Trying to do the right thing

Life is full of twists and turns, and I seem to have gotten struck somewhere around a bend...

In my business I hunt dragons on a regular basis, in order to bring in an income.  For those who don’t know, dragons in my world are metaphorical business problems requiring resolution. Sometimes I am the Knight who gets to solve problems for business and pick up a cheque for my efforts. The last few months have been tough, the dragons seem to have emigrated, leaving me with little income generating work.

Ironically, I have more irons in the fire than ever before, meaning the future is filled with possibilities. Although when these possibilities will mature is anyone’s guess.

With little to no distress calls, time has been plentiful. It is hard to look at a lack of business as a gift, but this is precisely what it has been. My challenge has been to use it wisely! Luckily a broken finger and the mending of a torn foot ligament have cut surfing out of the picture, which may have caused me to be rather wasteful of this gift. Instead my community projects seemed to come alive, sucking every spare minute I have had. I know the time is all well spent, but I have not been able to stop the internal mental debate.

Instead of ‘wasting’ my time on non income generating activities, I probably should have been doing something to grow my business. A little clever marketing would not have gone amiss. Any business person would have known this! Yet it seemed as if so many other good causes had needs so much greater than my petty business growth issues. Having been blessed with time, it would have been far more wasteful to have not used it on something good for others. Or so the debate in my head has raged...

 Doing the right thing for my fellow man has left me with a little gap to fill on the income side of my income statement. A concern one has to face up to at some time! It did cross my mind that my joyous journey had possibly come to an end. Perhaps it was time to consider a corporate job and shred the book I have recently and painfully completed. Or was it time to get a job in an organisation aimed at the upliftment of others? Something I could champion into the future, merging my skills and passions for good. Then again, if I can only hang in for a little bit longer, I might be able to create an organisation for good or find one of my many irons in the fire exploding into life!

One thing I have learnt is that these projects which pay nothing are the most rewarding I have ever attempted. They have also provided great lessons in humility and compassion, both of which do not pay the bills, but will certainly shape me into a better man.

It has been a tough period in life but one buoyed by the archaic idea that if I am doing the right thing, God will provide. And so he has, but perhaps not in the way I expected!

Rain, rain go away

I love the rain in winter in Cape Town. The way it pours for hours on end. The noise it makes on the roof as I lie in bed, snuggled tightly between my wife and the duvet. The wonderful freshness it brings to the garden and the new clarity in the sky. The way our little stream swells in volume and rushes frenetically toward the sea. And the joy of life all of this water signifies.

I met two families this morning who do not like the rain. Families who fear anything from a simple shower to a downpour. The way water cascades through the holes in their roof and down their walls. How it seeps under the ground and emerges on top of their floor. How their meagre possessions suck it up, swell, shatter, and break. How their clothing, curtains, and shoes become soggy and rot. How they hope for this rainy season to be over.

I took photographs of their houses with my phone. Wondering how my current top of mind concern about a phone upgrade stacks up against the plight of people so poor and disadvantaged and hopeless.

I wondered if it would make any difference if more of us who have so much visited those with so little.  Of course it would, because one cannot help but be moved by compassion.

And perhaps this is exactly why we all stay away!

In Addition

I have to add something to my last post.

If you have not read it, read it!

I was thinking through my approach to this grown man crying about his life and my lack of compassion due to my knowing better. In other words, I judged this man as being unworthy of my time, money, and attention. As a good Christian boy, I know that the right approach to this circumstance was one filled with love and compassion. Yet I found it incredibly difficult to follow the same example that was set so long ago.

When rereading this post, I had the realisation that both of us need help from above, perhaps I more than him, even though it seems to be the other way around!!

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?

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!!!