Ubuntu

An anthropologist studying the habits and customs of an African tribe found himself surrounded by children most days. So he decided to play a little game with them. He managed to get candy from the nearest town and put it all in a decorated basket at the foot of a tree. Then he called the children and suggested they play the game. When the anthropologist said “now”, the children had to run to the tree and the first one to get there could have all the candy to him/herself. So the children all lined up waiting for the signal. When the anthropologist said “now”, all of the children took each other by the hand and ran together towards the tree. They all arrived at the same time, divided up the candy, sat down and began to happily munch away. The anthropologist went over to them and asked why they had all run together when any one of them could have had the candy all to themselves. The children responded: “Ubuntu. How could any one of us be happy if all the others were sad?”

Reflection

Ubuntu (oo-boon-too) is a philosophy of African tribes that can be summed up as “I am what I am because of who we all are.” Ubuntu can be translated as “human kindness,” but its meaning is much bigger in scope than that - it embodies the ideas of connection, community and mutual caring for all.

We cannot exist in this world without other people. We all share a connection and community; the minute we remove the collectiveness behind this, we have nothing but ourselves and that's a lonely place to live, as we need each other every day. It is impossible to be human on your own, yes you have your own values and ideals towards life, but you have to be able to share it with others, otherwise what's the point. There is so much we can learn from this African ideology. The beauty of Ubuntu is that it’s in action all the time and never ends. People are all around us, you exist in a shared humanity and it is your responsibility to build on it, to expand Ubuntu within your community and then into the wider community and so on…

With the power of Ubuntu - cultures, races, languages and religions will all be honoured as we are all the same, we are all human in this world, we share the same heart beat and the same colour blood. Stop fearing and slating other cultures and other religions because when you get to learn the roots of another, you realise they are just like you. Every breathing human has hopes and dreams for a better, peaceful and enjoyable world as we all live in a shared spirit of one. It’s time to embrace Ubuntu, live it, express it and share it… "You are who you are because of all of us".

May you have an awesome week!
Darren Zwiers

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." - Nelson Mandela 

Bad by name, bad by nature?

(From “A Long Walk To Freedom" by Nelson Mandela)

During Nelson Mandela's imprisonment on Robben Island, one particular commanding officer was the most brutal of them all: "A few days before Badenhorst's departure...... I was called to the main office. General Steyn was visiting the island and wanted to know if we had any complaints. Badenhorst was there as I went through a list of demands. When I had finished, Badenhorst spoke to me directly. He told me he would be leaving the island and added: “I just want to wish you people good luck”. I do not know if I looked dumbfounded, but I was amazed. He spoke these words like a human being and showed a side of himself we had never seen before. I thanked him for his good wishes and wished him luck in his endeavours. I thought about this moment for a long time afterwards. Badenhorst had perhaps been the most callous and barbaric commanding officer we had had on Robben Island. But that day in the office, he had revealed that that there was another side to his nature, a side that had been obscured but still existed. It was a useful reminder that all men, even the most seemingly cold-blooded, have a core of decency and that, if their hearts are touched, they are capable of changing. Ultimately, Badenhorst was not evil; his inhumanity had been foisted upon him by an inhuman system. He behaved like a brute because he was rewarded for brutish behaviour."

Reflection

As the world has lost a great leader in the past week, I decided to share this moving story. It’s a great reminder not only about the quality of Nelson Mandela’s nature, but also, every human being on this planet has a side to them which is one of goodness. When you can look into a person’s heart and extract that goodness where other people get the chance to recognise it, they will have no choice but to express it. As the story suggests, if you can touch a person’s heart in a thoughtful and caring way they will be given the opportunity to change. Kindness is contagious, its hard-wired within all of us, that’s why it makes us feel so alive. It’s an expression of our true selves. People who are seekers of kindness always identify the goodness in the world and experience life with such a high level of appreciation. Always, always look for the kindness in people - at times it can be hard -  but you have the potential to help a person identify their own concealed goodness and thus, in turn will embrace it for lasting change.

May you have an awesome week!
Darren Zwiers

“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead” - Nelson Mandela.

Double-sided Solution

(Author Unkown)

A father was reading a magazine and his little daughter every now and then distracted him. To keep her busy, he tore one page on which was printed the map of the world. He tore it into pieces and asked her to go to her room and put them together to make the map again. He was sure she would take the whole day to get it done. But the little one came back within minutes with perfect map. When he asked how she could do it so quickly, she said, “Oh…. Dad, there is a man’s face on the other side of the paper….. I made the face perfect to get the map right." She ran outside to play leaving the father surprised.

Reflection

When I read this story the first thing that came to mind was a tapestry. Have you ever seen the back of a tapestry? It’s messy, dull and looks like a total mess, but when you turn it around its a display of carefully chosen and well arranged materials. This is the same with the challenges we face in our lives. At first we see it as a complex, unachievable mess, but there is always another, ‘better’ side to the experience we are in. It’s just a matter of perspective. The happiest and most successful people I know, see challenge as an agent for growth. These individuals are reflective, they are creative and always see the other side of the problem. Remember the saying “every coin has two sides”, well so do the obstacles we face everyday, it's just up to you to choose the more fitting and opportune side. It's the joy of conquering these obstacles that makes life so meaningful and accomplished. A good start to identify the other side of a problem is time, use time as your advantage. Quit banging your head against the same brick wall over and over. Take time to think things through and find creative solutions. It's scary to see how rushed we all are, the more complex a problem, the more time you will need. Don’t dwell, but don’t rush… find that balance and problem solving will become enjoyable!

May you have an awesome week!
Darren Zwiers

"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful" - Joshua J. Marine.  

"Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings" - John F. Kennedy.

Whose Problem?

(Author Unkown)

A man feared his wife wasn't hearing as well as she used to and he thought she might need a hearing aid. Not quite sure how to approach her, he called the family doctor to discuss the problem. The doctor told him there is a simple informal test you could perform to give me a better idea about her hearing loss. "Here's what you do," said the doctor, "stand about 40 feet away from her, and in a normal conversational speaking tone see if she hears you. If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and so on until you get a response." That evening, the wife was in the kitchen cooking dinner, and he was in the den. He says to himself, "I'm about 40 feet away, let's see what happens." Then in a normal tone he asks, 'Honey, what's for dinner?" No response. So he moves closer to the kitchen, about 30 feet from his wife and repeats, "Honey, what's for dinner?" Still no response. Next he moves into the dining room where he is about 20 feet from his wife and asks, "Honey, what's for dinner?" Again he gets no response so; he walks up to the kitchen door, about 10 feet away. "Honey, what's for dinner?" Again there is no response. So he walks right up behind her. "Honey, what's for dinner?" "James, for the fifth time I've said, CHICKEN!"

Reflection

It’s funny how quickly we go around saying this person does this and does that and has this issue and that fault, when the problem may just be within you. Now I'm not saying if a person is always late, it's you that's late - what I am pointing out is a little bit of patience and tolerance makes peoples 'faults' seem more manageable. Everyone is fighting their own battles and it's not up to us to be the one to go around judging their personal challenges. Sometimes we can't change who people are or how they act, but we can certainly change how we view them and tolerance is a very good start. Once you can master this, you will learn how much easier it is to have relationships with people you find difficult.

The next time you find yourself judging a persons faults, remember the problem may not be with them, it could very well be within you!

May you have an awesome week!

Darren Zwiers

"What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly - that is the first law of nature" ~ Voltaire.

Think Simple

(Author Unkown)

One of Japan’s biggest cosmetics company received a complaint that a consumer had bought a soap box that was empty. Immediately the authorities isolated the problem to the assembly line, which transported all the packaged boxes of soap to the delivery department. For some reason, one soap box went through the assembly line empty. Management asked its engineers to solve the problem. Post-haste, the engineers worked hard to devise an X-ray machine with high resolution monitors manned by two people to watch all the soap boxes that passed through the line to make sure they were not empty. No doubt, they worked hard and they worked fast but they spent whoopee amount to do so. But when a workman was posed with the same problem, did not get into complications of X-rays, etc but instead came out with another solution. He bought a strong industrial electric fan and pointed it at the assembly line. He switched the fan on, and as each soap box passed the fan, it simply blew the empty boxes out of the line.

Reflection

It is true that we all face problems of various sizes in our lives. For the most part, we are able to quickly solve them without much trouble at all, yet other cases can be far more difficult and when it comes to solving them, we tend to talk too much about the problem and allow less time solving it. There’s a famous quote that says “we are too busy mopping the floor to turn off the faucet”. We get so entangled in our problems that we forget to stop, remove ourselves from the situation and look at it with an ‘outsiders’ perspective. The good news is that every complex problem has a simple solution. There’s no need to always have to ‘tackle’ them. A huge obstacle for people is the way they view their problems: if you think that problems are completely threatening, or that having them is a sign of weakness or failure, and you see yourself as a bad problem solver, you won’t solve the problem at all! If you can be optimistic and look for the benefits and opportunities inherent within the problem, you are more likely to solve it effectively and efficiently. I believe that if you can apply this positive mindset to the obstacles in your life, you and the people around you be will be able to focus on what is really important, rather than dwelling on something that is out of your control. Rather apply all your energy and attention on creating a solution with long-lasting effects, than beating yourself up about something that is just there to challenge you.

May you have an awesome week, where problems become simple steps to higher levels of achievment.

Darren Zwiers

“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them” - Albert Einstein.

Leaving Footprints

(Story adapted from a talk given by Stef Duplessis)

There was a lost traveler who came across the footprints of a mule. The traveler was lost, so he figured that he’d follow the footprints; guessing that the mule knew where it was going. When the traveler looked closer he noticed that there was a drag mark on the right footprint and that there was a trail of grain that followed the prints. On the horizon he saw a village and a commotion in the village market. Making his way nearer, he came across an old man pleading for help. “My mule is lost, my mule is lost” the old man cried. “It has with it my only food, it is my only livestock, has anyone seen my mule?” No one in the market helped the old man and the crowd soon dispersed. The traveler asked “Old man tell me, this mule of yours does it have a lame leg? Does this mule of yours have grain on its back, one bag with a small hole in it?” “Yes, yes, yes!” replied the old man, “This is my mule! Where did you see it?” “I’m sorry” said the traveler. “I never saw your mule, but I can tell you where it’s been.”

Reflection

This is the same with our lives. We leave behind a track, a silent trail telling people, who and what we are, where we have been and how we have contributed to the world. A serious question you need to ask yourself is what footprints are you leaving behind? Are you leaving behind prints of contribution or greed, kindness or animosity? I know each and every one of us want to leave behind footprints of value, honour and achievement, yet we tend to forget that everything we do in our lives is recorded and when we look back and reflect, we always wished we did more or made better choices. Every day that passes is another day added to your legacy; accidental or not, you are always creating a legacy. Every moment that passes is an opportunity to do something great in your life, and when I say great I don’t mean cure hunger in Africa or find the answer to world peace, it can be as small as making tea for a colleague or letting the car go in front of you, because these small acts of greatness create small footprints which show the world who you are. Greatness isn’t something out of reach. You become great by the type of person you are, and what you accomplish during your time here. You have the power to consciously choose to influence and shape the future and to leave behind footprints of dignity, grandeur and respectability. Make sure that your footprints are seen for what you want to be remembered for.

May you have an awesome week, where the footprints you leave behind are one’s worth following, a path with no regrets.

Darren Zwiers

“No legacy is so rich as honesty”

― William Shakespeare.

The Mechanic and the Surgeon

As this email marks my 3 year anniversary of A Monday Inspiration, I would like to take the moment to thank you for being a part of what has been an awesome 3 years of writing. I always love hearing your thoughts, comments and feedback. So don't be shy to hit the reply button... Looking forward to many more Mondays in your inbox ;) 

A heart surgeon took his car to his local garage for a regular service, where he usually exchanged a little friendly banter with the owner, a skilled but not especially wealthy mechanic. "So tell me," says the mechanic, "I've been wondering about what we both do for a living, and how much more you get paid than me.." "Yes?.." says the surgeon. "Well look at this," says the mechanic, as he worked on a big complicated engine, "I check how it's running, open it up, fix the valves, and put it all back together so it works good as new.. We basically do the same job don't we? And yet you are paid ten times what I am - how do you explain that?" The surgeon thought for a moment, and smiling gently, replied,"Try it with the engine running.."

Reflection

After reading the above story, you can see that both the heart surgeon and the mechanic love what they do. But if the mechanic lived with the perception that his job was essentially the same as the heart surgeon and he was therefore underpaid he would certainly be unhappy. There is no way we can live our lives looking at other people, compare our skills with theirs and come to a conclusion on who should be earning more. There is a saying that goes “When you compare what you want with what you have, you will be unhappy. Rather compare what you deserve with what you have and you'll discover true happiness." There will always be someone prettier, smarter or richer than you… If you keep comparing yourself against others, you will lose your own sense of purpose. Helen Keller couldn't’t of said it any better; “Instead of comparing our lot with those who are more fortunate than we are, we should compare it with the lot of the great majority of our fellow men. It then appears that we are among the privileged." Stop comparing your self to others. We are all born to be different. We all have different mindsets, we interpret things differently, we have different experiences and we feel different emotions. The most successful people in this world celebrate their differences and use it to their advantage. At the end of the day, it is better to be the original you than to be a copy of somebody else as the best copycat in the world is still a copycat. Live life your way.

May you have an awesome week, where you can truly define your values and become the best version of YOU!

Darren Zwiers

“Everything you see or hear or experience in any way at all is specific to you. You create a universe by perceiving it, so everything in the universe you perceive is specific to you” – Douglas Adams.