Be greater than the moment
We can choose to survive in the moment that is or we can choose to thrive beyond the limits of self, others and the environment and be greater than this moment. We can choose to be inspired by the desire to do and keep doing it or we can choose to be inspired by the need to be and do what it takes to get there.
If we know our purpose for living then we can be greater than the moment and see beyond the anomalies of the current situation we are in, but if we don’t, then every moment, every event in our life becomes a life determining moment, a life determining event.
Speaking to a group of young people in Dar es Salaam earlier this week about the legacy of the Father of this nation and what it should mean to youth, my heart ached for an answer to the many questions emanating from the issues of the moment; issues that often transform even the best of the good into the worst of the bad.
Their innocent hearts and minds have paid witness to the worst of our human state as selfishness and greed overwhelm our ability to think and act with the interest of others at mind let alone at heart. They have witnessed multitudes of innocent people get ‘murdered’ and guilty people get away with ‘murder’; making them question the most basic of social values that they have only heard about through books and social rhetoric.
They are a generation lost, if not forgone by a society so consumed by self preservation that it does not notice what carnage lies behind its unrelenting appetite for more at any cost. My heart aches because of the magnitude of this reality that is before us; a reality so grim that it is cause for loss of hope by even those with the strongest will and determination as all the forces seem destined for this one and most ill fate.
It is easy to fall victim to the forces of such a moment (or any at that) and form a crippling alliance with the status quo by choosing to do nothing or doing everything but what really matters. We must not forget that we are victims not because we are meant to be victims, but because we choose to be victims and they are victors not because they are meant to be victors but because they choose to be victors.
If we do not play our part in arresting these social vises then we are just as guilty as the offenders are for committing them. In effect, by doing nothing we validate these acts in the eyes of a generation that knows no better. Remember, that a few people can only abuse power if a lot of people choose to let them.
There is no tribute more befitting the legacy of the father of this great nation (or any nation) than that of us, the people, playing our part even when everyone else chooses
not to. We must always choose to play our part.
As we remember the late Mwalimu JK Nyerere, let us also pray for our Nation; a Nation in need of a rebirth; a Nation in need of a resurgence of hope and belief in the prosperity and welfare of its entire people and not just an elite few. We can only do this if we, as a people, choose, from our hearts and minds, to be greater than the moment…
Be greater than the moment.
Be greater than the moment.
Be greater than the moment.
I dedicate this piece to the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson, the Father of this great nation, Mwalimu JK Nyerere, the graduates of Tumaini University 2009 that I could not manage to join yesterday apart from my sincere desire to do so and to all those who are touched by it in anyway.
Remember in 2009 and beyond to always be greater than the moment.
