Bam!

makbuntu

Model for the Meaning of Life

Bert van Dam

Colophon

First edition

Any part of this publication may be reproduced subject to the condition of source reference: name of the author, book title and publisher; Bert van Dam, BAM!, London Books NL.

English translation: Diona van Hemme

ISBN 978-94-92179-12-8

London Books, 2015

Makbuntu is my model for Life.

This name is a combination of maktub
(Arabic - “It is written in the Universe”) and ubuntu (Zulu - “To be one with your surroundings”)

I am going to help you lead the best life possible.
Not just on average, but top-grade.

Go ahead and jump!
Cross the river.
And live your own makbuntu.

Bert van Dam

For Demi en Luc

The Inborn Ability

It’s a Law of Nature. An inborn ability. A force that drives each and every one of us. Do you feel like you are at a standstill, like on a riverbank? Go ahead and cross it. Life at its best is waiting for you. Discover makbuntu.

What is the Meaning of Life? This question has fascinated me for as long as I can remember. Not just going about our daily business, but finding out the purpose of our existence. For me, my purpose is to find and pass on the answer to that very question. I have sensed this for many years.

My quest for the Model of Life took me to Tanzania, Africa. I had a hunch that I would uncover the secret there. Far away from computers, back to the roots. Odd really, as my parents have no ties with Africa. Nor did I have any link with Africa during my professional life. Even so, I had a strong gut feeling that my destination lay here.

One morning at Migration Camp, my wife, children and I had risen very early. The word ‘Serengeti’ stands for bare flatlands. My plan was to crisscross this vast countryside. Three hundred miles of jolting over sandy terrain. Meanwhile knowing for sure: the answer lies here. This is where I will find my true essence. The Serengeti is gigantic, vast and dry. Everything has its place. Much as I was accustomed to in my life until then.

It was our last day. We would be flying back to Arusha the following day. On that particular morning I said: “Today we are going to see the wildebeest migrate.”

Our guide Tito looked up and laughed at me. He had lived in Tanzania his whole life and even he had never witnessed that event. Thousands of wildebeest crossing the Mara river. “Just you wait and see”, I replied.

The prologue was electrifying and intense. We had already spotted the Big Five: the leopard, the rhino, the buffalo, the lion and the elephant. That day we saw another lion. Standing tall on a huge rock, a true leader. Earlier that week, I had been intrigued by the animal’s pose. Now I thought to myself: I recognize this. The attitude of a true leader. But there was more to come.

I was restless. It felt as if the Mara river was calling out to me: “Today is the day.”

Our guide was taking in the surrounding flatlands. The breeze was starting a sand drift. Everything went silent for a while. Then he spoke: “You are probably right, Bert.” I became excited. Shouted: “Then we must leave immediately. This is it. We must be on time. And I sense that I really have to be there. It is crucial.” Tito stepped on it. Catapulting the jeep into a ditch, passengers rattled.

“Let me help you”, I offered; my nerves getting the better of me.

“No, you must stay in the vehicle. You are in the wild.” he instructed.

I pleaded: “We really have to be there in time, this very afternoon”. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed my help as well as my anxiety. So we sat in the jeep and waited. In the middle of an endless prairie. Where nobody ever seems to be in a hurry. And someone else is sweating for you. Surrender, that’s what it is called. “Stay calm, Bert.” I kept repeating to myself. “This is only the warming-up of a significant event. Which Life wishes to share with you. Tito continued to dig out the jeep. Inside it, all were silent. I kept telling myself: “We will make it”. Yet I couldn’t shake the thought: What if...?

Finally, we arrived. The afternoon was already coming to an end. And there they were, over seven thousand wildebeest. On the opposite riverbank.

I shouted: “We’ve made it!”.

“We still have to make a small bypass”, Tito replied. “Just twenty, twenty-five minutes’ drive.” I almost broke down. Such torment; seeing what you want but still you can’t have it. Western stress got the better of me; will I still be on time? I could easily just miss it, at the very last moment.

In everyday life, I was used to being on top of things. In my professional life, I was always ‘in control’. Now I was forced to idly sit back. Everything was about to slip through my fingers. Fade into the background. Like the sands of the Serengeti.

The Big Five in the Serengeti of Life

I love the sun. Each year I make a note of the first day I can have my coffee outdoors, and of the last day of the season on which I enjoy a glass of wine outside. These are moments for reflection. What went well today? What can I do better tomorrow?

One summer’s evening I realized: I am doing something wrong and it is not only affecting me but also the people around me as well as the Divine. I am not creating anything. I am barely living. Just following a routine. Day in, day out. When friends ask me: “Come and play golf with us”, I decline. Because I am stuck at the office. There is obviously some bug in my system and it must be dealt with.

I began to notice this all around me. Most of us are just muddling along. And only when the end draws near, do we realize that we didn’t quite make a masterpiece of our life. Regret takes over. Looking back, our life was just on average.

It made me think of my exams back in school. In one exam there was one main question: if you answered it correctly, it stood for 4 points out of 10. And then there were three other questions, each representing 2 points. If you couldn’t answer the main question, you could only score 6 out of 10. How frustrating was that? If I was not able to resolve the main question in Life, I could only score a 6 out of 10 in my life…...

What is the Meaning of Life?

Bam!

This riddle knocked me down. Then it dawned on me: everything comes down to a single question. Only when you are able to answer that one, do you score top-grade.

I did not want to settle for mediocre in my life.

Things had to change. I want to shape it into a work of art. By knowing its purpose. Leading a good life. Being happy. Wasn’t that what it’s all about?

If so, I first had to figure out what defines ‘a good life’. And mold that into a model. Not some scientific formula, but a straight-forward model to provide footing as to thoughts and actions, focusing on a better, more fulfilling life.

This became my personal quest: to find the model for the Meaning of Life.

In this respect, my trip through the Serengeti brought about several epiphanies. From the first day to the last, across the vast plains of that desolate landscape, I had sensed ‘Life’. People regard me as successful . In reality, I was the only person who saw how stale and humdrum my life actually was. And yet: it was the path I had to follow. The one we all must follow suit.

Every tourist who travels to Africa is set upon spotting the Big Five. The leopard, the buffalo, the lion, the rhino and the elephant. These are not, in fact, the largest animals but according to hunters they make the most difficult prey.

So first of all, I had to encounter the Big Five.