The Misinterpretation of Dreams

So as I’ve said previously (see post 12/12/2007) I am fascinated by what sets a great person apart from the rest. How do some people walk along being mediocre, some people are good at what they do, and some people excell and become GREAT people.

Now I don’t believe that you have to be rich or famous to be great. Albert Luthuli, a Nobel Prize Winner, died before his mission was even accomplished. He lived in a poor town in KZN, his life was dedicated to working for the people. Before he died he became senile and could not even remember or understand the things going on around him.

Nelson Mandela was just an ordinary young man from the Eastern Cape. All he wanted was a simple life, his path chose him. He only did what he thought was right, his goal was never recognition or personal gain.

Mahatma Ghandi was a simple humble man who didn’t even wear shoes, yet he changed India permanently and his actions inspired and continues to inspire people around the world.

Mother Theresa forsook all worldly possessions and followed a life of toil and hardship, trying to improve the lives of others.

Albert Einstein, one of the greatest minds of our time, failed an entrance exam to do a diploma in electrical engineering! He didn’t allow this to stop him and went on to become on of the greatest contributors to modern science.

So is there a secret recipe that you can follow to achieve GREATNESS? I don’t think there is a step to step guide, but I do think there are common factors in the lives of GREAT people.
So in an attempt to come to grips with what makes a GREAT person, I have decided to try to get into the minds of a few people who I believe are excelling in their walk of life, rising above the rest, doing great things against all odds, and making a positive contribution to the world we live in. These ‘interviews’ will be posted here in the weeks to come.

By doing this I hope to inspire myself and others to strive for GREATNESS, to change the world you live in, even if that just means changing the way your immediate family lives, for the better.

Living in the middle of nowhere seems to have sucked me dry of all inspiration! Or maybe it’s the long work hours: I start work at 7h30 and usually finish at 18h00! That’s a long day for me. The other day I walked out of work at 18h45! And that excludes days when I am on call when I might walk out of work at 21h00 for the first time only to be called back by 21h45 and not get much sleep all through the night and have to work until 13h00 the next day. That leaves a very limited amount of time to absorb sunlight. However; I am joining Oprah and the quest for a complaint free world, I am wearing the band around my wrist saying: A Complaint Free World.org so this is not a complaint, it’s just a statement.

Another statement is that I’m not sure how I will survive the rest of the year if I have to work like this everyday, I will probably burn out before half the year is up. But for me at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel: I have only signed a one year contract to do my community service here, so after that I can run out of here before they can say “Pack your bags.” But I don’t want my experience in rural medicine to be one of me simply counting down the days, I want to make the most of it and learn from it. This is a valuable year in my life after all. But seeing an endless line of patients day after day, with an inexhaustable supply of complaints is tiring. It drains you mentally and physically. And since there is little to do around here by way of entertainment, during the week you are most certainly limited, in both choice and time, as to the activities to take your mind off work.

Things that are keeping me going at the moment:
1) My trip to Mozambique at the end of the month- 8 days to go and counting
2) The hope that I will eventually be paid my full salary: at the end of last month I only got part of it
3) Another trip to Mozambique with my friends at the end of April
4) The knowledge that this too will end
5) And I’ve just discovered the SA Blog Awards, and I’m hoping get a few nominations and votes: www.sablogawards.com