It is sobering experience when considering global warming. Whether it is a natural cycle or man-made (I go with the last option) it means that the many wild places I love in Africa are about to change drastically.

The Okavango swamps will get drier and the animals will move with the water. The Chobe river will dry up and my favorite photographic spot will be dry and animals will have moved on. Etosha will be so dry that animals will be scarce. The mighty Victoria Falls will become an unimposing stream with occasional overflow. The Zambezi river will shrink and it’s roar will turn to a whimper.

My game farm in Namibia will get dry and the many Kudu, Gemsbuck and Warthog will be gone. Our good times there will just be a memory.

All the places I love are going to change dramatically over the next years - and with it, floods, drought and famine will come. Very worrying indeed. Not that the book of Revelations has not foretold it many years ago, but still, it seems so soon. Will I be able to take my grandson hunting on our farm when he is old enough? What about his future? What about ours?

I believe it is time to live pedal to the metal. You don’t know what tomorrow will bring. The many things I worry about is just making me sick. If it helped at all to worry we should do more of it, but of course it does not help.

We almost always choose the safe path. Least risk = most security. As if such a thing such as security really exists on this side of the grave. Banks fail, governments are toppled, stock exchanges take a dive.

What about those that risked it all to gain it all? They lived full throttle and really lived. Columbus risked all to find a new world. The American founding fathers risked being executed for treason. The old Testament prophets risked death to speak the truth. And Jesus, the truly untamed risk-taker risked all to rescue us.

We buy a lottery ticket or try a new restaurant.

Mitch Mitchell is a bow hunter, outdoorsman and the author of several books on African wildlife and survival

So it seems to me that to live wild and free is to take risks - good ones. And if ever there was a time to take risks, it is now. You are alive now. Do things that most people are too afraid or too weak to do. Love your family properly. Grow some cojones and live what you believe. Love God. Have a faith that scares other people.

Invest - don’t just spend - your time. Borrow money and take your son hunting in Africa while it is still beautiful. Take your wife on holiday. Go on an adventure with your best friends. You can always get more money - but time?