WOZA 2012

So I don't usually get depressing, I like being a bit on the lighter side of life, yes I do.
But let me get deep for once in life, yes I am not all that shallow you know, I do go to church, I do have a bible, and I do watch Oprah every day at half past 5. What? Oprah is not on air anymore? *egg-on-face*

Have you asked yourselves why taxi drivers are the worste drivers on the planet earth. You thought it was only Joburg that had them, but no, everywhere they like that. Whether they're Zulu, Pedi, Ndebele Shangaan, or even English, a taxi driver is a taxi driver. You can have the most decently raised catholic young man, from a quiet rural area who ate all his vegetables and stayed away from girls, that will turn into a monster the moment the taxi owner says, "You're hired!"

Anyway on a more serious note, have you ever wondered why your mother prefers your sibling more than you? Have you ever wondered why your father hasn't been a substantial financial contributor to your life? You've tried many many times to try and twist his arm but everytime you wound up with a broken heart after he breaks the millionth promise he has made?
Have you ever wondered why you just have an arrogant, conceited, vengeful boss or senior colleague. Like everytime you try to be nice or courteous to them they always end up being nasty, still gossip about you, still treat you like an incompetent snobbish freak, that is a disappointing beneficiary of Affirmative Action?

I'm sure we've all had a brief series of moments where we look into our lives and wish that some part of our lives were different, that we went to an Ivy-League university where the people spoke a more fluent english, or we were born into a loftier family, with more attractive physical attributes like that irritating babe magnet from Selimathunzi, who is that guy? Is he even real? He looks like a mannequin!

Fact is life is bloody damn unfair, it is. I mean yes yes I know we can't have it all? But Why do I have to get the irresponsible father? Why didn't I get something else? Like bad spelling, or horrible grammar. I mean I would rather have horrible english than an irresponsible father, at least with horrible english I can become a spokesperson for a political organization, or a soccer player, or even that 5-skipas guy.

Anyway, it turns out that everybody in life does have that dark part, that part that they would rather not have, and we do have a tendency of seeing the benefits that our neighbours have and 'kgaleling'(lusting over) what they have. Often sneaking away into day dreams of how successful or happier or peaceful our lives would be if we had what they had.

I really don't know why some of this happens. I would be lying if I gave you one of those simplistic answers that all christians on facebook give. I hate simplistic cliches that try to paint every situation with the same brush, because not all problems are the same, it's even harder to accept the wisdom in cliches when the one facing the hardship is me.

There is something I have found in my own life though, that kind of helps me make sense of all the hardships thay I have faced in my life.

The truth is no matter how hard we try, no matter how hard we pray there are some people and circumstances that we cannot change. I'm talking about that type of holy ghost prayer where you start praying in tongues, quoting 50 scriptures all under the sacrifice of a 40-day fasting, and it still not change. Some things will remain the way they are and some people will just remain the way they are. In such situations after exhausting all probable remedies to the situation, you have to come to a place of acceptance, that things really are the way they are and there's nothing you can do about it.
I don't know what other people say but there are things that are impossible even for you who listens to all the TD Jakes tapes and John C Maxwell books. If you can't change certain things accept them, if you can't accept them leave them.

Khanye West says in a song, "God never gives you something you can't handle..."
I don't know what God he was talking about, because 2 lines later he launched into a rhyme filled with multiple and exotic swear words that would sure make the presence of any God run away. But if a rapper says something so strange then you should know it comes from a certain type of profound and deep realization. Amidst all the seemigly overwhelming challenges we face, there is a certain lesson to be learnt, or even a process to be undergone.
Many of the seemingly unfair 'occurences' in our lives are lessons, or character-developing courses that are necessary for the 'next' level of personal leadership, business and relationship. The ability to handle conflict now,(i.e. in our current lives) is a sort of prelude to the much more 'brighter' future before us. Crying and failing to deal with the challenges now is only a sign that you might not do well when tougher challenges occur.
So when tough challenges and people occur, and there is nothing in the 'Self-Help' handbook that will work, then try accepting the situation but above all else, exhaust it, by sucking all the lessons, principle and character development that you need for the next level, cause I don't know about you but I can't let an experience go without at least learning all I can from it.

We've got to remember that all the teachers in life are not dressed in suites, waltzing into lecture rooms and delivering well-researched theories and concepts. Some of lifes best teachers are circumstances and tests, that we face on a day-to-day basis.
Many of us reject their advice and end up in the same grade-of-life like those 27-year old looking boys in Matric. The university of life is the first school, with the strictest teachers and most heart-wrenching exams. I hate those surpise tests it gives... You know those tests that you had never studied for, never been taught on, never attended the lecture...sad aint it.

Basically what I meant to say is: As we go into 2012 please note:
1) Sometimes there are certain things you can't change even if you wanted to, so either accept them or move on, and
2) Even in those mistakes that you make, suck all the lessons that you can out of them and use those lessons for the next phase of life.

#Woza-2012