Freedom Beauty Truth

Following from my previous two blog posts in this mini-series about my recent decision to leave South Africa, country of my birth, and return to Australia where I had lived for many years... Here is the list of the main things I loved about living in South Africa (again). The first three are also the reasons we decided to move back there in the first place.... 1.  Family and friends Of course. It goes without saying that it’s much nicer to be closer to family and friends and have the opportunity to see them more often. The opportunities I had to reconnect after 10 years living out of the country I grew up in were much treasured, and I have so many happy memories – including our wedding on Noordhoek beach; my best friend from school days flying down to help before my wedding, and again to meet my newborn daughter a year and a half later (this could not have happened if I was still living overseas); my surprise baby shower with family in the Eastern Cape; a Christmas in...

My last few blog posts have been discussing ‘what’s wrong with shooting a bunch of protesting miners’… and the bigger picture considerations when assessing what led to the massacre at a Lonmin mine in Marikana, South Africa a few weeks ago . Previous posts in this mini series covered: 1. Democratic principles; 2. Human Rights; 3. Cultural violence; and 4. Structural violence. In the final post in my short series, I will be exploring the reactions of South Africans a bit further – at least the aspects that have amazed and concerned me. I might be throwing the cat among the pigeons, but here goes... 5. ‘us’ and ‘them’- or ‘ubuntu’ vs ‘white guilt’ The term ‘Nation-building’ is frequently bandied about in political and intellectual circles in this country. I would prefer to speak of community-building, since national identity and patriotism are problematic, twentieth-century terms more likely to start wars than build a sunny shared future for us all. Disputed ...

The entire goal of the spiritual life is compassion – a s Meister Eckhart emphasised,  “if you were in an ecstasy as deep as that of St. Paul and there was a sick man who needed a cup of soup, it were better for you that you returned from the ecstasy and brought the cup of soup for love’s sake.” I fail this test frequently. And not because I am in ‘an ecstasy’ too great to tear myself away from and serve my fellow human beings…no, nothing as wonderfully spiritual-sounding as that… Most often it’s because I am too busy, ‘not in the mood’, distracted, irritated or self-absorbed… Compassion takes time, energy and the willingness to become involved in something that might snowball into something much bigger than you at first anticipated. Sometimes I just don’t feel I have the energy to ‘go there’ with a particular person or situation I am confronted with, usually at an inopportune moment (like when you are on your way to work, or already late for an appointment…) Is it even ‘reasona...

“Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything.” – George Lois Who has all ‘the answers’? With New Year fast approaching, I have been looking back over the past year’s events – personal and worldwide – and thinking about the mess humanity is in, how we got here, what the year ahead holds in store for us (environmentally, socially and economically) …and of course where I fit into it all: how I could help in some way to improve the planet, or at least my little corner of it. This is an ongoing ‘musing’, actually - and what most of my ‘blog’ posts are in some way attempting to discuss. But there is also a strong reflexive component to this ‘blog’ - so far unacknowledged, which I would like to briefly refer to and explain today (before continuing with the wider discussion). Basically, the very act of ‘blogging’ assumes a few things: that people would be interested in what I have to say; that I have something useful to...

He was running next to our car as if his life depended on it – and maybe it did! I felt a whirlpool of emotions, ranging from sadness and pity to fear and anger: fearful that he would be hurt or run over by our car, or another; angry that my husband didn’t just stop (he couldn’t - we were crossing a busy city intersection!); sad that his situation (and that of many in this country) could be so desperate that he would do this just to sell one magazine! It was Saturday, and we were on our way to a movie. We had stopped at a traffic light, and started to call over one of the ‘Big Issue’ magazine vendors that are always there, when the lights changed, and we had to move on. The man eagerly ran over to catch us before we passed, but just then I realised we only had a R50 – the magazine costs R18 (of which half goes to the vendor) and we often just give a R20 as there is very little time to scramble for change…but R50? While I continued to scrounge through the wallet for something else, he...