We live in a time where it’s almost impossible to have a conversation without someone saying how physically exhausted or emotionally depleted they are. “I am done, finished, kaput,” we hear, yet it’s only four months since 2023 began.
In that time we have seen hard-hitting load-shedding. We have seen the former chief executive of Eskom point to the ruling ANC for having plundered Eskom. Oh, and we have seen the power utility be exempted from reporting irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditures in its financial statements only to have the gazette withdrawn while the matter is reconsidered.
We heard arguments that South Africa should arrest Russia’s President Vladimir Putin when he lands on our shores for a Brics meeting in August — and silence from the government. We have seen how the police and the security company G4S “lost” a convicted murderer and rapist. And another child died in a pit latrine.
Turn left, and our refuse lies uncollected for days. Turn right, and our water is not fit to drink. Look down, and the fear of violence spits at our feet like a snake. Stare ahead, and politicians and officials are killing each other — and those exposing them — to gorge on our taxes.
Our daily tasks are seemingly insurmountable.
Perhaps it is wise for those who believe, and those who do not, to look up for at least the four days of the Easter weekend and breathe. For those who believe, find strength in your faith. For those who do not, there is belief in family and friends and what is good in our country.
It is at this time that we should put away our “tasks”, turn down the volume on social media and focus instead on being the best version of ourselves — and achieving longevity of that version.
Our faith, family and friends are what make us whole, and it is these we must turn to for comfort.
This weekend, we can choose to focus on the good in our lives, and take advantage of time with loved ones, or we can choose to marinate in the failings of the government.
But why would we want our focus to be on the corrupt and the inept when, for four days at least, we have the opportunity to partake of the sublime?
And is there anything more sublime than a family meal under the magnificent South African sky, even when the food in question is not of the sumptuous variety, because the economy has resulted in us having to cut back?
From kotas in the shade of a tree so old that it is quite believable it would share wisdom if asked, to boerewors rolls enjoyed cross-legged on the grass, it is the company we choose that renders the bread that much sweeter, the wine fruity.
We encourage you to choose the good in life this long weekend, and wish everyone a blessed time.