THE END IS UPON ALL OF US

AHMED Kathrada, a man who devoted his life to the deconstruction of the apartheid regime and Mandela’s friend, passed away yesterday morning.

When a person of Kathrada’s stature passes on, we are inundated with dedications and are reminded of the work they contributed to our society. It’s in these moments where we can be confronted with our own ideas and notions of mortality.

Kathrada was 87 when he passed and by all standards, that’s a long life. I’m not even 30 and I’m tired of life, it’s such an effort. The biggest confrontation we face when one dies is what did you do while you lived? What was your contribution and what will you be most remembered for?

These may seem like such inconsequential, non-affective questions but at times, dying is all I can think of and the thought of my own unpredictable passing triggers and incites this overwhelming fear to get things done. Not only that, but to live my life to my fullest capabilities.

Society

Sometimes, especially those who still have youth on their side, tend to live recklessly. By reckless, I don’t mean the obvious physical manifestation of reckless that society deems to alcohol or drugs or babies everywhere. For me reckless means living life without a plan to be better or do better.

I know we tend to suppose that financial success is the ultimate goal. Sure, having money is nice, it’s really nice. But material success doesn’t equate to personal success.

I think as human beings we conveniently forget that one of our first directives, encoded in our DNA even, are to adapt or die. Adapting is doing better than you did yesterday. It’s impractical to not improve yourself, to learn from your mistakes.

I’m trying to address that sometimes we traverse this river of life focused on things that seem immaterial to our growth as human beings.
 As someone once pointed out to me, is that when you’re laid to rest in that cemetery, your entire existence is summed up by just a dash between your date of birth and the day you died.

Your true summation of your life remain in your deeds on earth and how people remember you.
Let’s remember that, how you affect people will be your legacy, not the house you built on top of the hill or the fancy car you purchased before everyone.

When you pass, you live in people’s memories. Those moments you take for granted, the times you were supposed to show up for your friends or family and didn’t, the Christmas lunches.

That’s where legacies are created, in small gestures of love. I promise you, how you make people feel lasts, because emotions leave a mark. On your spirit. Heck, they’re even studies that attempt to show that feelings have an effect on our bodies too.

It’s imperative to be aware of these things, also I’m not saying this is the only way to live. Please go ahead and make history, push your career to the stratosphere but in your pursuit of such career and social success, never forget to be good to yourself and to other people.

Life is way too short and it was Kathrada  himself who said that  about Mandela’s passing back in 2013: “In death you once more challenge people from every strata, religion and position to think about how their actions do and can change the world for better or worse.” 

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