Life's hard... so daydream!

This past week I've been really busy. The holiday started early, but my vacation is postponed by two weeks. See, the thing is I've got a part-time job for two weeks. And it's killing me.

The hours are long.

The work is really boring.

My social life is being smothered to near death.

I'm prone to a mild case of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder when doing monotonous work.

I've had ample reason to quit. Really. But the thing that kept me going is the fact that I've already laid out a spending plan for my payment. It drives me. I keeps me sane. It's my fuel for when I'm nearly burned out. And that got me thinking. (Believe me, I've had a lot of time to think at work).

Life is tough. Everybody knows it. Everybody complains about it now and then. And it sucks (not life, the being tough part). But what keeps us going? What makes us get up every morning and go to work one more time? What drives us?

It is important for us to work for something. To have a goal. An ambition. A dream! We hardly ever take the time to stop and wonder what we are working for. It's time to dream again! To become the dreaming generation. Going through life without a dream is like going through a fire drenched in oil. It's pointless. It's inconvenient. It's hell.

Most people get depressed when thinking about their dreams and ambitions mainly because they never seem to fully achieve them. So they aim lower to make their goals more achievable. They slack. They don't achieve their goals. They aim lower. They slack more. Achieve even less. Aim even lower. A sick cycle starts and before you know it Super Suzie turned into Slacker Suzie. The secret to prevent this is to expect an incomplete achievement. Aim ridiculously high and achieve only part of your goal. Even though you didn't reach the top of the top, you'd still be better off than when you aimed lower and slacked more.

We don't just need something to die for, but something to live for!

The Big Bad Wolf

The Three Little Pigs. Everyone knows the story. They leave mama's house, build their own houses and are threatened by the Big Bad Wolf. Different versions of the story have alternate endings. In one version the pigs all run to their brother's house - the one with house of brick. In another version they are merely eaten by insatiably hungry wolf who, after two pigs, still go and eat Little Red Riding Hood, and The Ten Lambs. The thing is, it doesn't matter how the story ends. The three pigs always have to face the threat that lurks in the forest. In our lives, we all have Big Bad Wolves. And they are always hungry.

In real life, the Big Bad Wolf can come in any form and always threatens to blow our lives down. With each huff and puff it steals our peace and security. The Big Bad Wolf in your life could be your circumstances at home, an upcoming event, an obstacle in your path to success, sickness, even a person. The bad things in life usually come unexpected, quiet like a thief. You just wake up one day and realize "Hey, I'm not as happy as I used to be...". Something changes that just makes your life hard. Much harder than you think is fair. These are the things to destroy us. These are the things that make us stronger.

People don't always know what to do when faced with something new or unexpected. In English, we read a short story by Charles Bosman called 'In The Withaak's Shade'. It tells the story of Oom Schalk Lourens stumbling upon a leopard (or rather, the leopard stumbled upon him). This leopard meant the humans no harm, but everyone was immediately frightened and reacted in the only way they know when faced with supposed danger. Get rid of the threat. The story ends with Oom Schalk finding the leopard with a bullet wound in his chest.

As in the story with the Three Little Pigs, there are different 'versions' of how people react to these wolves. Some make sure they are prepared. They build there lives with brick and cement, making sure that it can withstand the mightiest tempest. Others build it with the first user-friendly low-cost material they find. Life is a party and there's nothing to worry about. Then the Wolf arrives. Hardship strikes, life gets tough and you sit inside your house of straw listening to the wolf huffing and puffing outside. As the wind blows your straw, your life to oblivion, you run around frantically, waiting for the wolf to pounce.

At this stage some people give up. If there's one thing I've learned in my short almost-seventeen years, it's that giving up is most selfish thing you can do. You become miserable. Your friends become miserable. Your life becomes a spiral of misery. And suicide lurks ahead (which is just another act of selfishness, heaping the anger and remorse of your loss on those who loved you).

Other people run to their 'brothers'. They ask for advice. They seek help and refuge at a caring friend. They learn from those that built a brick house, turn over a new leaf and lay a fresh, stronger-than-before foundation. These are the people that, in spite of their downfall, decide to stand up and try again. Chances are they will achieve much more than they dreamed. These are the Natalie du Toit's, the George Washington's, the Mother Theresa's. This could be you.

Once again I leave with a quote.

No power in society, no hardship in your condition can depress you, keep you down, in knowledge, power, virtue, influence, but by your own consent.

- William Ellery Channing

Rule #32

If you haven't watched Zombieland, then you better get in your car and go rent it before you finish reading this post.


I've watched Zombieland multiple times, but each time one specific thing stands out above the rest. No, it's not the lack of meaningful story, or the fact that Bill Murray gets shot. It's Rule #32: Enjoy the little things.


Even though the world is in mortal peril, America hardly exists as a country and everyone you know turned into an undead flesh eating monster, there is always time to appreciate the sunshine or smell a flower. Life gets so rushed and we "organize" ourselves with milliards of to-do lists, and check lists, and reminders, and schedules, and what-not's. Instead of making our lives easier, these things just add more stress with the reminder of you haven't done yet. We need to take time to break loose from this scheduled world, do something impulsive or rash, and enjoy a little thing that we've forgotten about in our daily rush.


Typing in "Rule 32" into Google was probably the best thing I could have done today. Not just was a 'little thing' that I could enjoy, it also gave me the best advice. Ever. The very first link Google gives is to a site called Urban Dictionary, a dictionary giving meaning to slang, jargon and other informal ways of speech. This is the definition it gave to 'Rule 32':

an internet rule that states that if it can be said, it can be said with a picture

why say "i see what you did there" when you can just as easily scour the interweb for hours trying to find a picture of an owl with a text edit saying the same thing?

I just love quotes. And I love them even more in pictures. So I went in search of a picture (from the movie) to add to this post to state exactly what I've been trying to say in words. And I succeeded in my search.

Remember: When in doubt: Nut up, or shut up.

My Hero?

Oral topics in primary school are always the same. I can almost bet the most common topic is 'My Hero/Role Model'. I felt like a kid these past few weeks, and decided that I should blog on a 'kid-topic'. So without further ado, here's my blog/oral/essay on My Hero:

Thinking about influential people that might act as an inspiration in my life, sends my thoughts on a roller coaster ride through history. And I don't like history. But nevertheless, dreams and aspirations don't inspire. Great achievements and unbelievable feats inspire. Therefore it's necessary to take a look at the past when searching for your hero.

I might say that Nelson Mandela is my hero. He was a loyal man fighting for an honest cause.

I might say that Thomas Edison is my hero. Teaching us to never give up.

I might even say that my dad is my hero. Looking after our family and working hard each day.

But my hero is a very well-known man, with a not so well-known past. My hero, as I only recently realized, is George.

Born in Northern Virginia in 1732, George lived in a middle-class family. He was home schooled by his father and older brother, but both died young. George lost his father when he was a mere eleven years of age. He was never really considered very bright, but nevertheless he applied himself to his studies and by the age of sixteen he mastered geometry, trigonometry and surveying (think algebra and calculus).

At seventeen years of age, George got his first job. And what a job it was! He was appointed Official Surveyor of Culpeper County in Virginia. A hard job indeed. As surveyor, he needed to measure and record previously unmapped territories, often using heavy logs and chains.

After three years as surveyor, the governor appointed George to the state militia as a Major. When he was twenty-two, George had been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and by twenty-three he was Commander in Chief of the Virginia militia. After twenty years he became the Commander in Chief of the entire Continental army and eventually went on to become the first president of the United States of America - George Washington!

George Washington's life is an example to us all of what we can achieve if we put our minds to a task. Although he did not know what his future held for him at age 17, he did his job to the best of his abilities. When taking a look at George Washington's life and seeing what he achieved we can surely try to follow his example. He once said:

"Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses."

The greatest evil that holds us from our destiny is not our incompetence, but procrastination. Let's make the choice to live up to the old Latin proverb 'Carpe Diem!' - seize the day!

Forgiving means forgetting... sort of...

It was about three years ago that I realized that forgiving is one of the easiest things for me to do. No matter what someone does or says, I find it impossible to stay mad. I think the main reason I'm so forgiving has something to do with the fact that I forget easily. Whenever something embarrassing happens, or someone does something awful to me, I just think 'Hey, in two/three years time no one's gonna sit and talk about what just happened'. Life moves on.


In my opinion the reason most people are so hesitant to forgive and forget is because of fear. They are afraid that whatever happened to them would happen again. This is actually quite illogical, since it can cause more problems and may well be the reason that the problem would repeat its self. Take for example Susan. Susan is a figment of my imagination and is currently dating Jason. They are happy and have even planned their future together. One fine Saturday morning Susan wakes up, goes to the mall and sees Jason clasped in the arms of her archenemy, Mary. Susan and Jason talk things out and finally break up, with Jason and Mary running off to live in Beijing. Two scenarios can play out from here.


Scenario 1: Susan won't forgive.
Susan decides never to forgive Jason and goes through life with this baggage of what happened. Two years later she meets Dave and they fall in love. Dave is a really nice guy, always honest and trustworthy, but Susan is afraid that Dave might do the same to her as Jason did. She becomes extremely protective over Dave and wants to know every detail of where he's been and who he hanged out with. They go on like this for a couple of months, but then one fine Saturday morning Dave breaks up with her because of a lack of privacy and because he feels smothered. Susan is in ruins. Jason is nonplussed.


Scenario 2: Susan forgives him.
Susan decides to forgive Jason and moves on. Two years later she meets Dave and they fall in love. Dave is a really nice guy, always honest and trustworthy, and thus Susan can enjoy their relationship without worrying about where Dave is or who he hangs out with. They go on like this for a year or two and Dave finally decides to take their relationship to the next level. One fine Saturday morning he proposes to Susan, they marry and live happily ever after. Susan is ecstatic. Jason is nonplussed.


This is, of course, just an example and things don't always go according to examples, but the point I'm trying to make is that you're always pulling at the short end when you don't forgive. No matter what Susan decides to do, Jason stays nonplussed. He isn't affected by Susan's lack of forgiveness toward him. If you go through life with this sort of baggage, you're only disadvantaging yourself and possibly even your future. I love the way Lewis B. Smedes puts it:

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you."

When forgiving someone, it is important to also forget. Most people get this saying wrong. Yes, you must forget in the sense of moving on, but it is important to remember what you (and others) did wrong in the situation. Where did you make the wrong decisions? What were the pro's and con's of those decisions? What was the cause of the problem? What can you do to ensure you make the right choices next time? The most important thing is to learn from your mistakes. No one can achieve more in the future than they have in the past, if they don't take the time to learn from experience.


This is probably why I forgive so easily. I'm not afraid of what might, or might not happen in the future. I don't want to limit myself and my future because of unnecessary baggage. I don't want to make the same mistakes or cause myself to make worse mistakes in the future. I want to move on. I want to forgive. I want to love freely...