Yesterday, I spent some time at the Harmony Camp in Gordons Bay. This is the camp in the Helderberg for all of the displaced refugees out our side of the world. And yes, I know that I have been harping on this issue....
The first thing that struck me was the way so many people have banded together to help. All traditional divisions seem to have melted away through the act of giving aid to others. I joined the Muslims as they dished out lunch. Chatting to some of the ladies, they had been busy since early peeling potatoes (120kg of them) and preparing food. Feeding 1500-2000 people is no small task. Yet this lunch effort, as well as lunch for the whole week, was given through the generosity of their small Muslim community in the area. Most of this camp seems to be manned by someone or other of a religious persuasion and everyone seems to be working side by side in harmony. There is a strong element of people feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. Something inside me rejoiced at the fact that all people at their very core are compassionate loving beings and that no matter what we are, we can look after the good of our fellow man!
The other thing that touched me was the lack of anger. I asked some people if they were angry and most said no. The rest said that they were angry because their stuff got wet in the rain. This was of course not the most comprehensive survey. Hmmmm, these people have been attacked, they fear for their lives, they have been booted out of their housing, they have been forced to stay in tents with far too many other people, in the rain, they stand in long lines for clothes, food, and showers and they are not angry???? I would have been livid!! I am in awe of that attitude. It almost seems as if there is a ray of hope within all of these people. I guess hope based on a slim chance that they may become legal through this process. It reminds one of the example set by a South African hero who after 27 years in jail lead us all in a spirit of peace and reconciliation!
One of the guys I know went home to his house the other night. The next day he was kindly informed by his neighbours that he had best be gone by that evening or there would be consequences! That makes my blood run cold. It also makes me angry, so angry that I am keen to go over there and stir up some trouble. And yet, then I would be perpetuating the cycle of violence, in order to prove that my way is the only way!
So on the one hand, I am moved by the deep compassion and love shown by so many. On the other, I am appalled by the darkness. Which way are you going to go?
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
I visited the camp for refugees of violence in Gordons Bay today. There are about 1,500 people housed there with this number expected to grow. Disaster Relief seems to be in charge of the big items like tents and food. Members of churches have banded together and are providing all sorts of other social aid. In order for this camp to function, there is a requirement for about 80 volunteers.
In a twisted paradox, the people in the camp are bored and frustrated and yet volunteers are still required. Seems rather a waste of human capital! I have been assured that the idea is to reduce reliance on volunteers and get these people working to help themselves. Not knowing how long this crisis will continue obviously complicates the process. Of one thing I can assure you, staying in a camp with another 1499 bored and unhappy individuals is not my idea of fun. Neither is the soup and couple of slices of bread for breakfast and dinner!
What a tragedy that so many have been displaced by our fellow countryman’s greed. That so many have lost their livelihood and now are faced with an uncertain and undoubtedly bleak future.
There is heaps of relief being showered on these people. Volunteers are doing awesome work all over the place. My question is why do we not have the same level of charity and time to shower on our own people in normal times? Is it because our own desperate fellow South Africans do not elicit the same compassion within us? Are we not as embarrassed about the plight of the average South African as we are of foreigners?
I sincerely believe that the solution to our countries problems lies with every one of us adding our talents and resources into the mix. Like it or not, you and I need to get off our butts and make a difference!
And if you are already off your butt, please kick the rest of us off ours!!!
In a twisted paradox, the people in the camp are bored and frustrated and yet volunteers are still required. Seems rather a waste of human capital! I have been assured that the idea is to reduce reliance on volunteers and get these people working to help themselves. Not knowing how long this crisis will continue obviously complicates the process. Of one thing I can assure you, staying in a camp with another 1499 bored and unhappy individuals is not my idea of fun. Neither is the soup and couple of slices of bread for breakfast and dinner!
What a tragedy that so many have been displaced by our fellow countryman’s greed. That so many have lost their livelihood and now are faced with an uncertain and undoubtedly bleak future.
There is heaps of relief being showered on these people. Volunteers are doing awesome work all over the place. My question is why do we not have the same level of charity and time to shower on our own people in normal times? Is it because our own desperate fellow South Africans do not elicit the same compassion within us? Are we not as embarrassed about the plight of the average South African as we are of foreigners?
I sincerely believe that the solution to our countries problems lies with every one of us adding our talents and resources into the mix. Like it or not, you and I need to get off our butts and make a difference!
And if you are already off your butt, please kick the rest of us off ours!!!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Thabo Mbeki told us all that we should be ashamed about this wave of Xenophobia. Although I think that this is aimed at those perpetrating the attacks, I am ashamed. I understand that South Africans are upset to see foreigners in jobs when they sit at home, idle. I also understand that government has failed the vast majority of the people that elected it. But this is barbaric!
On the other side it is great to see the community spirit that has developed as people band together to help all of those who have been booted out of their homes. In my idyllic part of the world, thousands of people are camped out in church halls, warehouses, garages and people’s homes. It smacks of a biblical response as normal people reach out and cloth, feed and shelter these people in need.
I am not sure how this is all going to end. It is all very well to say, we are sorry and all is well where you live, please go back. If I was a foreigner and had been forced to flee my home, would I be comfortable going back at all? I am sad that we have not seen South Africans living in the same areas standing up and saying, don’t worry, we will protect you – come on back! You can almost see why foreign communities tend to stick together, think of Italians in Brooklyn and South Africans in Sydney, because there is safety in numbers.
I am encouraged by the on the ground response to this crisis, that makes me proud to be a South African. For the rest I hang my head in shame.
I propose a new national anthem – an old Depeche mode song, off the once banned 101 album:
People are people so why should it be
On the other side it is great to see the community spirit that has developed as people band together to help all of those who have been booted out of their homes. In my idyllic part of the world, thousands of people are camped out in church halls, warehouses, garages and people’s homes. It smacks of a biblical response as normal people reach out and cloth, feed and shelter these people in need.
I am not sure how this is all going to end. It is all very well to say, we are sorry and all is well where you live, please go back. If I was a foreigner and had been forced to flee my home, would I be comfortable going back at all? I am sad that we have not seen South Africans living in the same areas standing up and saying, don’t worry, we will protect you – come on back! You can almost see why foreign communities tend to stick together, think of Italians in Brooklyn and South Africans in Sydney, because there is safety in numbers.
I am encouraged by the on the ground response to this crisis, that makes me proud to be a South African. For the rest I hang my head in shame.
I propose a new national anthem – an old Depeche mode song, off the once banned 101 album:
People are people so why should it be
You and I should get along so awfully
So we're different colours
And we're different creeds
And different people have different needs
It's obvious you hate me
Though I've done nothing wrong
I never even met you
So what could I have done
I can't understand
What makes a man
Hate another man
Help me understand
People are people so why should it be
You and I should get along so awfully
Help me understand
Now you're punching and you're kicking
And you're shouting at me
I'm relying on your common decency
So far it hasn't surfaced
But I'm sure it exists
It just takes a while to travel
From your head to your fist
I can't understand
What makes a man
Hate another man
Help me understand
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
I read a book a little while ago that contained a beautiful definition of humility. As far as I can remember it defined it as the absence of the need to compare and compete. I thought that this was pretty neat!
I have tried to apply it in my own life with great difficulty. My only conclusion is that true humility is indeed rare to find. I like to compete; I like to be better than other people. If I am not better, I find some great excuse as to why I should be better. I like win even more than I like competing. Winning is fun. It is filled with glory and satisfaction.
I even enjoy watching my sons winning. Watching my oldest play sport has certainly brought home the fact that we train our children from the youngest possible age to compete. Throughout school we ensure that our children compete against each other academically, then on the school sports field and if we are really eager, in some extra mural activities. And once our kids leave school, they will need to compete for place in a tertiary education institution and then for a job. Once they have a job they will compete for better jobs and projects. But that is never enough and so to show how well they compete they will aspire to better houses and fancier cars and slick toys.
I suppose, just like most of us!
And if we are to be truly human we need to be humble. To be moved to compassion by the plight of the common man and actually do something about it. Humility must be the complete antitheses of this individualistic and ego driven lifestyle that is the norm today. It does not seem to have a place in our world today.
Imagine if you and I were just people and both of us thought that the others needs were more important than our own. What an interesting place the world might be?
I have tried to apply it in my own life with great difficulty. My only conclusion is that true humility is indeed rare to find. I like to compete; I like to be better than other people. If I am not better, I find some great excuse as to why I should be better. I like win even more than I like competing. Winning is fun. It is filled with glory and satisfaction.
I even enjoy watching my sons winning. Watching my oldest play sport has certainly brought home the fact that we train our children from the youngest possible age to compete. Throughout school we ensure that our children compete against each other academically, then on the school sports field and if we are really eager, in some extra mural activities. And once our kids leave school, they will need to compete for place in a tertiary education institution and then for a job. Once they have a job they will compete for better jobs and projects. But that is never enough and so to show how well they compete they will aspire to better houses and fancier cars and slick toys.
I suppose, just like most of us!
And if we are to be truly human we need to be humble. To be moved to compassion by the plight of the common man and actually do something about it. Humility must be the complete antitheses of this individualistic and ego driven lifestyle that is the norm today. It does not seem to have a place in our world today.
Imagine if you and I were just people and both of us thought that the others needs were more important than our own. What an interesting place the world might be?
Monday, May 19, 2008
What do you spend most of your day talking about? Is it the weather or crime or clothes or idiots on the road? Do you have shallow conversations about just general stuff, you know small talk? Or do you have deep meaningful conversations about general stuff, like love and peace and parenthood and faith?
Does the stuff you talk about make you think? Do you walk away after conversations thinking about how your discussion changed your opinion, your mind, your paradigm? Do you go and do something different as a result of that conversation? Do you have a similar conversation with somebody else as you marvel at your new insights and thoughts?
Does life make sense to you? Is the meaning of your life clear? Are you on the path that you want to be on? Are you happy? Do you want more? Do you want less? Are you fulfilled? Do you share your insights with others? Do you make a difference?
Will you have a conversation today that is deep and challenging? Can you inspire somebody to think? Do you think if we all think more, we may do things differently? And if we do things differently, is it possible that we may get different outcomes? Can you do it?
Does the stuff you talk about make you think? Do you walk away after conversations thinking about how your discussion changed your opinion, your mind, your paradigm? Do you go and do something different as a result of that conversation? Do you have a similar conversation with somebody else as you marvel at your new insights and thoughts?
Does life make sense to you? Is the meaning of your life clear? Are you on the path that you want to be on? Are you happy? Do you want more? Do you want less? Are you fulfilled? Do you share your insights with others? Do you make a difference?
Will you have a conversation today that is deep and challenging? Can you inspire somebody to think? Do you think if we all think more, we may do things differently? And if we do things differently, is it possible that we may get different outcomes? Can you do it?
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Over the last couple of days, I have watched my oldest son play a whole heap of sport. At the tender age of six, although soon to be seven, he played three rugby matches and one hockey match in the last week. Two of these matches he played with seven stitches in his finger and the rest with the barely healed half chopped thumb in a bandage.
It has been interesting to observe him through the lens of a camera. As a youngster, I never had the benefit of the things that photographs reveal. You can see all sorts of things that will benefit his games. I watched this week as he scored his first hockey goal and then scored his first try. Both momentous occasions and incredible that he has managed to achieve them in the first games that he has played in his two new sports. I have included a couple of pictures so that you can see for yourself.
It has been interesting to observe him through the lens of a camera. As a youngster, I never had the benefit of the things that photographs reveal. You can see all sorts of things that will benefit his games. I watched this week as he scored his first hockey goal and then scored his first try. Both momentous occasions and incredible that he has managed to achieve them in the first games that he has played in his two new sports. I have included a couple of pictures so that you can see for yourself.
To me, I find his expressions interesting. This child who often cannot remember to button his school shirt is able to find an incredible determination and play with skill, power and raw courage. Buttons may be boring and not worth much thought, but a game is able to catalyse this child into ferocious activity. He plays with a passion and heart that invokes deep pride within me. Although I have no idea where this come from!
Within the grade ones at his school, there is not just my son but at least another eight or nine even more talented players at all of these new sports. The potential is unbelievable. I have no doubt that watching their games and progress is going to be fun indeed.
As a parent, I have this remarkable responsibility to guide my children into being incredible forces for good in this world. I have to encourage his more obvious talents and help him explore the depths of his being to find those that may well be hidden. My job may well be simpler as some of his talents seem to be so obvious. It has to far harder for other parents when these talents are hidden behind deep insecurities.
With all this talent amongst his mates, I wonder if all of these budding stars will be able to convert this raw talent into skill and wisdom? Will they find true guides in their parents to help them through the adversity that they must all face? Will they become inspirational role models for other children, parents and their peers as they live their lives or will they throw it all away in some wasteful manner?
I am still not sure how to be the best parent possible for my two children. I do know that I have to try and spend as much time as possible with them. I need to support them and love them unconditionally. I also need to teach them great humility at the same time as teaching them how to get the most from the talents that they have been blessed with. In the end I have to impart deep value systems that they embrace and use as their guides for their lives!
I have spent the week in awe of my son. I hope that I can find it within myself to be in awe of him even when he fails! And then help him find his way again.
Within the grade ones at his school, there is not just my son but at least another eight or nine even more talented players at all of these new sports. The potential is unbelievable. I have no doubt that watching their games and progress is going to be fun indeed.
As a parent, I have this remarkable responsibility to guide my children into being incredible forces for good in this world. I have to encourage his more obvious talents and help him explore the depths of his being to find those that may well be hidden. My job may well be simpler as some of his talents seem to be so obvious. It has to far harder for other parents when these talents are hidden behind deep insecurities.
With all this talent amongst his mates, I wonder if all of these budding stars will be able to convert this raw talent into skill and wisdom? Will they find true guides in their parents to help them through the adversity that they must all face? Will they become inspirational role models for other children, parents and their peers as they live their lives or will they throw it all away in some wasteful manner?
I am still not sure how to be the best parent possible for my two children. I do know that I have to try and spend as much time as possible with them. I need to support them and love them unconditionally. I also need to teach them great humility at the same time as teaching them how to get the most from the talents that they have been blessed with. In the end I have to impart deep value systems that they embrace and use as their guides for their lives!
I have spent the week in awe of my son. I hope that I can find it within myself to be in awe of him even when he fails! And then help him find his way again.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
My book plan is working!
I sat in church on Sunday and gave some good thought to my lack of progress. I came to the conclusion that I have not been focussed on my new job as a writer. Instead of writing I do absolutely anything else that needs doing. Maintenance around the house is done, the vegetable garden is doing great, all my admin is done, and my other interests are all taken care of. My writing has very slowly ground its way along.
On Monday morning I put some dates to my book plan. I now know that if I work at this book, I can finish it by the end of June. Now that you all know my deadline, I am going to have to work even harder to stick to it! I have also resolved that mornings are for writing and nothing else. Although I did spend the rest of Monday morning surfing on long boards at Muizenberg with a good mate of mine.....Hmmmm
OK since then I have written like a champion. I had set myself a target of rechecking the first 6 chapters, rewriting the seventh chapter, starting and finishing the eighth chapter and editing the ninth. A pretty steep target for someone who has only really got six chapters to show for five months work! This dof writer also got his first week of the timeline wrong and did not want to correct his penned changes to the plan!
The good news is that I have managed to do all of that. The hardest part was chapter eight as this is a serious chapter on time. It took me one day, today! All thanks to the power of the subconscious mind. Yesterday I sat and created a chapter plan for the chapter I was rewriting and this chapter on time. I was dreading this serious chapter. This morning I sat down and churned out 5000 words. They just flowed, I could not stop! I later looked at my high level chapter plan and it was a blueprint for what I had written. I can’t wait to try out the same technique on other chapters!! Tomorrow I get to edit this new chapter and see if it is what I wanted. I sure hope so!
Nothing like a personal slap on the wrist to add some spring in my typing!
I sat in church on Sunday and gave some good thought to my lack of progress. I came to the conclusion that I have not been focussed on my new job as a writer. Instead of writing I do absolutely anything else that needs doing. Maintenance around the house is done, the vegetable garden is doing great, all my admin is done, and my other interests are all taken care of. My writing has very slowly ground its way along.
On Monday morning I put some dates to my book plan. I now know that if I work at this book, I can finish it by the end of June. Now that you all know my deadline, I am going to have to work even harder to stick to it! I have also resolved that mornings are for writing and nothing else. Although I did spend the rest of Monday morning surfing on long boards at Muizenberg with a good mate of mine.....Hmmmm
OK since then I have written like a champion. I had set myself a target of rechecking the first 6 chapters, rewriting the seventh chapter, starting and finishing the eighth chapter and editing the ninth. A pretty steep target for someone who has only really got six chapters to show for five months work! This dof writer also got his first week of the timeline wrong and did not want to correct his penned changes to the plan!
The good news is that I have managed to do all of that. The hardest part was chapter eight as this is a serious chapter on time. It took me one day, today! All thanks to the power of the subconscious mind. Yesterday I sat and created a chapter plan for the chapter I was rewriting and this chapter on time. I was dreading this serious chapter. This morning I sat down and churned out 5000 words. They just flowed, I could not stop! I later looked at my high level chapter plan and it was a blueprint for what I had written. I can’t wait to try out the same technique on other chapters!! Tomorrow I get to edit this new chapter and see if it is what I wanted. I sure hope so!
Nothing like a personal slap on the wrist to add some spring in my typing!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
It is Sunday evening and I have vowed to get my writing back on track. No more Mr Nice guy when it comes to giving up my writing time for everyone else. Sorry dudes! I have a job and it is time to do it. Any boss would have fired me for my tardy work efforts over the last couple of months. And yet as I have blogged so often, I am so busy. Unfortunately even good waves are going to have to wait for me to ride them from here on in!
This afternoon I refreshed my book plan for hopefully the last time. I had rather a nice gap due to the mother in the house getting special treatment and being allowed an afternoon nap. That reminds me, I cooked a very simple scrumptious lamp kleftica replica. My wife who loves lamb gets an annual lamb feast on mothers day. Personally, I cannot stand the stuff! But today it was heavenly!!
Yesterday was interesting. I tried out some portrait shots of the family. I spent almost a whole day last week trying to find some second hand bits and pieces to be able to use my flash off camera. Well Saturday was about making that work for me. I think we ended up with some special family shots. In my bid to try create my own business opportunities, I have agreed to photograph the children at my younger son’s school. Nothing like throwing ones self into something new in order to learn how best to make it happen. I hope that I now have a handle on some pretty nifty studio lighting and that some parents will walk away with some cheap but professional quality pictures of their little munchkins!
This afternoon I refreshed my book plan for hopefully the last time. I had rather a nice gap due to the mother in the house getting special treatment and being allowed an afternoon nap. That reminds me, I cooked a very simple scrumptious lamp kleftica replica. My wife who loves lamb gets an annual lamb feast on mothers day. Personally, I cannot stand the stuff! But today it was heavenly!!
Yesterday was interesting. I tried out some portrait shots of the family. I spent almost a whole day last week trying to find some second hand bits and pieces to be able to use my flash off camera. Well Saturday was about making that work for me. I think we ended up with some special family shots. In my bid to try create my own business opportunities, I have agreed to photograph the children at my younger son’s school. Nothing like throwing ones self into something new in order to learn how best to make it happen. I hope that I now have a handle on some pretty nifty studio lighting and that some parents will walk away with some cheap but professional quality pictures of their little munchkins!
Have a wonderful week. Serve with passion and love. Reflect, think, act! Spread some peace. And stay cool!
Friday, May 9, 2008
It has been an incredible week. It started off on Sunday, assuming that Sunday is the start of the week, with surfing excitement. I scored my first barrel of my surfing career. Four years of toil and effort in the sea was rewarded with the ultimate prize, a couple of split seconds swallowed up inside the belly of a wave before bursting forth through the curtain like a hero. My second wave of the day was fantastic too until I got to the beach to see how my son was doing. And before you get worried, another friend of mine was watching over him while he played on the beach. Only to discover that he had had an accident was now sitting with copious amounts of blood spilled on the pavement and his thumb split right down the middle. Ahem, it was time to join the crowds of holiday makers returning home after the long weekend and rush him to the Medi-Clinic. Seven stitches later and a good dose of morphine administered directly up the nose and my son was high as a kite and relaxed about his ordeal. Note to myself, must remember that morphine trick in future! Since then he has become a cult hero at school even though he missed his first rugby match. What a stud.
I followed up that incredible very short surf session with three terribly poor sessions through this week. I was really bad in the water, and yet the good guys out there with me were ripping it apart. Another note to self; get me act together!
Tuesday was a little windy and one of our trees decided to throw off its branches and roof tiles decided that they would rather fly. Luckily the roof and the grass decided they wanted to stay put. Who needs gym when you can spend a day sawing and chopping a tree into little pieces, that was fun.
Wednesday, yawn, was pretty boring, just a whole lot of writing, exactly what I wanted to be doing for the day. I expected the same to happen for the rest of the week, but instead I got it into my head that I needed to prepare for an upcoming photograph shoot of nursery school children. I lacked a way to use my flash off camera and I needed to solve this before the shoot. I walked Long Street twice yesterday, and it is called Long Street for good reason. I had been told that there were good second hand camera shops that would be able to help me at considerably less than the many many thousands required for a professional solution. I found some bits and pieces which together with a bit of ingenuity resulted in a semi elegant working solution for a total cost of R35. Score one for the little cheap guy!!
Today I am writing. I cannot believe that I have all of this time to write and yet have no time to write. This time thing is a most elusive concept. We all have 24 hours of it to spend every day and yet some seem to get so much more value for theirs. If I measure my value against my book progress, then I have dismal results to show. It just seems so much more exciting to do anything but write. I could just be terrified of writing!
But I am gonna write!
I followed up that incredible very short surf session with three terribly poor sessions through this week. I was really bad in the water, and yet the good guys out there with me were ripping it apart. Another note to self; get me act together!
Tuesday was a little windy and one of our trees decided to throw off its branches and roof tiles decided that they would rather fly. Luckily the roof and the grass decided they wanted to stay put. Who needs gym when you can spend a day sawing and chopping a tree into little pieces, that was fun.
Wednesday, yawn, was pretty boring, just a whole lot of writing, exactly what I wanted to be doing for the day. I expected the same to happen for the rest of the week, but instead I got it into my head that I needed to prepare for an upcoming photograph shoot of nursery school children. I lacked a way to use my flash off camera and I needed to solve this before the shoot. I walked Long Street twice yesterday, and it is called Long Street for good reason. I had been told that there were good second hand camera shops that would be able to help me at considerably less than the many many thousands required for a professional solution. I found some bits and pieces which together with a bit of ingenuity resulted in a semi elegant working solution for a total cost of R35. Score one for the little cheap guy!!
Today I am writing. I cannot believe that I have all of this time to write and yet have no time to write. This time thing is a most elusive concept. We all have 24 hours of it to spend every day and yet some seem to get so much more value for theirs. If I measure my value against my book progress, then I have dismal results to show. It just seems so much more exciting to do anything but write. I could just be terrified of writing!
But I am gonna write!
It has been an incredible week. It started off on Sunday, assuming that Sunday is the start of the week, with surfing excitement. I scored my first barrel of my surfing career. Four years of toil and effort in the sea was rewarded with the ultimate prize, a couple of split seconds swallowed up inside the belly of a wave before bursting forth through the curtain like a hero. My second wave of the day was fantastic too until I got to the beach to see how my son was doing. And before you get worried, another friend of mine was watching over him while he played on the beach. Only to discover that he had had an accident was now sitting with copious amounts of blood spilled on the pavement and his thumb split right down the middle. Ahem, it was time to join the crowds of holiday makers returning home after the long weekend and rush him to the Medi-Clinic. Seven stitches later and a good dose of morphine administered directly up the nose and my son was high as a kite and relaxed about his ordeal. Note to myself, must remember that morphine trick in future! Since then he has become a cult hero at school even though he missed his first rugby match. What a stud.
I followed up that incredible very short surf session with three terribly poor sessions through this week. I was really bad in the water, and yet the good guys out there with me were ripping it apart. Another note to self; get me act together!
Tuesday was a little windy and one of our trees decided to throw off its branches and roof tiles decided that they would rather fly. Luckily the roof and the grass decided they wanted to stay put. Who needs gym when you can spend a day sawing and chopping a tree into little pieces, that was fun.
Wednesday, yawn, was pretty boring, just a whole lot of writing, exactly what I wanted to be doing for the day. I expected the same to happen for the rest of the week, but instead I got it into my head that I needed to prepare for an upcoming photograph shoot of nursery school children. I lacked a way to use my flash off camera and I needed to solve this before the shoot. I walked Long Street twice yesterday, and it is called Long Street for good reason. I had been told that there were good second hand camera shops that would be able to help me at considerably less than the many many thousands required for a professional solution. I found some bits and pieces which together with a bit of ingenuity resulted in a semi elegant working solution for a total cost of R35. Score one for the little cheap guy!!
Today I am writing. I cannot believe that I have all of this time to write and yet have no time to write. This time thing is a most elusive concept. We all have 24 hours of it to spend every day and yet some seem to get so much more value for theirs. If I measure my value against my book progress, then I have dismal results to show. It just seems so much more exciting to do anything but write. I could just be terrified of writing!
But I am gonna write!
I followed up that incredible very short surf session with three terribly poor sessions through this week. I was really bad in the water, and yet the good guys out there with me were ripping it apart. Another note to self; get me act together!
Tuesday was a little windy and one of our trees decided to throw off its branches and roof tiles decided that they would rather fly. Luckily the roof and the grass decided they wanted to stay put. Who needs gym when you can spend a day sawing and chopping a tree into little pieces, that was fun.
Wednesday, yawn, was pretty boring, just a whole lot of writing, exactly what I wanted to be doing for the day. I expected the same to happen for the rest of the week, but instead I got it into my head that I needed to prepare for an upcoming photograph shoot of nursery school children. I lacked a way to use my flash off camera and I needed to solve this before the shoot. I walked Long Street twice yesterday, and it is called Long Street for good reason. I had been told that there were good second hand camera shops that would be able to help me at considerably less than the many many thousands required for a professional solution. I found some bits and pieces which together with a bit of ingenuity resulted in a semi elegant working solution for a total cost of R35. Score one for the little cheap guy!!
Today I am writing. I cannot believe that I have all of this time to write and yet have no time to write. This time thing is a most elusive concept. We all have 24 hours of it to spend every day and yet some seem to get so much more value for theirs. If I measure my value against my book progress, then I have dismal results to show. It just seems so much more exciting to do anything but write. I could just be terrified of writing!
But I am gonna write!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Today was a sad day in our house. We said goodbye to an old friend. It was the fault of the wind! Certainly the most powerful wind that I have ever experienced. We live in Cape Town after all and the wind blows here, sometimes! Last night it really blew. We are used to gale force winds but this was different. Last night, lying in my bed, pretending to sleep, I could hear the next gust coming. It started as a distant roar that just continued to increase in volume until it hit the house. The house did not rock but it might as well have. The windows were ripped open and banged closed, doors threatened to burst open and let in the fury from outside, roof tiles shattered and bashed themselves to bits on other roof tiles and the garden was whipped into a frenzy! And then it was just a normal gale force wind again.
Neighbours up the road told us that they lay in bed wondering not if but when they would see the stars as they imagined their roof being ripped off. Worse still, they had just days before cancelled their house insurance. Other neighbours worried about a dead tree in the farm next door and wondered if they would see it visiting them in their bedroom.
I slept little after two in the morning. At one stage I got up and went outside where I held onto the deck in between windy gusts. My plan was to save the outdoor umbrella but found it already downed on its side. I rose just after five o clock and looked out of the windows. I was greeted by an old friend lying upside down on my driveway. He had been neatly ripped into two parts. And so I found myself in my driveway in the dark and the rain sawing one of his parts into bits just so that my wife could get her car out of the garage. All that was left of my large stinkwood tree was a shattered stump.
The violence of the wind last night was awesome. My tree was not the only one that went down. A willow was split in half across the road and the dead tree fell the other way in the farm. Lying in my bed last night, I wondered how terrible it must feel to sit through a tropical cyclone or a hurricane. Knowing that your stuff is being ripped to shreds and possibly being posted to another state. You just have to wonder about the terror that people in Myanmar felt as a cyclone ripped their lives apart this weekend.
Later this morning I watched as a fat rock pigeon sat on the broken stump. He lost his home last night and now knew not what to do.
Neighbours up the road told us that they lay in bed wondering not if but when they would see the stars as they imagined their roof being ripped off. Worse still, they had just days before cancelled their house insurance. Other neighbours worried about a dead tree in the farm next door and wondered if they would see it visiting them in their bedroom.
I slept little after two in the morning. At one stage I got up and went outside where I held onto the deck in between windy gusts. My plan was to save the outdoor umbrella but found it already downed on its side. I rose just after five o clock and looked out of the windows. I was greeted by an old friend lying upside down on my driveway. He had been neatly ripped into two parts. And so I found myself in my driveway in the dark and the rain sawing one of his parts into bits just so that my wife could get her car out of the garage. All that was left of my large stinkwood tree was a shattered stump.
The violence of the wind last night was awesome. My tree was not the only one that went down. A willow was split in half across the road and the dead tree fell the other way in the farm. Lying in my bed last night, I wondered how terrible it must feel to sit through a tropical cyclone or a hurricane. Knowing that your stuff is being ripped to shreds and possibly being posted to another state. You just have to wonder about the terror that people in Myanmar felt as a cyclone ripped their lives apart this weekend.
Later this morning I watched as a fat rock pigeon sat on the broken stump. He lost his home last night and now knew not what to do.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
I had an interesting insight.
One of the reasons that I resigned was to spend more time with my children. Looking at my new life with a pair of critical eyes, I discovered that I was not spending all that more quality time with my kids. That did not make sense to me at all. Here I was doing what I wanted to do, which should have included plenty of quality time with my boys and yet it was not happening.
Instead I have filled my time with great activities, all of which I want to do. Hmmm, and there is still not enough time to do everything! Like the all important time that I need and want to spend with the boys!
So you see it does not matter how much time you have, fatherhood or parenthood is still a choice that one has to make. Children need as much time as possible and more. As a parent, it is our role to sacrifice ourselves in order to provide that time. Time we would dearly love to spend on the things we want to do.
When I was working as hard and time intensively as I was, I needed to get very creative on how I fitted children time into my life. Every spare light moment was spent with them in the garden playing sport and the dark moments playing games inside. Now I see them all of the time and there is no longer that desperate need to fill my time with their best interests. Instead I am always available, which is rather a different thing. I watch them play sport at school, I eat all meals with them, and I attend their functions and parties. I am there, but I am not really interacting on the level that I would like. A level at which they have a dad who is active in their lives and who is their biggest and greatest role model and supporter.
I suppose that I have to constantly re-evaluate my choices and make sure that they are helping me achieve the end points I want. Not only my fatherhood choices but all the others as well. When critical evaluation tells me that I am off track, it is time to check out those choices again, and again!
Fatherhood is a choice. Children need as much time as possible with their dad. I want to be that dad! Time for some adjustments to make it happen.
One of the reasons that I resigned was to spend more time with my children. Looking at my new life with a pair of critical eyes, I discovered that I was not spending all that more quality time with my kids. That did not make sense to me at all. Here I was doing what I wanted to do, which should have included plenty of quality time with my boys and yet it was not happening.
Instead I have filled my time with great activities, all of which I want to do. Hmmm, and there is still not enough time to do everything! Like the all important time that I need and want to spend with the boys!
So you see it does not matter how much time you have, fatherhood or parenthood is still a choice that one has to make. Children need as much time as possible and more. As a parent, it is our role to sacrifice ourselves in order to provide that time. Time we would dearly love to spend on the things we want to do.
When I was working as hard and time intensively as I was, I needed to get very creative on how I fitted children time into my life. Every spare light moment was spent with them in the garden playing sport and the dark moments playing games inside. Now I see them all of the time and there is no longer that desperate need to fill my time with their best interests. Instead I am always available, which is rather a different thing. I watch them play sport at school, I eat all meals with them, and I attend their functions and parties. I am there, but I am not really interacting on the level that I would like. A level at which they have a dad who is active in their lives and who is their biggest and greatest role model and supporter.
I suppose that I have to constantly re-evaluate my choices and make sure that they are helping me achieve the end points I want. Not only my fatherhood choices but all the others as well. When critical evaluation tells me that I am off track, it is time to check out those choices again, and again!
Fatherhood is a choice. Children need as much time as possible with their dad. I want to be that dad! Time for some adjustments to make it happen.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
This here is an URGENT update.
I have been practising my baking abilities and today I produced not one but two fine loaves of bread. One complemented my broccoli and cauliflower cannelloni beautifully! I will send you the recipe if you too want to use every pot in your house while you drool in anticipation!!
I have been practising my baking abilities and today I produced not one but two fine loaves of bread. One complemented my broccoli and cauliflower cannelloni beautifully! I will send you the recipe if you too want to use every pot in your house while you drool in anticipation!!
I set off early on Wednesday morning for the slopes of the Helderberg. I was looking for a bit of space and beauty and inspiration. Once again, the book and I required some alignment and fine tuning. The theory was that sitting on top of a mountain ought to provide my mind with a veritable feast of inspiration. The sun lifted its single fiery eye over the mountains as I set forth. It was still cold yet within a few hundred metres my fleece was tied to the top of my camera bag. As silly as it was to have a fleece on an expected warm day, I was breaking a golden hiking rule. Never hike on your own. But on my own was precisely where I wanted and needed to be. And a jersey could come in handy on a cold mountainside night should a broken limb impede my progress.
This mountain is covered in Fynbos and on the lower reaches the Proteas are plentiful. Each with their large flowers expectantly waiting to open. Birds abound down here busily flitting from bush to bush, Cape sugar birds and Starlings and plenty of others . But then I am not a very good bird spotter. I did take pictures of flowers and tried out some macro techniques for fun. The track I was on led steadily upward and it was hard going. My packing definitely needed refinement, what with a full camera backpack, my lunch, two litres of water and a full size tripod, I was a walking porter.
After a good two hours of walking I ended up in a beautiful tree filled gorge. Some of the original Yellowwoods still grow here. But the sun had not yet warmed them up and it was cool and gloomy. I decided to press on as my inspiration lay not there. After another hour of climbing, I arrived at a pinnacle just below a saddle in the mountain. Nowhere near the top but close enough to enjoy the vista that lay before me. I found some shade just below a leopard’s lair and settled in for lunch. Sadly the leopard did not seem to be in!
I drank it all in, opened up my notes and wrote like a man possessed. Oh I love the inspiration that the splendour of the nature can provide!! It is a tonic for the soul.
This all happened last Wednesday. This Wednesday I took my mom on a similar walk. We climbed to the very top of the Helderberg and it was truly spectacular. More than six hours of walking later, we arrived back at my car. Tired and dirty but fulfilled in a way that only nature can.
I hope my mom will still be able to walk tomorrow....
This mountain is covered in Fynbos and on the lower reaches the Proteas are plentiful. Each with their large flowers expectantly waiting to open. Birds abound down here busily flitting from bush to bush, Cape sugar birds and Starlings and plenty of others . But then I am not a very good bird spotter. I did take pictures of flowers and tried out some macro techniques for fun. The track I was on led steadily upward and it was hard going. My packing definitely needed refinement, what with a full camera backpack, my lunch, two litres of water and a full size tripod, I was a walking porter.
After a good two hours of walking I ended up in a beautiful tree filled gorge. Some of the original Yellowwoods still grow here. But the sun had not yet warmed them up and it was cool and gloomy. I decided to press on as my inspiration lay not there. After another hour of climbing, I arrived at a pinnacle just below a saddle in the mountain. Nowhere near the top but close enough to enjoy the vista that lay before me. I found some shade just below a leopard’s lair and settled in for lunch. Sadly the leopard did not seem to be in!
I drank it all in, opened up my notes and wrote like a man possessed. Oh I love the inspiration that the splendour of the nature can provide!! It is a tonic for the soul.
This all happened last Wednesday. This Wednesday I took my mom on a similar walk. We climbed to the very top of the Helderberg and it was truly spectacular. More than six hours of walking later, we arrived back at my car. Tired and dirty but fulfilled in a way that only nature can.
I hope my mom will still be able to walk tomorrow....
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