FORBESAFRICA10 | FORBES AFRICA APRIL 2020 FORBESAFRICA.COMREFLECTIONS
Photo by Motlabana MonnakgotlaM
Y VISITTODURBANIN
SouthAfrica’sKwaZulu-Natal
provinceinthefirstweekof
Marchtoattendthe 2020
FORBESWOMANAFRICALeadingWomen
Summitwasa memorableone.It didnotgo
withoutchallenges;themostprominentone
beingthefirstcaseofcoronavirusinSouth
AfricabeingconfirmedinDurbanontheeveof
thesummit.Therewasa momentarydiscussion
onwhethertheeventneededtobecancelledbut
ourhostgovernmenttookaninformeddecision
tocontinuewiththeproceedings.
Despitea numberoflast-minute
cancellationsonaccountoftravelrestrictions,
theannualgatheringwasattendedbyabout 800
ladiesfromdifferentpartsoftheworldwho
participatedinsomeextremelystimulatingand
topicaldiscussionsthatimpactdiversityand
equality.It wasperhapsa timethatmenwereincompleteminorityand
I mustadmitthatdespitethesummit’sthemeof‘TheCeilingCrashers’,
theladieswereextremelygraciousinthemannerinwhichthey
communicatedtheirpointsofview.
Diversityandequalityremainedthecommonthreadinall
conversations;butwhattouchedmethemostwerethespotlight
sessionsinwhicha numberofyoungwomenhighlightedtheir
accomplishmentsdespitethechallengesduringtheirprofessional
journeys.Andthentherewastheall-importantpanelwherea
fewmenwerebraveenoughtotalkaboutthestepsbeingtakenby
variouscorporatesandpolicythinktankstobringaboutthemuch-
neededmetamorphosis.A commonconsensusenduredregarding
theinadequatemeasuresintheimplementationofgoodintentand
policies.Despiteslowtransformation,I waspersonallyveryinspired
bythequalityoftheconversationsandtherejectionofinequality,and
feltextremelyproudthatFORBESAFRICAandFORBESWOMAN
AFRICAhavebeenabletocreatesuchanimportantplatformfor
womentotalkabouttransformativeneedsinsociety.Wenowneed
toelevatetheconversationsintomeaningfuloutcome-basedactions
tocatalyzetransformationsothatwomenarenotleftwithunfulfilled
dreamsandinadequateresourcestolivetheirdreams.
Onthesidelinesofthesummit,anextremelycardinalsubjectcame
upbetweenguestsseatedonmytable.It wasa candiddiscussionon
whatconstituteshappinessinourlives.Peoplearesobusyfollowing
theirdreamsandchasingmaterialisticgoalsthattheyhaveforgotten
what it means to be happy. Sounds familiar? The subject reminds meBYRAKESHWAHI,FOUNDERANDPUBLISHER,FORBESAFRICATHE FUNDAMENTAL STEPS IN
FINDING EQUALITY AND HAPPINESS
ofthemanybooksI havereadonrelated
topicsincludingthepopularonesauthored
byRobinSharma(TheMonkWhoSold
HisFerrari), MitchAlbom(TuesdaysWith
Morrie)andBobBuford(Halftime).
Itismybeliefthatadversityand
circumstancesoftenmakeusstoptothink
aboutwhatreallymattersinlife.Veryoften,
it’sonlywhenweendupona hospitalbed
thatwestartlookingata balancedwayof
lifeandponderingoverhowwecouldhave
livedlifedifferently.
Thisreflectionorintrospectionisa
fundamentalstepinfindinghappiness.
Mostofourlivesaredividedintotwo
distincthalves– thefirst,whereweare
completelyobsessedwithambition,and
thesecond,wherewerealizewhatwe
trulywant.Themanifestationofthese
halvesisdifferentforeveryoneaswearealluniqueinourwants
andbeliefs,buttheoutcomesfollowa distincttrendasweevolve
fromphysical,intellectual,emotionalandfinally,spiritualcalling.
AsperVediceducation,ourbalancecomesfromeachofthese
attributesastheycompleteusashumanbeings.Ourpersonalities
andcharacteristicsarederivedfromtheweightageofthese
attributesinourbeing.
InmymeetingwithHisHolinesstheDalaiLamatwoyearsago,
themessagethatstayedinmymindwashisdistinctionbetween
religionandspirituality.Hefeltthatturmoilaroundtheworldwas
largelybecausehumanshadlosttheelementofspirituality.So,what
is spiritualityandhowdowemeasurethisall-importantattribute
inhumans?Overtheyears,wehavetalkedaboutIntelligence
Quotient(IQ)andEmotionalQuotient(EQ)thatarerelativelymore
commonlydiscussedsubjectsbuttheaspectofSpiritualQuotient
(SQ)hasbeenconsciouslyorunconsciouslyignored.Spirituality
is aboutself-realizationandunderstandingthetruevaluesthat
differentiateusfromanimals.Whatis thehigherpurposeinour
livesbeyondthematerialisticworld?Whatarewecontributingto
maketheworlda betterplacethanwhatwefoundit in?I donot
believethisaspectis age-relatedbutis moreaboutself-realization
onwhattruehappinessis.Howmuchmaterialismis enoughis a
questionthatneedstobeansweredbyallhumans?Thesolutionslie
inmovingbeyondthinkingaboutourownneedsandinreflecting
abouttheneedsofthoseless fortunate than us, and effecting change
to improve their lives.