Look Up!

A Primary School teacher asks her students to write an essay about what they would like God to do for them.

This is the essay one of them wrote:

'Oh God, tonight I ask you something very special: Make me into a Television. I want to be the TV in my house. Have my own special place, and have my family around me. To be taken seriously when I talk. I want to be the centre of attention and be heard without interruptions or questions. Have the company of my dad when he arrives home from work, even when he is tired. I want my mom to want me when she is sad and upset, instead of ignoring me. And ... I want my brothers to fight to be with me ... I want the family to just leave everything aside, very now and then, to spend some time with me. And last but not least, ensure that I can make them all happy and entertain them. Lord I don't ask you for much. I just want to be like a TV.'

My Reflection:

In today's modern world it is less about the TV and more about our mobiles, tablets and computers. We have made these new age items the centre of our lives and we are all guilty of this - myself included. Yes it is true that technology is keeping us in touch with our friends all over the world, but at the same time it’s also isolating us from the ‘real’ world… We are always ‘connected’ but are completely ‘disconnected’ from the people right in front of us.

A study, at the Tel Aviv University, concluded that technology addiction should be regarded as a disorder on a par with gambling, sex addiction and kleptomania. The research showed users were addicted because they become irritable when away from technology. So from today, limit your time on the laptop and every now and again go out without your phone… This is an uncomfortable task as our mobile is attached to us a like a limb, but every now and again it can be quite liberating.

This video is what gave me a shock wake up call.
(I highly recommend you watch it too)

'Look Up' - A spoken word film for an online generation

"Look up from your phone, shut down that display, take in your surroundings, and make the most of today. Just one real connection is all it can take, to show you the difference that being there can make."

May you have an awesome week.
Darren Zwiers

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.”― Henry David Thoreau

The Bath and The Bucket

A group of suppliers were being given a tour of a mental hospital. One of the visitors had made some very insulting remarks about the patients. After the tour the visitors were introduced to various members of staff in the canteen. The rude visitor chatted to one of the security staff, Bill, a kindly and wise ex-policeman. "Are they all raving loonies in here then?" said the rude man. "Only the ones who fail the test," said Bill. "What's the test?" said the man. "Well, we show them a bath full of water, a bucket, a jug and an egg-cup, and we ask them what's the quickest way to empty the bath," said Bill. "Oh I see, simple - the normal ones know it's the bucket, right?" "No actually," said Bill, "the normal ones say pull out the plug. Should I check when there's a bed free for you?"

My Reflection:

We can’t pretend that we don’t ever judge other people - it’s a combination of an 'innate setup’ that all humans posses, and something we develop overtime. We all judge people, there’s no escaping that! What’s really important is to know when you are judging someone and knowing that a bad judgement of someone can be harmful to both your perception of that person and what you tell others. Recognising your judgements can allow you to do it favourably. The judging itself isn’t bad, as you can always spin it to the positive. When you see someone less fortunate than you, or someone who is struggling with challenges, big or small, don’t start judging them as it’s impossible to genuinely help them from a place of judgment. Once you let you go of judgement you will arrive at a place of acceptance, curiosity and empathy and then you can you really help those in need. The added bonus is you’ll be a lot happier in the process too.


Have an awesome week!
Darren Zwiers

“People hasten to judge in order not to be judged themselves.”  ― Albert Camus, The Fall

Glass and Silver

Author Unknown

A man once became rich and his lifestyle changed. He became hard-hearted and selfish. One day, he was visited by an old friend who had taught him about acts of kindness. The rich man showed off his beautiful home and boasted to his friend about his wealth. Noticing the change in him, his friend called him to the window. Pointing to the outside, he asked, "What do you see?" "I see poor people passing by trying to earn a living" he replied. Walking over to a large mirror the friend told the rich man to look in. "Now what do you see?"  "Myself, of course." "I don't understand," said the old friend. "Both the window and the mirror are made of glass. Yet when you look through the window, you see the poor people outside but when you look at the mirror, you see only yourself!" "The reason is simple!" said the rich man. "The mirror has a silver coating which prevents you from seeing through. However, the window has no silver coating, so you can see through."

Reflection

As we all progress and become successful in our careers and lives, our lifestyles change and so does our outlook on the rest of the world. Money is a very powerful force in our lives, it can make or break a person. As the story above points out… never let your moral compass become uncalibrated due to money. Sometimes our troubles begin when a bit of silver is added into our lives, and we start looking too much at ourselves and stop seeing other people. It’s important to always stay humble and to keep caring for the people around us as we journey through life. I read a great article about 15 successful billionaires who prove that “money doesn’t always change you“.
You can read it here (Business Insider  JAN. 16, 2013)

Remember always make sense with your cents :)

Have an awesome week!
Darren Zwiers

“Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself – and be lenient to everybody else.” —Henry Ward Beecher

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