Life goes on and sometimes you just have to go along with it

Precisely two years ago, I resigned from my full-time employment.

For weeks, I was so scared of that bold (others can call it stupid) decision I made. At some point I wanted to rescind my resignation. Fear and doubt had crept in and the “what ifs” started to make me question my decision to leave.

However, there was an urgent need to free myself from the commitment of a full-time employment. This urgent need helped me overcome my fears. I constantly had to remind myself why I was doing this.

Furthermore, I didn’t want to compromise my work ethic and betray my principles by continuing to be in a place where my heart and head were no longer resided. I had to leave and go serve elsewhere.

My attitude towards any form of commitment, binding or not, is that one should be fully present at what they do. Show up. Be active. Participate entirely. Meet your deadlines and produce the highest quality of work. That is what I believe we should subscribe to where work and commitments are concerned.

When I got this tremendous opportunity to write a column for The Citizen’s readers, I was on cloud nine. I promised myself that I would meet my deadlines and write content that would always make the reader remember how it made them feel. I had also hoped that I would celebrate two, or even three years, with the newspaper as a columnist.

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It turns out, life has plans of its own for me.

I think I’m a nomad. Perhaps what makes my situation contradictory is the fact that I enjoy consistency and familiarity more than anything. But the opportunities and calculated risks of life always push me to a new habitation. I have never had a fixed habitation for more than five years, especially in this trying economy and industry. But I strive for one.

In his very popular book, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini posits that “life goes on, unmindful of beginning, end… crisis or catharsis, moving forward like a slow, dusty caravan of kochis [nomads]. That is precisely how I see my life unfolding before my eyes. It keeps moving and it forces me to move on with it”.

The lesson: When a new opportunity presents itself, sometimes you aren’t certain of how things will work out. The feeling of the unknown overwhelms you. Moreover, naturally you will be scared to let go of what you have been familiar with.

On the other hand, sometimes your joy is waiting for you on the other side.

“Life goes on, unmindful of beginning, end…”

Kabelo Chabalala.

Kabelo Chabalala is the founder and chairperson of the Young Men Movement (YMM), an organisation that focuses on the reconstruction of the socialisation of boys to create a new cohort of men.

Email: kabelo03chabalala@gmail.com
Twitter: @KabeloJay
Facebook: Kabelo Chabalala

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