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discerned incremental change in all aspects of life.
Each day, each month and each year should see us moving forward towards fulfilment of life goals and purpose. It should see us gravitating towards quality life.
Quality of life does not mean an absence of challenges but is a result of managing one’s response to them. I once saw a poster that read “When life gives you lemons make lemonade”.
There is a chorus that people often sing at religious gatherings which urges people to move forward and never backwards. The lyrics go like this: “Taramba wadzoka taramba wadzoka shure . . . tinoda kuenda mberi!”
Easier said than done isn’t it? We have many things that fight our destiny and these keep taking us backwards. So often we get tied down and entangled in things that take us backwards.
We hold on to hurts and pains. We continue to fight lost battles. We allow the burden of yesteryear to oppress us some of them we can barely remember the origins. Yet we fail to let go.
There are stories that are often told by preachers of people who hold on to things even when the situation demands that they offload them. One of them is about an old woman (it can well be a man) who was carrying this load on her head as she went on her journey. Some Good Samaritan stopped for her and offered her lift. The lady was thankful and jumped into the car. She, however, kept the load on her head despite the pleas to put it down.
This might appear silly to the reader but think of the many times that you have tugged along the emotional burdens from yesteryear. No matter how others try to help you off load, you always find an excuse to hold on to them. We really need to be progressive in life so we can live full quality lives. I believe this is achievable through editing out all these other things that hinder progress in life.
In life one is bound to have forces that manifest through people that seem to be pre-occupied with inflicting pain or shoot us down. The more we pay detailed attention to such things the more it affects us.
We should learn to handle these setbacks by putting these behind us.
Maybe words of wisdom from the Bible which, implore us not to listen to every conversation to avoid hearing your servant cursing you could help us.
It might not be the easiest thing to do. I believe it is an art that one has to learn and it is something that comes from character. In my view the first step is defining where one wants to go with life and by so doing become alert and guard against forces that try to steal that destiny from you.
You also have to define what is important and then be deliberate in giving these things precedence over others. The power of choice is very important therefore if you make a choice to ignore these things you will be surprised at how much these slowly fade away into oblivion. My grandmother had mastered this art very well. She deliberately practised selective hearing. If asked whether she heard what was said she would slowly say “ndiri kuzvinzwa hangu” (I am hearing it). To her what was being said was of no consequence thus she was able to move on with her life.
One common problem is dwelling too much on the negatives. A friend of mine that I once worked with, now late, had a very difficult boss that made her life miserable. He never appreciated the good work but always waited to criticise when she made one omission, even the smallest thing.
My friend was full of life and would not let anyone throw her off course. She therefore learnt how not to take to heart some of these issues. By so doing she took away the bitterness that would have eaten away her life. She knew her destiny was not determined by him.
Well, while we have cases of people who fail to let go as I have described above there are also those who do not give you space to live your life. They are always on your case. My sister and I once travelled from Rusape to Harare by train. The train was so full that there was no space at all to put the luggage.
So my sister being the eldest had no choice but to carry the basket on her head for the journey. There was not even space to lower it and bring reprieve to the arms. Imagine the ordeal that she went through. In instances where she dozed off she had to bear the sharp tongues of stressed tired and irritated neighbours.
In life there are situations like this where it never seem to rain but pour. There is really no space to put down the load even if you want to. At times the load is glued on you by other people who are close or otherwise. This might break your spirit if you are not careful. In my view do not make excuses for living your life because by doing so you are not taking anything away from anyone.
Trials and tribulations are indeed burdensome but even in these circumstances just keep moving. Difficult as it may, keep moving forward. Accepting defeat will keep you stuck in the storm. The only way is to keep moving because eventually you will leave the storm behind.
What you need, however, is inner strength that enables you to soar above the challenges and scale walls. Rise above the challenges for your destiny is not determined by all these people and things that surround you. The author of your life has everything laid out for you.
Life is about bearing fruit, so be progressive in life. The Bible tells a story of a man who planted a fruit tree but it failed to produce fruit even with tendering – adding manure, watering and pruning. The decision was to cut the tree down because it had failed to fulfil its purpose.