My Days Here

My Days Here

-          By Elgee Davies

The remainder of my days on earth…

I will not be limited by resources.

I will be free to be free and unchained.

I will not to be governed by what I cannot do but rather by what I can.

My actions will always be in the best interest of God, my family, myself and friends.

In all things I will always learn to respect others.

In all I do, I will seek to be kind, gentle, honest and genuine.

When I am gone, I will be remembered as a man among men.

A Man who made other men great

I will be remembered as one who lived in unity with others.

A person whom gave more than he got,

And offered more then he received.

I will need to have lived a free life

Free of any regret, hurt, shame or fear

A life free of ill, lack and why’s.

My time will be invested in Pureness and Virtuous

My hours spent Refining and Enhancing

My days spent Increasing yet Generous

My nights spent Resting in Peace

I will be remembered as

The man who lived a complete life. 

When it Rains...

The saying goes that “when it rains, it pours”, and as we are familiar with what it means, the truth of the matter is that it is not the actual pour that seems to get us down but more our reaction to the showers of trials soaking us.

I was privileged to have experienced quite a down pour of misfortune recently. I remember how while experiencing these showers of obstacles, it seemed to have weighed me down as I wanted to wish them away. Truth be told, light only emerged amidst the clouds once I decided to take everything in the stride and work on solutions as a pose to the problems. That helped me to deal with everything, but I still felt a little discouraged by it all. It was only once I consciously decided to not let the trials seem like their pouring that I was able to dance in the rain and actually enjoy dealing with them.

Life’s Good moment,
Yes, it tends to POUR when it Rains, but we will only truly start to enjoy dancing in the showers when we make peace with the fact that we will get wet along the way. And as soon we realize that life is not about avoiding issues or trials, but more about finding peace amidst them. We can master the art of playing in the rain even if it starts to POUR. Life’s Good… when you decide to believe it.

Elgee Davies
Life’s GoodEmail: elgeedavies@gmail.com

Too Much of a Good Thing

After having had a flawless run during my final prep with the instructor, we arrived at the Traffic Department and a rush of emotions overwhelmed me. Questions mauled through my head and I struggled to get my thoughts in order before my test. The gig was up and off I went to do my test. I started with my parking and it went flawless as I only lost 7 points during my yard test and I decided that this is my time. Off I went to do the road test. During my lessons with my instructor, the single biggest problem I had was speed. I mean who drives 40km/h in a 40km/h zone, lol. None the lesson on the day I decided to do things by the book and I decided to take it easy and drive “cautiously”. I drove through all the different streets over the many different intersections my examiner requested and back to the department we went. Having made a couple of school boy errors along the way I was certain nothing was warrant enough for me to fail. I pulled in the yard certain that I am about to be presented with my driver license. The Examiner sits me down and gives me a long speech about some of my errors along the way and then goes on to tell me that it took me 5mins longer then it should have to complete the test hence I FAIL.


Life’s Good Moment
At times in our attempt to avoid past wrongs and mistakes, we decide to go thru life cautious and aware. We take the lessons we learn from past failures and use them as guidelines to guard us from getting hurt or failing again. While this seems all good and well to prevent past mistakes, it may become a platform for future ones. Many times we are over cautious which in turn hinders us from enjoying life. So, my challenge to you is simply to ease up a bit and enjoy the ride. You may be pleasantly surprised at the outcome,

Life’s Good
Elgee Davies
Email: elgeedavies@gmail.com

Mind in Gear

Having gone to the traffic department yet again in an attempt to obtain my driver’s license, circumstances seem to have been strangely different then compared to my first attempt. I recall having been so confident the first time around that I never even once considered the possibility that I would fail. Needless to say how that turned out. Second time around though, after having completely bombed out during my final lesson, the pressure to get it right was mounted like a 3 ton truck on my shoulders and all of a sudden life seemed to be the complete opposite of good.
I woke up the morning before my test and I made a conscious decision not to allow anything to get me down on the day. With that mindset I set out to do my final run-through before I head off to the department. Surprisingly and to the total amazement of my instructor, I had a flawless run. My instructor was completely caught by surprise and to a certain extent speechless. We finished up and off I went to take the test at the Traffic Department. Hopes up and ready for anything.

Life’s Good Moment
Many a times it appears like nothing seems to be going our way. Everything and everyone seems to get on our wrong side and effects seem to work a little harder than usual to get us down. It is said that the mind is a powerful thing, and to a certain extent we all believe that. However, it is only once we put it to the test that we really seem to grasp just how powerful it is. Hence, regardless of how hopeless and bleak things may seem, I can guarantee you that if you make a conscious decision not to allow it to get you down… things may just fall in place perfectly for you.

Life’s Good,
Elgee Davies
Email: elgeedavies@gmail.com

No Island

Two taxis’ both traveling to Town drove behind each other. Before long the 2nd taxi was full and soon passed the other. Upon passing I noticed that the other taxi was still relatively empty. I could not really understand how this was possible seeing that it drove in front of the now full one for most of the way. Seeing that it was during the early morning hours the majority of the passengers got on along the way, the same way the other taxi also travelled. Upon passing I came to notice that while the now full taxi had a very hyperactive “garchie” (the drivers’ assistant responsible for finding passengers and collecting the taxi fare) the other driver had no one assisting him.

Life’s Good Moment
Many times we travel through life feeling that we are not benefitting from the abundance of resources, materials and joy life has to offer. The same way the one taxi driver was first in line and in all right had to be the first one full, it was not the case. Many times we think that we can go through life independently. We feel that we do not need the assistance of others because we can do it all by ourselves. Truth be told, without a hyper active “garchie”/ friends traveling with us, the journey will be a long and lonely one filled with empty seats. However with the right help we can fill our vehicle of life with the right people that will make the journey all worthwhile. Life’s Good.

Life's Good
Elgee Davies

Clutter and Declutter

I have this nasty habit of allowing random junk to pile up in my desk drawers. This junk usually consist of telephone notes, memo’s, random cables, broken rulers, old key rings and just about anything that I belief could be of use somewhere along the way. The problem with this is that when I end up looking for something specific the likelihood that I’ll find it becomes strangely slim. The upbeat to it is that it usually gets me so irritated that I end up scrambling through the junk with a dustbin chucking away everything that I find useless at that specific moment.

Life’s Good Moment
We often fill our personal lives with unnecessary junk, junk that may present itself in the form of a hobby, friend, task or duty and though it has merit for being part of our lives, the extra weight it adds may prove to tip the scales unfavorably. The end results of this unnecessary “add ons” usually mean we feel depressed and burdened by it along with it soon the feeling that we have to do something drastic immediately. Why should we always wait for things to weighs us down completely before we do something about it? Would it not be easier to simply deal with stuff and sort them out before we allow them to fester and weight us down. If we do, I believe Life will indeed become and remain Good.

Elgee Davies
Life's Good

Cycles, Circles and Recurrences

There are:
60 seconds in every minute,
60 minutes in every hour,
24 hours in every day,
7 days in every week,
4 weeks in every month,
12 months in evey year,
Etc, etc, etc,

The above mentioned truths we learnt while still in pre-school, however, what it made me realize is that life is in fact all about cycles, circles and recurrences. Everything that has happened will happen again IF we do not stop, alter or deviate the cycle, circle or recurrence everything will just follow the same path over and over and we will experience the same hurt, unhappiness, regret, etc over and and over. The rest I feel is self explanatory, Life’s Good

Elgee Davies
lgdavies.blogspot.com

Left Right

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Having been invited as guest speaker at a youth event last week I found myself having to prepare a talk on one of my much loved topics, decisions. It was only when I started preparing that I came to realized that at times Life is not always Good and it’s not always that easy to choose.

For instance:

One of our Directors walks up to me and tells me that he does not like my new concept. Immediately I am faced with a decision:

1. Try to persuade him to see my point of view or

2. Take what he says as gospel and start afresh.

Having thought about my options I realized that without even consciously choosing between option 1 and 2, that I already chose option

3. Get mad at him for shooting down an idea he hasn’t even fully grasped.

Life’s Good Moment

Daily we are faced with decisions regardless of whether or not we decide we make them. Be it consciously or subconsciously, truth remains we do choose. The difficulty then lies not in the deciding but rather in knowing whether or not you have just made a choice.

Life’s Good

Room for Error

On Friday afternoon I found myself planning my weekend.
Friday evening out with friends,
Saturday morning hit the mall,
visit the family and then,
off to spend the remainder of the day with my lovely girlfriend.
Sunday morning hook up with friends that will only be in town for the week and spend the day with them.
Sunday evening shoot through to the fan park and watch the 2010 Fifa World Cup final.

In my eyes, this was the perfect Weekend! Sunday evening when I went through my notebook I came across the document on which I planned my weekend and to my amazement, I found that I did not do a single thing on the list. How could this be, the perfect weekend and it did not go as plan. Why you may ask, well it’s quite simple. I based my planning on the best case scenario and left little room for the unexpected.

Life’s Good Moment
Many times we set goals, dream and work towards what it is we wish to achieve. We map out our lives and pin point our ideal location and work out how long it will take us to get there. Incalculable books and several authors and speakers will testify that this is the way to go if you want to achieve results. And to be honest, I agree with them. However though, I came to realize that in planning our ideals, we at times fail to make room for the negative, unexpected and unthinkable. We base our projections on the best case scenario and when things go wrong it leaves us stunned, disappointed and disillusioned. The saying goes; “Expect the best but plan for the worst”, a controversial saying that I think is oh so fitting. Let us try it and see if Life’s Good.

Elgee Davies
Life's Good

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Life's Good

Life’s Steering Wheels

Having recently obtained my learners license, I began my first couple of driving lessons. In my first class my instructor did a run through of the different “gadgets” in the car and each ones function. Though I thought it a waste of time and money I actively listened. He came to the steering wheel and informed me that it is meant to “STEER” the car in the desired direction. And while rambling on and on he actually mentioned something I never thought of, “the car will always move in the direction you maneuver it to go…” He went on saying that the reason why certain drivers swerve from to side to side is because they tend to fight with the steering wheel and “over steer” or others simply let go of the wheel and allow the car to find its own way into a pole or wall. As you know by now, that brought about an LG Moment, so here goes.

Life’s Good Moments

Many times it may seem that life around is falling apart and everything is going haywire. It may seem like we are heading off a cliff or the road we are traveling on is ending. We may find that we are heading over obstacles and come across some bumpy patches that may be extremely uncomfortable and inconvenient. This is the time when we need to slam on the brakes and check if we still have the steering wheel in our hands. Let us always know where we are heading and keep our eyes wide open and our hands on the wheel to ensure we stay in the road and on track to reaching our desired destinations safely and in time. If we do, life can only be Good.

lgdavies

elgeedavies@gmail.com

Mission Possible

Ever heard the saying: “Be careful what you wish for…” deny it if you want but of course you have. I recently found myself unhappy at my workplace because amongst other things, I felt I wasn't getting enough work to keep me busy. Crazy as it sounds, that was my primary reason. The company recently underwent some major restructuring and sadly some departments had to close down. Delighted as I felt for the new workload to be thrown my way, I was torn up for both the department cut as well as the employees that went with it. Not allowing it to get me down I soon found my way in the new company and with all the commotion, I soon had mountains of deadlines to meet, deadlines that made Mission Impossible seem all too Possible.
Amidst the rush and buzz to get everything done, the workload started to take its toll on my body and soon I had a neck as stiff as an oak tree. Upon my regular analysis of where I find myself in life I realized that I am still not enjoying my work. Why? Well, too much work, impossible deadlines and too little time with family, friends and my girlfriend. Well what do you know, still unhappy even though now I’am in the opposite situation as when I first felt that way. Funny, well I thought so.

Life’s Good Moment
In life we will always have demands, wishes, desires and needs that we think will make us HAPPY. Most of these longings will be met, while others will be substituted for new ones. Question is; will our happiness still depend on it. Amidst the hustle and bustle I was reminded of my old motto; “Do what you love, and you will love what you do”. Many times our happiness is not depended on that car, house, partner, holiday or perfect job we want, but rather on our frame of mind. If we learn to appreciate where we are and what we have, or at least learn to make the most of it I can promise you that Life will truly be Good. Regards,

Life’s Good

Waking up

It’s been 17days since my last post, and to a certain extent, 17 days since I last had a real positive outlook on life. Having gone through some trying times at the office, accompanied by some interesting yet stressful developments in my personal life, I found myself in a dark pit that seemed to have been growing deeper and deeper the more I looked at it. However, my whole outlook was turned upside down after listening to a gentleman who seemed to have been around for many moons rambling on about how unnecessary it is to go through life looking as if you just ate a lemon. I was inspired by his positive approach to life. Even though he didn’t have anything in particular to show for his years, he seemed to have mastered the art of highlighting the LG moment. This was enough to get me back. As I reflected back on the past 3 weeks, I came to the realization that I was so caught up with all the “chaos” in my life that I failed to see the positive. Even though there were so many LG moments that presented it, I failed to see any of them. I felt like such a hypocrite, until I realized that this only makes me human. So even though he wont see this, I still wish to thank Stokkies* for making me realize this.

Life’s Good Moment
Life will never be all moon, sunshine and roses. Yes it will present us with a million opportunities to harness its beauty but equally so it will also throw a couple of ugly trials our way. Question is which ones do we allow to rule our lives. 17days and a bag of wasted energy later I can finally say with a smile on my face that LIFE’S GOOD. Thank you everyone

elgeedavies@gmail.com
lgdavies.blogspot.com

Choose to wait

After months of frustration with my bank I finally got round to popping in at one of its branches to sort out the matter. As I crossed the street I noticed a lady standing just left of the door, body language clearly indicating that she was a bit frustrated. Being the “reserved” fellow my mother raised me to be, I just walked past her minding my own business. Approaching the doors at about 1.5 metres away they opened for me to enter. As I walked down the mall on my way to the banks entrance, the lady walks up to me, grabs me by the arm and gently with a shy smile says “Thank you”. She then ever so shyly smiles and says to me, “I thought the mall is closed today”. It was then that I realised the lady was waiting outside for the doors to open, not realising it was an automated door she waited it out. She was most probably to afraid, proud, uncertain or confused to ask anyone for help, hence decided to wait.

Life’s Good Moment

Many times in life we stand so close to our open door but then allow fear, pride or uncertainty to keep us from reaching our destinations. We choose to wait on someone else to help us come open the doors that we can open ourselves. Let us not be afraid of taking bold steps in life, Yes we might have to bump our heads and embarrass ourselves while at it, but at least a lesson shall be learnt by it. I was recently reminded of how unnecessary and stressful it is to suffer in silence. So today, let us make a conscious decision to live life, dare, ask, take risk and try something new. Life’s Good

Bumper Cars

A Protest by traffic officers brought the entire city to a standstill yesterday, blocking off main roads around the city. With all the commotion it became evident that motorist would do whatever it takes to get to their destinations. This desperation saw many conveniently forgetting laws as they went about skipping red lights, driving on pavements, ignoring road signs and forgetting South Africa’s most important rule of the road namely KEEP LEFT AS FAR AS POSSIBLE AND PASS RIGHT ONLY WHEN IT IS SAFE TO DO SO, ( I recently got my learners so bear with me)
As we came up to one of the city’s prime intersections we were greeted by a scene straight out of a War Movie, we found vehicles on sidewalks, drivers barking and swearing at each other while some just took the first available exit regardless of the fact that they will drive straight into oncoming traffic. Hand signals changed from the regular stop, turn slow down, etc to Middle fingers, Angry fists and deadly looks. I was speechless. I decided then and there that I will post something about it, but as i sat still to gather my thoughts, I could find no angle for a “LG Moment”. Not until I saw the headline in the paper this morning that is; TRAFFIC COP CHAOS it read
The article in the paper had an image of motorists getting out of their vehicles and working together to get the cars obstructing traffic out of the way. Completely different scene from what I saw on the other side of town on my way to work.

Life’s Good Moment
Yes life tends to throw all kinds of hurdles our way, these hurdles many times tend to cause all kinds of chaos in our lives, chaos that make us want to just scream, yell, swear, break the rules and drive down dangerous routes to get out of it. As I read the paper, I realized that I only saw the negative and on the other side of the city motorist worked together to get the cars out of the way, TOGETHER. Let us stop focusing and directing our attention to the chaos and start by looking at how we can work TOGETHER to sort it out. Life’s Good.

www.lgdavies.blogspot.com

4 Way Drama

Shortly after I got onto the taxi on my way to work, one of the taxi driver’s colleagues (fellow taxi driver) drives past and warns him of a road block at the four way ahead. Taxi driver deciding to avoid confrontation decides to take a detour route to cut out the four way drama. The detour took us about 15 min and only managed to get us about 400 meters away from the “four way drama”, the driver seeing that he’s still to close for comfort decided to take a quick left into a off road. We found ourselves popping up and down like popcorn due to the unevenness of the gravel road while at the same time turning left and right in an attempt to avoid shacks and bushes in pursuit of some form of road to take us to the main road. Eventually we ended up in front of a church building and discovered that the only route to get past it leads back to the four way drama. As the driver contemplated what to do next, a traffic officers pulls up next to us informing us that he spotted us when we took the first turn and followed us.
Within 3min after being pulled off the driver was back on the road and off we went. As it turns out the road block was merely for checking license disc. We all started to laugh as we realised the irony of the situation seeing that he drove a new Toyota Quantum.

Life’s Good Moment
Many times we spend so much time and resources trying to avoid certain situations that we fail to realise that maybe, just maybe it would not be such a bad thing to allow it to happen. We decide early on that no good can come of it and take tough, uneven and dangerous routes to avoid it that we fail to realize that we have nothing to worry about. These off roads we take, many times rob us of the pleasant even roads we could have travelled that would have helped us to reach our destination faster and in a better condition. Today, let us analyse the situation objectively before we decide on the solution, might save you a lot of trouble. Life’s Good