What Motivates You -Drives You?

I have come to realise that what drives me are things that motivate me mentally and spiritually.  I am a spirit person and believe that if the spirit is strong, if the willpower is there you have half the attitude you need to get the job done.  Other times it is something so minute so simple so humble.  In 2009 for the International Women’s Day I was invited to give a little talk to celebrate the Zimbabwe Women Human Rights Defenders.  I felt so honoured to do this as I applaud what these women do not just for the country each day but for me too through their work and just being able to celebrate them with other people was such a pleasant thing for me to be a part of.  We then marched from the Central Bank in Dame Street up O’Connell Street down Parnell Street heading for the Phoenix Park.

The Touch That Nourishes

I was walking with a friend who works for Amnesty and her son who is seven.  He walked the whole journey asking us questions about why we were walking, where Zimbabwe was and other questions on things he didn’t understand.  He never once complained that the journey was too long, I was, that it was too cold, I did, or that he wanted to be lifted, well no-one could have managed that task.  Observing him walking and talking I realised something, I have a hero besides me.  This boy is only seven but he gets what celebrating someone and honouring their hard works is all about.  It’s about walking a distance in their shoes without complaining, but digesting on what you know of the people, thinking of them and respecting them for all their effort for that one day without complaining.  I then stopped complaining and realised that for sure their lives were hard.  These were mothers, sisters, daughters, aunts, grandmothers, nieces who had so much they could do with their time and yet daily they walked for Zimbabwe, for me.  So I this young boy whose name I wish I could mention and his photo I could show (if only his mom had not taken him on holidays for a month before phoning me back!!) is one of the people that motivates me and is driving me to get off my back side and commit to the things that I hold dear and value.  I have committed to doing more for myself, for my daughter, my family, my neighbours, my country and the world.  So I would like to call on other women like me and young girls too to meet me once in a while so we can walk a distance in honour of just one woman we know who is working for a better world in their corner of the world dares to dream of a better tomorrow.