4 Things I Want to Confess!
The day the first ever FIFA World Cup in Africa is coming to an end, mine has just begun! I ask that you stay with me and follow closely. I have a few things to share.
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It is 03:00hrs in the early hours of 11th July 2010; I am (almost) lying down on my back, my eyes fixed on my laptop screen … with occasional glances on the keyboard, where my hands firmly rest, and my fingers having a field day typing every word that comes on my mind. I have a confession to make.
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Before I make the confession, I just want to say that the last few weeks have been the most growth oriented weeks of the recent times. Ironically, I have spent the last few weeks not reading books, blogs or writing articles; I have spent these times folding up my sleeves; getting down and dirty … I mean busy with WORK! The few times of relative “freedom” have been spent in quiet contemplation and self-analysis.
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I have also remembered not to forget to spend a bit more time with my family. But this has been a challenge for the most part. I am progressing well, though; I am running what I am calling my last mile (in terms of how I want to be spending my time); but that on another day, in another article (perhaps). For now, it is confession time!
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For the first time … to my friends, colleagues, mentors, spiritual teachers and the world, here are 4 things I want to confess:
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1. I Desire to Travel to Every Country in the World
It is becoming an increasingly strong desire. I want to travel to every country in the world … and I want to do this just for the sake of it; I just want to see and experience (even just for a moment) what is “there”!
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I figure that this is an audacious goal; the thought of it sends chills down my spine; especially when it dawns on me that there are not less than 196 countries in the world and i have not even begun!!
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I confess this, at the risk of being taken for someone who has yielded to the “vanity” of self-proclaimed world travel adventurers in the blogosphere. But that is okay; as with anything else in life, whatever “they” would think of me is only consequence my self-chosen way of life. I fully accept that.
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2. I Desire to Experience this “World Travel” with My Family
Is there anything better that experiencing the world with the people you call your family? Isn’t this what we are all here to do? To experience reality with the people we love? By any means necessary!!
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3. I Feel that, I Neither have the TIME nor the MONEY to Travel to Every Country in the World
I admit; I feel and fear that I neither have the time nor the money to travel to every country in the world. Given my travel experience or rather, a lack of it; it is not uncommon to have such fear. But I also realize that fear or uneasiness is a natural aspect of every great adventure … especially in the early days.
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Plus, who can really claim to be fearless? The only fearless people I know are either dead or brain dead; to be fearless is to be brain dead; pure and simple.
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Ok, to be fair I have an 8 to 5 job (which I love); added to that, I get paid not as much as I would love to; but I instinctively feel I can get around any of these challenges, real or imagined. And in any case, isn’t a fair challenge, not something I am looking for by wanting to pursue this audacious goal?
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4. I have decided to embark on a Journey to Every Country in the World … However Long it Will Take.
Yes, I have decided to give this thing a shot… however long it will take … as long as I have breath in my nostrils! I think that it is worth it. I hope I will always remain excited about it. One thing is for sure, I will need real Commitment (added to time and money, of course!!).
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Do I also need a Definite Plan?
Absolutely!
But I will not worry about that just yet; time will come for that. First I want to spell out my desire.
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You see, the trouble with worrying about plans before you write down your goal is that you put yourself at the risk of fashioning your desire according to your plans … and not the other way round. First, you ought to lay down your desire on paper and then fashion your plans according to this desire. That is how the great achievers painted on the canvas of history approached their dreams.
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So, for now I am comfortable saying that I currently don’t have a concrete plan of how to achieve this; I don’t even know if this is not a SMART goal (in the first place)… according as to what we are taught my mainstream goal setting and achievement books and courses. I will choose not to worry about that. All I know for now is that traveling to every country in the world is increasingly becoming an all-consuming purpose and desire worthy of immediate attention!
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Ok, I better get back to sleep now; it is 03:45 hrs. in the morning; but before I do that, I want to share with you a poem. I heard a preacher recite this poem at a conference I attended 3 years ago. It has much to do with everything I have said in this article.
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I lived first in a little nest
I lived there very well
The world to me was small and round
And made of pale blue shell
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I lived next in a little nest
And covered by my mother
The world to me was made of straw and covered by my mother
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One day I flattered from the nest
To see what I could find
The world was made of leaves, I had been very blind
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Alas I fluttered from the leaves and found the world so blue
Now, how the world is really made, I cannot tell
Can you?
Take Home Lesson
What lesson, do I want you to take home?
Simple;
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Never disregard your true, legitimate and heartfelt longings. They have been put there not to tease you but to give you a peek into what is possible for you; what you ought to be pursuing. For a start, never mind about achievement; concentrate your efforts on pursuit; everything else is a natural consequence.
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And always remember:
- You are not a human being seeking a spiritual experience; you are a spiritual being seeking a human experience.
- You have a lot to learn from every person you meet and,
- There is more (or even less) to life and the world than meets the eye.
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Until next time, Live Consciously and Love Unconditionally; this has the potential to change your life and the lives of people around you.
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Yours in Life, Passion and Simplicity,
Christopher Kabamba