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My Journey with Bob

A few weeks ago, I was chatting with my wife and I told her that I saw on Facebook a picture of a fellow Burundian who had won the lottery in Ottawa. I told her that I know the guy and that it was cool to win the lottery at such a young age. She then asked me how old the guy was. I told her that I thought he might me one or two years older than me. She then said: “Is that what you call young?”

I guess I cannot say I am young anymore.

Last week, as I was doing some work at home, I thought it would be a great idea to listen to music while I am working. By the magic of Youtube, I found a Bob Marley concert, and I thought I would watch it while working at the same time (yes, sometimes it possible).

As the music started to play, I was brought back to my youth. We used to listen to that music back in the days under the tree in Ngagara (where I grew up), without even understanding the lyrics. It was one of the greatest moments of my life. I started to remember all the great friends I grew up with, and wondered what they had become. I know some of them have died; some others are in Europe, Canada, Burundi, Rwanda…, and one of them is now a priest. Wow!

I have to admit, some of Bob Marley’s songs brought tears in my eyes. I guess that is the power of music. Sometimes it can bring you back in time and make you remember where you were when you heard the songs for the first time. Man, we had fun.

As I am thinking about it, it seems like it was yesterday. Time really flies. No wonder my wife says that I am old lol. I really wish I can go back in time and relive those moments, when we were care free, when Burundi was such a peaceful country, when we could spend the whole summer playing soccer, and later Basketball without thinking much about the future.

I am sure that, many years from now, I will be thinking about this present moment, and saying that it was great to be with my three year old daughter, laughing and playing, but now she is away in College. I will be saying that it was so amazing to be with great friends at my local church, and now many of them have moved to different cities that I don’t see them anymore, blablabla

You know what? As good as it is to remember the past as the “golden age”, I am learning to appreciate the present more. It is now that I am building the memories for the future. I am learning to not take friends for granted, to even appreciate the challenges I am going through, because they are shaping me to become a better person. I do not look at the past with regret, I am looking forward to the future with high expectations while enjoying every moment I spend with the loved ones. That is what I learned last week.

Moral of the story?
Do you want to win the lottery? Just listen to Bob Marley’s songs and you will have tears in your eyes.

Always a pleasure
Patrick
The Journeyman 
Click HERE for our upcoming workshop

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