The purple patches dotted across our northern suburbs’ skyline is truly something to behold at this time of year.
The bloom of the jacaranda trees isn’t always positive for those writing exams though – myth has it that if you haven’t started studying by the time the trees bloom, you’re bound to fail. But, if one of the pretty little flowers falls on your head, a pass is in your destiny.
These trees have another downside – they consume a lot of water. Classified as an invasive alien species, no more may be planted in our country.
For now, the bloom of the existing one’s signal crunch time at this time of year – a time when we are all busy – busy writing exams, busy finishing up year-end projects, busy making our final mark on 2017, just busy.
We’re busy doing instead of busy being.
This is a thought inspired by bucket list guru, Robby Kojetin, who told the 1st German Scout Group in Parktown recently of how he broke his two ankles and permanently damaged both joints in a climbing-wall accident that put him in a wheelchair for, what he calls, the longest year of his life, and how he went on to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He has now climbed five of the seven summits.
He pointed out how children often say what they hope to ‘be’ but adults will say what they ‘do’. “At some point in time, we stopped dreaming about what we wanted to be and started worrying about what we do,” said Kojetin.
What a thought to consider at this time when schoolchildren select their subjects for next year, matrics prepare for their next step, final year university students search for jobs, and we all set our goals for next year.
How would you answer Kojetin’s question, “If seven-year-old you were to walk in here today, would they greet you with a hug or a kick in the shins because you are what they believed their life would be?”
The time to start deciding who you want to be is now.
Share your answer with me at daniellap@caxton.co.za, and read more about Kojetin, visit www.robbyspeaks.com
