River Mara Speaking…
The great wildebeest migration is one of the new wonders of the world. No where in the world is there a movement of animals as immense as the Wildebeest, Zebras, Gazelles & the Eland migration. Over 2million animals migrate from the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to the greener Masai Mara in Kenya.
The migration has to cross in the Mara River in the Masai Mara where crocodiles will prey on them. This is the main thing – trying to cross the Mara river alive.
In the Mara they will be hunted, stalked and run down by the larger carnivores. The Mara also has one of the largest densities of the lion in the world.
Predators – lions hyenas, leopards cheetahs & lesser predators. It starts when you are born. Its all a world of survival. Crossing doesn’t mean that everything is going to be sweet after all. There is neither a definite start nor finish to the endless search for food & water end or death.
Being a natural event, the migration changes year to year in both timing & location.
Life always gives you options, its not as bad as we want it to appear. There is always a comparison for anything in existence; options, Plan B’s Alternatives, alternative routes etc you name it.
We exist on one side of life & there always exists another side of the same. Somehow, or in this case, to CB. In jobs, we have alternatives, in schoolwork we have alternatives, Emotionally, Spiritually we have alternatives, in relationships we have alternatives. They all vary in a way. We get that there is always a greener side of whichever situation we exist in. You gotta love the Mara experience, CB couldn’t help see life in that whole scenario.
After a while the grass in our various states be it spiritually, emotionally, socially, career-wise, starts turning yellow, and eventually goes brown! It is all so evident. Yellow in the sense that its a phase that shows clear deterioration or whichever. Its nature that you cant just sit and watch it go brown. You strive to make it better which you have to, which in this sense is to find greener pastures. Not forgetting the crocodile infested rivers we have to cross to get to the predator infested greener pasture. They typical pessimist will keep in wait for the rain to fall which doesn’t, & if it does it is too little to get it all green again. We Don’t utilize the fading yellow grass left on our environment to give us energy to push on to the greener pastures. We only wait in vain till it goes brown on us & finally we let go, when its too late. We give up hope too easily at times. We all are assured of a better “next” but we are too attached to the old that we do not even attempt to give ourselves a chance for the next.
Crossing the Mara is no easy task either. But mindset with a mix of destiny will always get you on the other side. Ask the animals, we have to strive to cross since we have to live the life that’s in store. Nature wouldn’t be so harsh not knowing you would suffer. It makes you stronger. In fact it would be unfair if it was a smooth ride all along. Its part of it all.
Spiritually we find ourselves in compromising situations whereby our Spirituality starts declining for reasons better known to us. Backsliding is easy. Getting back on track is easier but with a million tests temptations & hurdles to cross. Salvation the greener of the pastures lie in wait at the end of the temptation full crossing that lies in that all important salvation path. Its inevitable, just like the Mara. Once on the green side, we have to keep checking our environment to make sure we Don’t get re-tempted to flowing back to the all now brown territory, its tough out there. You have to decide to stick on the green side.
Career-wise we have held onto jobs & appointments that long turned yellow, and others, already dry. We do tell by the nature of our structures. It ain’t all physical but we are starved & ribbed in this state. Our bosses long shone the sun on us & watch us dry out in drought ,colleagues treating you with utmost disrespect. Juniors & seniors showing total disregard of protocol & set workplace ethics. Total disregard for the efforts you put in. taking for granted the teamwork aspect. How much does all that trouble get you at the end of what you refer to as the month? Always finding yourself with a month bigger than the pay? That’s grass gone dry. Its dry as long as you Don’t find it comfortable to your needs, the wants can be irrelevant but still. . . it ain’t enough to qualify for green.
Business as well is another very important aspect of our life. Its what most of us depend on towards financial freedom. But is it still as green as when it started or last season? If its getting difficult, shouldn’t we just cross over towards more ideas to upgrade, new ideas, or to even change it in totality? A time comes when you need to re-consider your options. Those in the stock market know what its like. Its among the widest “Mara Rivers” you can cross in business. Its always or mostly a gamble. I stand to be corrected. But there comes a time when the river’s risky gorge has to be crossed.
I only had the high school idea of education but since like two years ago I have had the pleasure of testing it all out on the higher aspects of education or leaning for that matter. Performance in relation to set targets can be compared with the same here but only on a light note. But either way its either you stay down with your poor grades or struggle n make it to the higher ones to spice up your credentials. Which in our country’s set up is an important foundation of out Careers. Unless your blood – line has promised you a job, you can chose to remain on the Serengeti side of your performance & await for your academic demise when the sun gets too hot. . .
Seasonal in that aspect as well are relationships. We have known of relationships which have turned from green to yellow and are on the fast lane to desertification. . . as in all cases of weather, change is inevitable but we have a chance to counter whatever is coming by preparing & putting in place measures that will keep us surviving in the dry season. The reasons why people are together keep changing with the due course of time, or rather the need has different intensities at different points in a relationship. Options include changing for the better, coming up with ways to upgrade the relationship, seeking guidance or quitting all in all among others. Whichever the opt, a lot has to be considered for neither is an easy way. There has to be some struggle to get to the greener of any of the sides. Only the strong will survive. The strength in any relationship is the bond that keeps people together, be it love, blood, friendship, work or whichever, this bond has to be kept intact to make sure its a smooth sail. Sometimes the people we love get dry, on our watch because there is nothing we can do to that effect. Its all natural. Love starts fading away. Love can’t be taught, you cant teach someone to love you. Its either they love you or they don’t! Period. Its either we brace ourselves for starvation mode or get to cross the “Mara”. Moving on ain’t easy but if the animals don’t cross the river, would they survive? They wouldn’t, either way you would starve to death. But on the other side you are assured of a lot of green grass as much as there are more than the genuine share of predators, you are assured of a happier death. . . but it doesn’t get to that, until the time is right. So when you feel that the dry season is on its onset. . . its time to get the heart to cross the “Mara” to the Green side.
Marriages are deeper. . . I would write out of second hand experience, but of what weight would it carry. . . I have none of my own hand on but, still. . .
I have got my idea of “Mara”. The fear of getting married with all that I have seen and heard is way too much. Marriage is good but how to cross the all willing “Lady ready to be married” infested river “Mara” is quite a Battle in its rights. Its like the front line all alone. I wouldn’t die. . . No! Say the chances of death are very slim, but if I was to be the extreme slippery kind, I would get a bite from the deadlies of the “Mara” like Aids, n all. . . (Si siri!) but if I manage to cross over, the green will be there for me. Then if it all goes well… I will tell if my marriage is a seasonal or its an all constant highland.
(Watch this space)
😉
By the way; Wildebeest, Zebras, Gazelles & the Eland give birth in thousands within the same span of like say 2-3 weeks. This is to increase the chances of survival. & within less than an hour the young can ran as fast as any predator. . . Survival.