My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humour and some style.
Maya Angelou
Life is certainly for the living but that does not mean death cannot happen in the state of our daily existence. We tend to think of death only as taking our last breath on earth. But if death is “the destruction or permanent end of something”, what does that mean for those of us who have left life to chance?
The reality for many African women is that they constantly have to trade their joy for what they feel they should be honoured for. There is a constant struggle between societal expectations and deep personal desires, finding themselves looking away from the beckoning of their dreams and looking towards the limiting version presented to them by those that don’t have their best interests at heart.
BUT what if that didn’t have to be the shared experience? What if the experience transformed into collectively living with unwavering intention to make the most of our lives? To give up one’s responsibility to design a fulfilling life for themselves is to choose death whilst we still walk the earth. Whilst we may comfort ourselves with the possibility of an afterlife of unlimited joy, what of the guaranteed pleasure we can cultivate for ourselves on this earth?
Life is undoubtedly filled with its unending challenges, but it is also what you make of it. If we do not tenaciously go after the things that light us up and ignite childlike excitement within us, no one will labour to give to us. Leaving our life experiences completely in the hands of the people in our lives is playing a dangerous game. They might have our best interests at heart, but they do not know of the lives we dream of in the long showers and during the sleepless nights. They do not know of our deepest longings that we are sometimes too scared to even admit to ourselves.
What if like Maya Angelou we pursued a passion-filled life in which we fully thrived? Starting with the ‘little things’, like making time to read our favourite book or watch our favourite show. To the big things like finally starting that business despite the limiting beliefs in your head. For who do we expect to have agency over our own lives, if not us?
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