job, we may learn some valuable lessons. Those for instance who work in the service sector, especially where generous clients can tip them, learn very quickly that by going that extra mile, by for instance being over courteous or jolly or particularly helpful they can earn more than what they had earlier that day.

One particular incident comes to mind. I was working at a hotel in USA, as a front office assistant. Almost towards the end of my evening shift, a lady came down from her room asking if she could have a cup of tea. The restaurant and room service had already closed for the evening, but I offered to make her the cup of tea and bring it to her room; I had gone out of my way to oblige her.

It happened I wasn’t particularly busy and was only waiting for my shift to end. Making a cup of tea wouldn’t have killed me. I set up everything nicely on a tray with an assortment of tea bags and biscuits and took it to her room. She smiled and thanked me for my service and I wished her a good evening.

Moments before my shift ended, the lady came down again to thank me; this time her hand gesture indicated she had something for me. I held my hand out, took the note she gave me and put it directly into my pocket. I thanked her while insisting I was only just doing my job.

I didn’t look at the note until I was about to leave. It turned out to be a $100 bill! I couldn’t believe my eyes! What a reward for one cup of tea, the equivalent today of approximately 160,000 Tanzanian shillings. What a glorious cup of tea!

The lady’s generosity was phenomenal! It made me realize that even if our dream jobs elude us, we need not be miserable doing our current job. We may at times need to carry on with the less satisfactory jobs in order to be pushed later towards our dreams or at least with luck succeed in winning a $100 bill for a cup of tea!

One of the ways of reaching there could perhaps be by going that extra mile!

www.grassroots-traveller.com

Ticking off the bucket list

As I’m writing this, I am still buzzing from excitement! I finally got to participate in something I have always wanted to do, something I admired as a child and well into my teens. I was part of a Fun Run of 5K that took place in Zanzibar on 2^nd Dec 2012, part of a bigger event of a Half Marathon. The air was filled with excitement, there were men and women, young and old at the stadium full of anticipation. Its was a colourful and warm morning and the sun was just rising. It was certainly a sight I would never forget!

Some contestants had been spotted in Stone Town days before the event, warming up for the big day.  I also saw a few runners, from Kenya I believe, who certainly turned a few heads. It’s quite normal to see people exercising in the mornings outdoors but never really never with such athletic prowess.

To watch a human being run with the speed of a four-legged beast is weird and wonderful. It brings back so many childhood memories of fables and fairytales.

Athletes, particularly runners, have somehow always fascinated me. I don’t know what it is but from a young age, I could spend countless hours watching Olympics repeats on TV, being hooked on what goes on the running track and not forgetting the long jumps. There is something so lively and mind blowing watching people stretching their physical capacities to the limit, each hell bent on outrunning the other.

Unconsciously I tend to draw a parallel between athletes and wild animals on a hunt. Besides being cautious and having the winner attitude, both would run like their lives depended on it. When you watch athletes run, you cant’ help noticing the tension and concentration gripping their bodies and wondering what goes on inside their heads. Are they praying to win or are they already brimming with confidence of victory? I can’t imagine what goes on in their heads.

When our run started at the Amani Stadium just after the Half Marathon contestants took off, it was our turn to start the 5K Fun Run. We too were asked to get ready at the starting line and had to wait for the gun to be fired off.

Boy did that bring chills down my spine! I suddenly had a flashback of the legions of Olympics Games and other competition I had watched as a child and knew that this was it – I must finish! Yes, 5K are not much and can easily be accomplished but it’s the thought of being part of something spectacular and the whole atmosphere of the event that nail the chills on the spine.

With soaring temperatures and a heat wave over the tarmac roads, there was much at stake but I had made up my mindI was not going to give up. After all I was well prepared, I had made sure a few days before the run that my body was properly hydrated and full of reserve energy. Towards the finishing line, however, I started doubting how much energy I actually had left but I knew that I needed to instill that winning attitude back into myself.

I pictured the athletes running, sensing what their bodies must be going through, watching every muscle stretch, every breath inhaled and exhaled – just to ensure that they cross that finishing line.

I could almost see those firing eyes and their sweat drecnhsed faces, which was exactly what was happening to me. With that in mind, I knew if anything, I needed to think about ticking this off my bucket list.

And I did! Unfortunately I did not win but I didn’t loose either – I have now been motivated to step up my training and perhaps aim for a Half Marathon next year. The added bonus is that my bucket list has one less item on it.

And who knows, perhaps I might just do the Half Marathon!

 www.grassroots-traveller.com