“If I had no more time, No more time left to be here,

Would you cherish what we had? Was it everything that you were looking for? If I couldn’t feel your touch, And no longer were you with me,

I’d be wishing you were here, To be everything that I’d be looking for,

I don’t wanna forget the present is a gift,

And I don’t wanna take for granted the time you may have here with me,

‘Cause Lord only knows another day is not really guaranteed”- Alicia blaring through my earphones as I type this…for the 4^th time. I highlighted 2 sentences for a reason let it resonate in all we do!!

Shoo, another week almost done? My question to you would you is ‘are you living or letting life pass you by?’

Another pretty blessed week, in my world, but its not about me now is it ;-). I must tell u this though, I bought a small basic French dictionary. This is a massive thing for me, because learning French and Zulu has been a resolution of mne for at least the last 5 years or so, now if I can find a Zulu one I will be well on my way. Oh wait maybe you guys could help me, I bought a guitar a while ago and I want to learn how to play it, if anyone knows of someone who gives lessons or if any of you are keen to go learn guitar let me know, cos other than work, execution is not my strong point, cos stuff just keeps coming up, like doing nothing, going out, sleeping, playing squash, movies…u get the picture!

I was really humbled by effort some of you went through to respond to my emails last week. It honestly touches me that you all, inspite of your busy days still have time to find value out of some of the stuff I write and even more so that you respond.

I got some pretty decent responses, some were too long to post on the site, but if u r keen to read them please let me know and I will forward them to you, if that’s ok with the authors.

It should hopefully be a very short email this week. As most of us know today is the birthday of a great man, Nelson Mandela. A man by his on concession was not born a saint nor behaved like one, but this man has qualities we can all learn from.

• He is a man who decided to make a difference.
• He is a man who saw his circumstances and decided not to just complain but take action.
• He is a man who saw the plight and ill-treatment of those around him and decided this cant be right but I cant wait for others to fix it for me
• He is a man who lost 27 years of his life because he fought for what was right…note I said what was right not what may have been right.
• He is a man who even though incarcerated for 27 yrs and robbed of his freedom came out and set this nation and its people free
• He is a man who could have come out bitter and angry like most of us would have been if we felt we were wronged, but he said sorree, lets move forward
• He is a man who continues to use his influence and position to try and create a better life for those less fortunate than he through his foundations
• He is a man who even when times were rough saw the good in the situation
• He is a great man, not solely by actions but largely by deed!

And you know what, any of us can be that great person, even if just for one other person around us…Society is where it is now because of our lack of time for other people, that sales dude who keeps knocking on your door to sell his business card holder with a fountain. Take time to just listen to his story or offer him some courtesy. You CAN spare him 2 minutes, I promise you it won’t kill you. That guy who begs at your window, acknowledge him at least. The 10 secs it will take to say no thanks or whatever it won’t hurt you, what are u doing anyway, the robot is red, u aint going nowhere!

The world will be the place u make it and on that note let me be off before I start sounding like a preacher. It’s really so simple this life, but we CHOOSE to make it so difficult.

“We who walk in the shadow of a giant must stay the course.

It is up to us who have the ability to influence transformation to uphold the legacy of those heroes that have made the ultimate sacrifice for all who live in South Africa.

It is our duty to honour them by making sure we do all that is in our power to ensure that their legacy lives in our thoughts and deeds.” Its almost like my sister knew what I was writing about this week. She sent an email to me today and I had to copy and past this extract here.

Birthdays

13^th Mel Rose

15^th Garth and Naeem

18^th The great man

A fantastic weekend is my wish to you all!

Maximum respect

Y ….“Que sera sera”

Luckily this week my mind hasn’t been held captive by any song in particular.

2 additions to our list, Khash and Rache, hope u find value in these weekly rantings. If you have any comments please visit www.mondaymail.blogspot.com.

Before I get into this weeks email, just a little bit of education my mate dangerous Dave (Degs) insisted I share. Times are tough at the moment and I guess you don’t need me to tell you about that. So what is the primary root of all our misery? This animal called interest. Imagine this I am poked or not but I need a couch or a car depending but I currently don’t have the cash for it enter mr loan corporation. We’ll give u the money, but then we own u till u can pay us back. What it means is you borrow today to buy something and work hard for 6 mths…60mths….20yrs to pay for it. Alternative is simple, live within your means or work hard now so u will make enough to buy whatever it is you want or be a slave to your desires J

I might not look the part but I am always thinking, my mind takes leave of my body on many occasions and finds topics to ponder. This week thought is one I have had for many years. Its one that has hardly, if ever, left the crevices of my cranium.

I am not sure if any of you ever have such thoughts, but once in a while I ask myself where will my soul rest. And I know what some of my ‘more Christian’ friends and family will be saying to me, Yawza, if you are asking yourself this question then you really haven’t found Jesus.

And so begins my issue(s). I consider myself a Christian, not by name alone but by actions and by belief (even though diluted and questioning), that being said though, I have the utmost respect for other religions because I honestly believe many of us are very similar…enter the dilution and questioning…

I go to church pretty often but not necessarily regularly, I go because it feeds my soul for the week, then there are those times when we are all praying and everyone around me is speaking in tongues….basically mumbling a whole lot of stuff….everyone except me…more questioning…

Then I wonder before colonization, I don’t think Christianity was heard of on this continent, so what happened to all the good people that roamed this continent called Africa, but passed on before they were introduced to the Bible, were their souls banished to suffer eternal damnation?

Then there is the fact that during prayer, Jesus and God are used interchangeably, I struggle with that, because I understand the trinity Father, Son and Holy Ghost to be 3 distinct entities. In my mind being the son of God doesn’t make you God, does it? In the 10 commandments commandment 1 and 2 say that I am the Lord your God; you will have no other Gods but me…See how I struggle worshiping Jesus instead of God?

Just one more thing as well. I generally use things that I can refer to. In Ghana right, when I was last there I don’t think you could travel further than a km without seeing a church. But on a whole many Ghanaians have life pretty rough. Rough in that its not by any means a rich place. Rich in culture, rich in good people, but boss people struggle to make ends meet, but one thing is for sure is that their faith in the almighty is strong. It brings me to another question I have. Many of the worlds poorest suffer no end, yet their faith is strongest, some might argue that its because that’s really their only hope, but I would think that their faith would result in the Almighty favouring them more. I look at some of the worlds worst figures, they may ‘believe in God’ but their actions are contrary to what I believe to be the actions of a God – fearing person, but those are the ones that prosper, look at Bob Mugabe for an example.

I could go on, but I just thought I’d share some of my thoughts with you, took me a while to write this email, I honestly had no clue how to tackle it. I read a lot and listen plenty, but in my mind there are a lot of gaps. Some accept but I question, I put it out there so those out there more enlightened than I can impart their knowledge with the likes of me.

I trust you will have a pleasant weekend and week till we next speak. Stay blessed, I for one truly am ;-)

Birthdays

8^th Mel Ramjee, DJ

11^th Rudi Leigh, Santie

12^th Yao, Marc Cohen

Much respect to the masses

There is a new motto I think we should all adopt, it got reiterated in a conversation with my bro Dave and that is ‘each one teach one’, imagine how many of the worlds problems would be alleviated if we took the time out to impart knowledge. A lot of people don’t know about the perils of debt for example your domestics etc. take a few minutes to speak to them about it, so at least they make an informed decision!

Y

Que sera sera

“Should i give up, Or should i just keep chasing pavements?
Even if it leads nowhere, Or would it be a waste? Even If i knew my place should i leave it there? Should i give up, Or should i just keep chasing pavements? Even if it leads nowhere”…Adele

I know its so last season this song, but hope it stays in your heads the whole weekend like it’s been lingering in mine for the last 2 dam n weeks!! Been a while ey anyway still very bright eyed and bushy tailed feeling very blessed/lucky whatever floats ur boat. Positive mind, positive life, pretty simple try it sometime!! 
I heard something last Sunday that I thought I should share with u all…the root of all our unhappiness is because we choose to compare things, particularly the past to the present. It makes sense doesn’t it? We compare what we used to look like, what we used to have etc etc to what we currently have and sometimes what we once had is no longer, but we forget to look at the good things that have taken its place…

It took well over a month for Zim electoral commission to declare the last results, but these results were given out in a day and a bit if even…hmmm!!! Fair enough it was just presidential elections but I am sure it was the same amount of polling stations involved. Then there was his outburst to the reporter calling him a stupid idiot or something to that effect, if that isn’t the voice of someone who has lost the plot then I guess my name really isn’t Yaw. I found it embarrassing and then there were voices in the background spurring him on…”tell him tell him” children!!

My biggest disappointment though is the silence of the AU leaders (well at least some, Nigeria, Malawi and Botswana as far as I can remember have stated that they don’t accept the results), this was Africas one chance of taking charge and doing something significant, but instead our leaders turn a blind eye. I am the biggest supporter of this country and this continent, we have every possible resource and potential in abundance but the lack of leadership that can take or make those tough decisions will keep crippling us till kingdom come. I really am at a loss for words. I am just an average joe, I may not know the history of how Zim has gotten to where its gotten to, I haven’t been there yes, but I know people who have , black, white, tall, short and they all say the same it’s a F*** up! I can see where it is and I know that NOTHING will change if Bob stays in power. But I know we are bored with this topic, the sad thing is for us it’s a topic for many a Zimbabwean its their reality!!

Then we have Mr ANCYL saying he will kill for Zuma then Mr Vavi not wanting to be outshone re-iterates this. Where are we? But then again that as I say that epitomizes the violent nature of us South Africans, anyone who wants to challenge that please do put ur hands up in the air. Violence surrounds us, its been in our past, present and until we do something about it it will be in our future. You are in a night club a guy walks past another and bumps him cos the place is packed the other guy is like listen d**s, I’m gonna f**ken m*er you”…and then what does that make you. We have come a long way but we still have a long way to go and once again let me say it again…get to know each other, understand what makes us all tick, its so easy this!!

Something very different this week thanks to Mike, please read below:

Joburg’s Biggest Walker – An 8-week Green House Gas (GHG) emissions challenge

Background
With the cost of petrol & diesel rising almost as rapidly as our collective consciousness about global warming, perhaps it’s time we Joburgers set out to see if we REALLY need our cars.
In the absence of what we believe to be reliable and/or sustainable alternatives, one must question whether there are NO alternatives to single occupancy high pollutant vehicles, or if we’re just too busy to test our assumptions.

The Challenge
Can you measure your direct impact on this environment (Phase I) and then make a concerted effort to reduce it (Phase II)?
Phase I consists of a 4-week baseline measurement, whereby you would be expected to:
1. On Sunday the 6th of July…fill up your vehicle (full-full)…and take an odometer reading (OR)
2. By Wednesday the 9th of July…send your OR to michael@trialogue.co.za along with your name, as well as the make, model and year of your vehicle…plus whether it consumes petrol or diesel
3. For the next 4 weeks…every time you purchase fuel, you must submit the following data:
a. Cost of fuel (Rands)
b. Amount of fuel (litres)
c. Updated OR
4. During this 4-week period, you should try to identify possible alternatives to your regular driving patterns (walk, cycle, car pool, public transit, etc.)
5. At the end of the 4 weeks…on Sunday the 3rd of August…you must re-fill your vehicle (full-full) and submit the above data (as per #3, above)
6. From Monday the 4th of August through to Sunday the 31st of August, you should apply some of the strategies identified in #4…attempting to reduce your reliance on your vehicle.
7. For the next 4 weeks…every time you purchase fuel, you must submit the following data:
a. Cost of fuel (Rands)
b. Amount of fuel (litres)
c. Updated OR
8. During this 4-week period, you should try to keep a log of any non-standard car-pooling that you engage in…submitting a record of the number of ‘non-standard car-pool kilometres’
a. NOTE: These kilometres will be factored to reduce your GHG impact by 1/3
9. At the end of the 8-week period, you will be provided a report of your success…relative to all the other participants…with an ultimate “Joburg’s Biggest Walker” being identified and awarded

The Cost
Entry into this initiative will cost R50 per person…with the ultimate assumption being that you SHOULD recoup this cost through savings in fuel purchases.
ALL proceeds will go proving awards to “Joburg’s Biggest Walker” and “Joburg’s Most Creative Non-Polluter”.

The Awards
60% of all contributions will be awarded to “Joburg’s Biggest Walker”, and the remaining 40% will be awarded to “Joburg’s Most Creative Non-Polluter”.
These funds will not be payable as ‘cash’, but rather the Rand value equivalent in trees…to be planted at a school or community project of the winner’s choice.

Rules
1. You can’t cheat! You will be expected to participate honestly…with no attempts to jimmy the numbers (Note: at least one math boffin will be used to test for anomalies).
2. You must fill ‘full-full’ on both the 6th of July and the 3rd of August.
3. Any lapse in providing the necessary fuel purchase data will result in using published ‘in-town consumption’ figures for your make and model of vehicle.

Judging
1. The numbers will judge themselves…although the math boffin will, as mentioned, test for anomalies.
2. The title of ‘Joburg’s Most Creative Non-Polluter’ will be judged by the entire team of participants. Any member wishing to tell a specific story about how they managed to cut down their fuel consumption and/or how the project impacted on other areas of their polluting life will be allowed to submit their story to the rest of the team. Stories must be submitted no later than Sunday the 7th of September. Each participant will be asked to rate their 1st (3 points), 2nd (2 points) and 3rd (1 point) choice, with the results being tallied and shared with the team…and the ultimate winner being identified through the stats.

The Celebration
On dates to be announced (sometime in October), ALL participants in this project will be invited to join the winners at the identified ‘tree recipient’…to help plant the trees and (if necessary) to help clean up the site.

The Ultimate Spin-Offs
If we can get enough people to participate, there is a distinct possibility that between the amount of direct GHG reductions (i.e., reduced fuel consumption) and the off-sets resulting from the planted trees could neutralize the team’s 4-week transportation-related carbon footprint.
Moreover, it is assumed that the ‘tree recipients’ would be educated about the need for trees…potentially impacting future generations of GHG emitters.
Yet more…it is possible that this could be written up either as an article or a case study, to be replicated by others, thereby leading to future GHG Challenges elsewhere…and thus even more carbon reductions.

ARE YOU IN?

Let me know and I will forward your names.

In closing, if you guys don’t already, if you are looking for an alternative to “Shorty wanna thug, models in the club….like a Lollypop” try talk radio 702 in the evenings some quality listening.

Birthdays
17th June Tas Domingo
20th Kgash and Jake
21st Hamish
22nd Dakes and Simmybunny
23rd Pete K
24th Gretchen
27th Rule and Gail
29th Simone and Celeste M
30th Dineo
1st July KJ Magil
3rd Jenn

Take it easi all

Que sera sera

Y