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WHAT I HAVE OR WHO I AM?

08/04/2017 00:46:00 By Khanyisani Dlamini

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The other day I came back from school and asked my younger sibling a question; would you rather have E1000 or a very kind heart?

She said E1000 and I further asked why and her reply was that Barbie dolls are expensive nowadays! (I rolled my eyes at that) but it got me thinking. If a 10-year old wants material things and not a kind heart, then what about our society?

People have moved from feeling blessed at church too feeling blessed when someone decides to shower them with money and presents. If you say “Pastor I am blessed.” Nowadays the pastor raises an eyebrow when hearing that remark and some even go further and ask “Who is blessing you my child?” Why do we try so hard to please people and in the process lose ourselves?

It’s true that we all need money but if our hearts are empty, we would not spend the money wisely and most likely hurt the people we would need most when our pockets become empty. One lesson we should know is that money is two faced ‘one minute it’s here, next minute its gone’, and the sad thing about it is that it never leaves a piece of paper with tear stains or a note that says goodbye.

A few people believe in love today (not that I know anything) and this is because money has destroyed trust. People only love you when they see what you have and after they’ve answered their questions such as ‘will my partner actually afford my needs and wants?’
The question that they actually should be asking is ‘does my partner really love me?’

The reason why we have a number of divorce cases and violence in relationships today is because instead of falling in love with who the person is, people fall in love with what the person has.
It’s all great at the beginning but as time goes on, your soul craves happiness and your mouth begs for a smile.

An old couple that had been together for 65 years shared that the reason why they had been together for so long was because back then love was not about using the latest phone or latest car to show ‘the person you love’ that you would take care of them, but love was using the little you had to express your feelings in a quiet but truthful manner.

I was walking around the Manzini Bus Rank the other day and three high school girls were having an umgosi moment behind me.
One of them said “Love is blind but money can see!” My ears couldn’t believe what they were hearing and I had to force my legs to keep moving because a part of me wanted to turn around and say “What did you just say?” But then again I remembered that I had already received 10 threatening calls from my time cautious mum, but this statement hit me like an unexpected hurricane.

So according to them, love doesn’t have benefits, but money would see what you want and provide for it.
Money doesn’t always last but love is with you through difficulties, pain, anger and disappointments. It used to be “show respect to everyone,” now it is, respect the titled and suck up to the rich so that you also become a ‘somebody’. Some parents encourage their children to associate themselves with children from rich families; what happened to the parents who identify good character traits and then encourage their children to make friends with those kinds of people?

What has happened to our inner beauty? Why have we allowed our inner beauty to disappear, and leave no trace?
Don’t ever forget that one day you will be a memory to some people, try your best to make sure that you are remembered and respected.
I believe that if that were to happen people would want to use your memory as a reflection of their lives. It’s impossible to please everyone but it is possible to lead a life that shows a heart full of kindness, patience, gratitude and satisfaction. Instead of striving for gold, start with striving for a heart of gold.

You know how it all starts? It starts when our eyes don’t want to focus on what we have and start looking around for what we don’t have: SATISFACTION! Appreciate what you have and stop poking your heart for answers to questions like, why can’t I have that? Personally I think that if you have a family where there is unity, happiness and satisfaction, you could proudly say I am rich! And that would be because these three things cannot be bought, and only a few people have found it.

It’s not what the person has; it’s who the person is.
You could have all the money in the world but if you don’t have inner beauty, you would never be happy. Working hard and trying to live a good life is a good thing but make sure that it doesn’t affect your family, your morals, your friends and your heart.

If you are too busy trying to be somebody, make sure that the people who love and care for you don’t get used to living life without you.
I’ll ask the question again…WHAT I HAVE OR WHO I AM?