Peace and serenity in turmoil

As the world rushes towards materialism, we gradually lose our sense of self or worse, we go further and further from the purpose for which we were created. Man – the splitting image of his Creator – arrives into this world crying. This must signify something besides the fact that the child is alive. Perhaps the child is traumatised by the thought of leaving his perfect abode of peace and serenity to find his purpose and meaning in a life of turmoil. The thought alone is eerie and can send even the fiercest fighter into a state of panic.Let’s face it, fear is real, especially the fear of the unknown. When one moves from what one is accustomed to, or from habit to a new venture, fear crops in. Imagine a boy that has lived an indigent life in a rural setting and all of a sudden is thrust into the lap of luxury in the city! Adjusting to that type of life can become a mater of life and death. In the same breath, the child – a product of love – is unable to contemplate the hardships of temporal life hence it starts off crying. This wailing will become a constant feature of the child’s journey as it progresses into adulthood. Let’s all be clear about one thing – life is not a bed of roses – we beat ourselves up trying to find food to eat, clothes to wear, house to live in and land to till. Sadly, these trappings of life come at a cost for the human soul. Some lose their souls in their quest to amass these trappings. Very few and I mean a negligible few, are able to master the art of balance and are able to minister to their souls and at the same time nurture their bodies. As a toddler, we have nothing to worry about. Our parents are there to provide for us; we make friends easily because we are unadulterated, but as we grow up, we begin to make choices that stray us from our humanity. For example, we start to realise that our neighbours don’t speak the same language or don’t have the same skin pigment as us. We notice that our classmates or workmates are rich and by rich we mean that they have silver and gold and are able to buy all the things that they need without a hassle whilst we go to bed hungry or cannot get a job.Hard as we may try, we fail to satiate this void because we turn to material things. The answer lies not in accumulating the knowledge and wisdom of this world, rather it comes in finding our way back to our purpose of life. Why were I created a human being and not an elephant or a tree or fish or bird, after all we are just mere creatures. Don’t let us deceive ourselves, true happiness can’t be found in owning all the riches of this world! What good does it benefit a man who goes and wins the world and loses his soul? The greatest task ahead for all of humanity is to return to its creator, yet we have become so arrogant and stubborn some of us think that by owning a ranch; the latest top of the range SUV or owning estates all over the country and abroad can fill the emptiness we feel when we are all alone. Botswana is reverred throughout the world as an oasis of peace and tranquility in a region of madness. His Grace has sustained us this far. Our national anthem holds this our land, as an inheritance of our forefathers and implores us to maintaain it in perpetual peace. But I want to challenge all and sundry to ask ourselves what our role is in maintaining the peace that has been our national heritage for so long? Do we speak out when evil in high and low places and in whatever guise or disguise – rears its ugly head? Are we bold enough to defend the laws of natural justice – the unwritten code that demands equal treatment of all men, or do we sulk and find comfort in our cocoons when danger lurks - fence sitting and afraid to be seen to be rabble rousers? Peace comes at a price, we must contend with this trusim.To defend the peace of the nation, we must first have peace within ourselves, otherwise anything else is an exercise in futility - it’s just like a blind man trying to lead another blind man!