Time or money?

Some memories money can't buy.

  Money is fleeting, here today gone tomorrow. So my answer would have to be Time. Inevitably the more you earn, the more you spend and there’ll simply never be enough of it. Whereas time is far more precious; how many times haven’t we wished for a few more minutes to lie in bed, hug a loved one or admire a beautiful sunset?

We’ve all become so obsessed with making money that we’ve lost the concept of spending quality time in a qualitative manner. There isn’t anything wrong working hard (and earning more), but one needs to strike a healthy balance between the desire to grow one's riches and the sacrifices one makes in pursuit thereof. My father was a perfect example of someone who strove to work as hard as possible to earn as much as he could so that he could give his family a comfortable life. As a child it was wonderful growing up and not wanting for anything, and I am eternally thankful to him, but as I grew older I soon realised that for all the toys he bought me meant little, because at the end of the day I still had no dad to show for it.

As a 35 year old male, and father (in waiting) I often catch myself thinking how different I could have been as a man had I had a relationship with my father. In hindsight, I would trade every single toy I ever had to have known and to have spent time with him. At the end of the day, what good did a healthy bank balance do for any of us, when all that we ever wanted was his time = love.

Image: http://www.artsdesiregifts.com/uploads/demdaco_fatherandson.jpg

I am...?



Uniqueness = Preciousness



  I am Niven Maree. I am a child of God. I am a husband to Janine. I am a dad in training. I am a son to Ellen. I am a brother to Lynne and Michelle. I am an uncle to Liam, Errine, Zaid and Carla. I am doggedly determined. I am comfortable with who I am (eventually). I am no longer fearful of authority. I am respectful thereof. I am an introvert. I am a lover of Cape Town (especially the mountain). I am in awe of my body (daily). I am thankful to the Lord. I am as you are. I am unique.

Image: http://bartonsurma.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/uniqueone.jpg

If you could do it all over again, would you change anything?

Stop! Appreciate the creation.

  This is a commonly asked question among people who harbour regrets about their lives. It is also often people who dedicate their lives in search of power, wealth, fame and fortune at the expense of love, family, humanity and God.

No, I wouldn’t change anything about my life. IF I were to change anything about my life it would be like removing one block out of a Jenga stack, it’d all come tumbling down. I am who I am. I am what I am.

I made major mistakes in my life, and I have learnt from them. I have achieved great things in life and I’ve learnt to remain humble. I have loved, and have learnt that life is precious.

Why would I ever want to change anything and do it all over again? God laid out my life before I was a twinkling in my father’s eye. Where I am, is where I am supposed to be. I am at peace.

Image: http://parents.glam.ac.uk/media/files/photos/JengaCutOut.jpg

You can’t choose the 15 minutes but why would you be world famous?



Standing in the spotlight.



  I imagine being famous as being too great a sacrifice, picturing it as having to sell a piece of one’s soul to the devil. Andy Warhol the Prince of Pop Art must have sold his whole soul because his fame was stratospheric, having spawned the visual modern art revolution as we have come to know it today.

His 15 minutes quip has stood the test of time, and has become somewhat of the motto of every person with an aspiration of becoming famous. So why do we want to be famous?

What is the motivation? Is it motivated by greed? Is it not more rewarding were one to simply stumble across it and become an overnight sensation? The one thing we can all be guaranteed of is that at some point in our lives our ‘worlds’ whether it be our families, communities or organisations, will shower us with a level of praise, giving us credit for having done something extraordinary, whether it’s the 15 minutes you’re looking for I don’t know.

The critical question that begs to be answered IS will the 15 minutes of fame be enough OR will you always be searching for more, to such a degree that you’d be prepared to sell your soul for it?

Image: http://www.artsz.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/andy-warhol.jpg

Have you done anything lately worth remembering?



Its a "Maree" Family affair



  I don’t consider myself an adventurous person, but recently my wife convinced me to do something out of character. On a recent holiday we returned to a town we’d fallen in love with on a previous trip to the Southern Cape. The Crags which is 15 minutes outside Plett is a real gem and one of those dorpies that if you blink to long you’d drive past it.

On our arrival we made a bee line to the Lawnwood Snake Sanctuary where the adventure begins. As someone who is poep scared of reptiles, never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d visit a snake sanctuary let alone re-visit one. Needless to say, being around my wife, mom and nephew, I couldn’t be seen to be scared, handling all sorts of reptiles. Drum roll please. This all changed when we were introduced to Stephie.

Stephie ladies and gents is a 20kg albino Burmese Python, who IF she wanted to, could tuck into me as her Sunday lunch, no questions asked. Hatching a plan, I invited my whole family to join in holding Stephie; just in case she got any ideas, she’d have a smorgasbord of human to choose from. Fortunately she wasn’t in the mood.



Look Ma ...



The odd thing about having a 20kg writhing ‘handbag’ around my neck was I secretly thought to myself “Look Ma, I’m like Britney Spears”. Fortunately my wife was near quelling any desire to gyrate just like ol’ trailer trash Britney (lol). While walking back to the car and after the whole snake ordeal I caught myself asking the question. Was I more ashamed of (1) being scared holding a relatively docile python (around my neck) or (2) likening myself to Britney spears, wanting to do a quick jiggie (with a python around my neck)?

Who cares, and whichever it was, the Lawnwood Sanctuary and the whole of the Southern Cape is a treasure trove of beauty and sheer fun. Do yourself a favour, pack the car and go there, it’ll be a holiday filled with experiences that you as I’ll be hard pressed to ever forget.

Image: http://www.nme.com/images/gallery/BritneySpearsPA200511.jpg

A skill set called leadership.



Can the real Slim Shady please stand up!



  Leadership according to the Oxford Dictionary encompasses the action of one person or of a collective leading a group of people or an organization. Too my mind that requires a very defined and specific skill set. Leadership isn’t for everyone. Further to this a leader should be trustworthy, have the relevant working experience and be charismatic enough to leading his or her people through tumultuous times.

So where do OUR leaders fit in? Many of them are ill equipped resulting in their incompetence in delivery while still cashing the salary, living the lifestyle without actually getting their hands dirty (except of course when they’re busy raiding state coffers). Admittedly this cannot be said for all of our politicians, but for the vast majority it is business as usual. Will we ever see the likes of another Madiba? Will we ever have another great leader who inspired confidence and lead based on integrity and humanity?

Have our leaders simply become deaf to the plight of its citizens? Do they intend sitting in their ivory towers while keeping the country’s people on the brink of starvation, death and illiteracy, not feeding them any food or education but only promises of a brighter future? The sad thing is, as election time draws near the political campaign juggernaut kicks into place and the empty promises are spewed forth, fooling the masses into believing that this time our leaders will actually listen and that it will all be different. Aluta Continua!

Image:  http://216.70.82.181/new-blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/leadership.jpg

A tween stuck in the 80’s?



Take a trip down memory lane.



  Growing up with older sisters in the 80’s was, loud and colourful, referring NOT only to their dress sense but also the music. Having spent lots of time with them indoors (because my mother wouldn’t allow me to play with the seedy kids in the street) I inevitably grew to love all music that represented the 80’s.

Rest assured that this is no ode to Michael Jackson, Wham, Tears for Fears, Fleetwood Mac, George Benson, Depeche Mode, Madonna or Boy George (and the list goes on), but simply a thanks to my sisters who as much as I don’t like admitting it moulded me and my music taste, which in turn as much as I don’t like to admit it, moulded me and who and what I am today. Despite being a child of the Generation Y period (those born in the late 70’s) and spending my teens in the 90’s and early adulthood in the 00’s, it cannot be denied that music from the 80’s was Simply the Best (courtesy of Tina Turner).

Image: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaOWQWdAcMDRwRAlu7wWDg7p1JyQ__Hi8icvBmpvLJN8fFrYWJoseTAdYTQW3undsN2U-sMjxWZSLto6nOpn-HBZEEGR4w4kAqmHWLyVa6ao9pYtgCoDuygjAMS4Oxucn29OG2Iw2nbqg/s1600/80s+collage.jpg

Rock journalism ...

Never judge a book by its cover.

Frank Zappa, is and will always be remembered as a musician; but what many people aren’t aware of was his crusade to rid the world of mediocrity, while tearing down barriers the only way he knew how, through his music.

Zappa, a highly intelligent musician had not only an influenced his peers (in rock, jazz or classical genres) and scores of musicians to follow; but he also impacted science and art in America.

How many musicians can claim that they have an animal or arachnid species named after them? Zappa’s definition of rock journalism, is definitive of a man who never only subscribed to rock music, although it was his first love, he saw the intrinsic beauty in all musical genres. Zappa in his pursuit of mastering as many genres as possible showed the world that music (even rock) can be used as a means to educate and convey stories which would otherwise never have been told.

“Drop out of school before your mind rots from exposure to our mediocre educational system. Forget about the Senior Prom and go to the library and educate yourself if you've got any guts. Some of you like Pep rallies and plastic robots who tell you what to read.” ― Frank Zappa

Quote source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MV2jMz2EpKI/TwXQ-xMHweI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/IQwWl-BpUDE/s1600/zappa.jpg

List your top 200 achievements.

     



1.       Learning to TRUST God. He is above everything and everyone.

2.       Realising before it is too late that a relationship with Jesus is critical.

3.       My personal and daily growth in the Lord only comes through the Bible.

4.       Having the opportunity to wake up each day to face a new day.

5.       Finding and marrying my wife, my queen and best friend.

6.       Having a family (mom, and sisters and nephews + nieces that I love).

7.       Finding employment that I actually love and enjoy doing.

8.       By the Grace of God still being alive when I should not have been.

9.       Coming to the realisation that money is NOT the most important thing in life.

10.   Being at peace with who I am.

Now, to get my top 200 achievements, all you simply need to do is multiply these top 10 by 20 and Voila.

Image: http://lovegururu.com/wp-content/uploads/i-love-God.jpg

Memories are made of …



We're not perfect. But we're getting there!



 

Thank God for Family. Thank God for their uniqueness, the challenges, the struggles, the arguments, the reconciliation and the time spend gathered together while listening to little person’s voices in the background.

That’s what MY memories are made of. I have recently been granted the pleasure of spending time, maybe not as much as I would have hoped for with them, but I am thankful for what we were granted. There isn’t much else I can say other than I don’t know when next we will see each other because this is a gift many people in the world do not have or ever get the opportunity to experience.

Just as I am about to be remotely ungrateful I stop myself and give thanks to God for my family, their lives, their imperfections and their unique and quirky ways.

Image: http://creativestickers.com/stickerstore/images/family%202_r2_c2.jpg