BALANCING THE BOAT, CHASING DREAMS AND THE ART OF DOING IT ALL: A MAZUNGUMZO CLASS REFLECTION

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A decade or so ago, not so far from the city centre, in the quiet valley of Luzira lived a man. The land was quiet but loud with the bustling Brick and sugar cane market, where traders shout over one another, haggling for the best price. His name as we knew it was Mzei Dumba.

Every day, he watched young men and women rush past him, arms full of goods, voices thick with urgency. He never hurried, never scrambled. Yet, somehow, he always completed his planned errands on time, always had time to listen and always ended the day with a story for a lucky young man or woman and satisfied smile. One day, I decided to trap his luck and curiously asked him, “Mzei, how do you do it? How do you always seem to have time?” He chuckled and replied, “Muzukulu, time is like a clay pot. If you pour in too much at once, it cracks. But if you pour steadily, it holds. The secret is balance.” Mzei Dumba then took me down his memory lane and particularly exciting was the time of his youth. May his soul rest in peace.
This story reminds me of a conversation I had a few weeks ago in a Mazungumzo class. Members were asked to identify an area of passion and commit to a life of service as a fruit of the TMC seed. Most did so without hesitation, but one member whom, for the sake of this conversation, I will call Paul was reluctant. He did not want to commit to anything. “I will support my friends’ initiatives,” he said, “but I don’t want to be tied down to a specific task. I am not sure I can manage a commitment.”

At first, it seemed like mere hesitation but as the conversation went on in a consequent private talk with Paul after the class, Paul revealed his true fear. He did not want to be enslaved by routine. He was afraid of failing to live up to his commitments. I listened to him, sympathised with him and I saw a reflection of so many us. Brilliant, ambitious and full of ideas but paralysed by the fear of the thought of running out of time and surrendered to the belief that there is simply little time.

I have come to appreciate that time is a tool and commitment is a bridge to achievement.
As I reflect on the journey of TMC since its inception, I am reminded of the single most common excuse my peers give for unfulfilled dreams, missed opportunities and lack of engagement in personal growth, “I don’t have time.”

We are a generation that is constantly running, yet we often arrive at nothing. We scroll endlessly but read little. Our generation has a vast resource of news, research and commentaries uploaded every day but seldom do we engage in a deep dive of these matters. We are the sreen shot generation. The ‘quick one’ generation. We sign up for everything but commit to nothing. The paradox of our time is that we have more tools to manage it than ever before, yet we are more overwhelmed than ever.

This morning, I was up ridiculously earlier than I usually am on a Saturday. And for what? Instructions to be somewhere by 7:00 AM. I thought I would be one of the first to arrive, but no, there were so many already at the venue. Clearly, I was not the only one who took the instructions seriously. It got me thinking- tell a young person to wake up early as a matter of good practice and they will act like you have asked them to climb Mount Rwenzori, but mention a job interview, a doctor’s appointment or a chance to pick up money and suddenly they are up before the alarm. Funny how that works.

The same applies when there is an immediate consequence, nobody is ever late for a flight or to meet their parents when they know it will end in a lecture they are not ready for. But set up a casual tea meeting or a volunteer task and suddenly, their schedule is crazy busy. No urgency, no motivation. I confess that I have been guilty of this too. My friends have equally not been spared.

The truth is, time management is not about having more time. It is about making better choices. It is about knowing what matters and giving it the attention it deserves. It is about realising that balance is not the enemy of ambition, but its only aid.
Every young person struggling with deadlines, juggling responsibilities and wondering whether it is possible to do it all must understand one thing- It is not about doing everything at once, but about doing the right things at the right time.

So, how do we master this? How do we juggle time without dropping the ball?

First, we must learn to prioritise. Not everything requires our immediate attention and not every opportunity is meant to be pursued. If we do not define what is essential, we will be pulled in every direction and end up lost. Second, we must embrace structure, not as a prison, but as a pathway to freedom. A plan does not limit creativity, it enhances it. A schedule, calendar], reminders and keeping appointments are very important for they help to have the most important things actually get done. Finally, we must conquer the fear of failure. Commitment is not a guarantee that we will always succeed. It is a promise that we will show up, do the work and grow in the process. Those who fear failure most often fail because of this fear, for they never begin.

Paul’s hesitation was not unique. It was the same struggle that many of us face and as the Mazungumzo community Patron has called it- the siturago is alive. There is a personal crisis from the battle between wanting to do everything and fearing that we will not have enough time for anything which has resulted into an emptiness in many- a feeling of no direction, no purpose, no proud feelings. All these because we have chosen the quick ones since time is not available. It is easy to earn than to make or to meet girl in a club, for a moment than to invest emotions and time through dating.

But time, like Mzei Dumba’s clay pot, will only hold if we pour steadily. The challenge is not about having more time, it is about using the time we have wisely.
So today, I invite the class to reflect again and answer the one important question of your time, What is the one thing you can commit to? Or rather, what is the one action we can take to live more meaningfully? Because, in truth, we do not lack time, we only lack the will to use it well.
Should we master that, then we shall do it all and the boat will balance.