Firstly we had to survive the crowded entrance, then the dimly-lit ticket office, to get our yellow tickets that were put though some machine before being handed to us. We felt lucky to be admitted to the train. Our class, the economy class, could always take a few more passengers, as long as there was a little space to stand. Greatness, like the economy class in a train, never gets so full that there is no more opportunity left.
With ticket in hand we now had to fight for our place in the metal machine. Each level of graduation usually gives us the false feeling of arrival when a new stage is just starting. We though the relief of the queue to get a ticket was over but the worst was to come. As we edged towards the front of the train we passed through the luxury sleeper classes and its sophisticated denizens. We knew where we belonged and we had to hurry there. Same train, different experiences. Other experiences did not matter, what mattered is were on the most exciting trip on earth. We finally got to the place where there was real life, teeming life, it was the economy class. The seats were brown benches. There were pretentious fittings. People were hurling their luggage onto the overhead railings. The bags had to be watched carefully. People were seating facing each other. Some were standing and some places were reserved. People were just milling up and down and some were visibly drunk already. There was a sign written, “expectoration prohibited”. I never got to know what it meant and my mother who could only read in Shona could not help much. The whole affair was like a great market night. Some were selling fruit, sweets, trinkets, slings, belts and all. There were some singing blind beggars that would patrol the train. I could feel the emotion of the journey pulsating through me...my first train journey to Harare....unforgettable. Life is a journey
Life is a journey. Sometimes we make choices and at other times we have to live with our allotted slots, at least for the time being. We all have to make decisions, decide what we will carry and what we will need along the way. We have to decide what we will pay attention to and what we will ignore. Every journey is an experience. Sometimes we meet people that positively affect us and at other times we meet people that we never thought would be our companions. Know your destination
The train stops in many places. Some people, with their many belongings alight. Others come onboard. Sometimes the train stops in the middle of nowhere for what seems to be eternity. (You would then hear the adults mutter that the train would be waiting for another train to pass, oh the signals!) Such is life with its pit stops. The brief stops along our path do not mean the journey is over. When others get off it does not mean that we have to blindly follow them. Unless you are a troll, you have to know your destination and be clear about your purpose. Some stations are small, others are big with many travelers, traders and activities. Respect your destination regardless of what other people may feel about it. It is your journey, it is your destination, it is your life. There is no free ride
Throughout the journey, we had two men in blue uniform who had a shining steel little machine and a ticket dispenser. They would come by and everyone would be woken up. This was irritating particularly given that mother had created a comfortable berth for me to sleep under the brown wooden seats. She and other travelers had to be content with sitting and dosing on and off as the trains swaggered on. Our tickets would be punched and handed back and this ritual would go on through the whole night. Its end - to ensure that there would be no one who would get a free ride. Such is life. There is no free ride. There is no get-out-of -jail-free card like in Monopoly. There is not swift elevator to take us to the 11th floor, C-Suite in a whizz. Many times people want free rides. Free meals are only found in confined spaces. We all have to pay our way through life. Everything worthwhile has a price, usually payable in advance. Same Train, Different Compartments
We are all travelers. Unfortunately we are not all on in the same class or same compartments. We are all travelers, but we are not all from the same place, we do not have the same budgets or goals. We have different reasons for traveling. The train of life is a rich collage of histories, mysteries and destinies. The value of my journey is not diminished by the class that I am traveling in. No-one can make me feel inferior without my permission. The worth of my journey is not even determined by the compartment that I am traveling in. Perhaps this is why the ancient sages advised, "Know thyself." I would add: know thy personal self, thy company self and thy family self. No organisation will survive that is forever obsessed with the opinions and programmes of other organisations. Fall in love with your journey of life. It may not look as glorious, and as luxurious but it is yours. It is your experience of life. The real journey is not what you are going through but a confluence of your expectations, hope, memory and experience. Believe and Trust
When you take your seat on the journey of life you just have to believe in the good intentions of your captain and crew. In a train journey, you never most likely see or hear the voice of the captain, you just believe he know what he is doing and is alert enough to ensure safety. Without this trust and faith, you can never embark of any journey. Trusting in God's ability makes us hopeful. Trusting other people enables us to grow. We will never know everything but with each day, each stroke of effort and each stride the cloud begin to clear and the journey becomes more bearable and we hope, we may soon get to our destination. Greatness is a journey, best taken daily. It starts as a dream, the dream is translated into action and each action is success in motion. Committed to your greatness. Milton Kamwendo. | 
With much anticipation we jostled our way through the crowd of travelers, relatives and traders. You never could tell who was traveling and who was just accompanying a traveler. It looked as though the whole City had come to the station, I had never seem this many hurrying people. 
