Gems in our midst...
Well it’s six months down the line and I must admit I really can’t find too much to enthuse over. Every now and again you hear a great story about someone rising above the sludge and succeeding against all odds and you feel good for a short while, but then the mass of horror stories hits you in the gut and you are once again overwhelmed with it all.
The other day I saw an interview with a young black woman who had battled and saved and eventually opened two rooms in Soweto offering massages and health and beauty services to the locals. She had completed all her studies and went overseas to gain more experience. She saved every cent she was able to because she had a dream. She returned to RSA and carefully studied the market. Her research revealed that there was an untapped market in offering local services in the townships. She started small with those two rooms using the money she had saved and now she has salons across South Africa.
How wonderful is that?! I felt so good watching her and so proud of those South African women who have struggled against the odds and achieved their dreams. Of course the following news item was the usual chaos and mayhem one sees all day and every day and those little gems of achievement and success are soon lost in the quagmire of horrific events.
But we must never forget that these little gems are there and that they are happening every day – albeit that we are not told about it often enough because it’s not seen as newsworthy. I do believe that in every society throughout history, no matter what the overall circumstances of horror might be (and sometimes because of it) there will always be those who are able to rise above it and maintain their focus on their own dreams.
You know the old saying – one flutter of a butterfly’s wing reverberates across the world? The more the little people succeed, the more a country’s economy grows and the less power governments will have over the people.
So today I don’t want to talk about all the sad and horrific events of the past six months or my questions as to who benefits from all the chaos (although one must always pose that question). No – this time around I hope that all of us can focus just for a little while on the positives in our nation and spend some time looking for those positives – they are all around us if we just take the time to look for them. And the more we hear about them, the more inspired and hopeful we will all feel – even if just for a short while!
Love
Prudens
