From One Christmas to Another.

The period of advent always seems to catch me unawares. In fact it's become really bad over the last few years. I am not sure whether it's got something to do with age or whether it's just the over emphases on material splendour the world seems to place on the time of advent. I make no bones about the fact that I detest the commercialization of Christmas. But that is just me. 

There is however another little factor that comes into play. 

The question is often posed. What comes first, Chirstmas or New Year. I have often tried to catch my nieces and nephews with this little trick. Most times I lose. 

Yet those few days after Christmas is often the most difficult for me. It's like being stuck in the doldrums with no wind and very little direction. It's the time when the god Janus comes out and forces me to look back and look forward at the same time. And honestly speaking the last couple of times I did that, both the past and the future looked equilly bleak. But I am an eternal optimist. I often need to force myself to reflect deeply. Where I was, where I am and where I need/want to be. 

Twenty fourteen has not been a good year. The harvest has not produced the finest vintage and it will certainly not go down in history as been one of the finest crops. In a matter of days it will end with me not working for a boss. That "security" of getting paid at the end of the month will be gone.The only option is now me to create my own security. I now have to do it for myself and I must honest, I am as scared as hell. I have never been here before. 

I do not make resolutions. I find it's like making a promise to yourself and breaking it a day, a week or a month down the line. However the one thing I do know is that my life is not in my hands. There is a greater Being that holds control over the path ahead for me. 

So 2015 will be a new beginning for me. Yet the greatest gift I have is this fact. I am healthy. I have resources, albeit somewhat limited. I am able to use my hands. I breathe. I have family that cares. I have friends that inspire and uplift me. I am not alone. And then, most of all, I have GOD on my side. All said and done, I am pretty much ok.

There are those that have very little, least of all hope. Let us think of them this Christmas     

"So This Is Christmas"......

 

I must be honest I am not a great fan of the commercial hype that comes to the fore this time of the year. In fact, I find it somewhat of an irritation when my ears get tortured by the endless sounds of Boney M and Mariah Carey doing their level best to earn royalties form the carols they sing. But that is just me. And Christmas is not about me. 

John Lennon penned the words to the song "So This is Christmas/War is over" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb5hk7jDvvs. . 

The words are somewhat repetitive. Yet they ring very true. In the light of the news headlines we heard over the last few days. A husband and father is held captive in an Eastern country. If one is to believe all the reports then he was on the verge of being set free. However, as fate would have it, he is caught in crossfire of apparent raid and killed the night before his release. He leaves behind a wife and children whose lives are shattered and broken and who will have to battle with the reality of preparing to lay him to rest ......just before Christmas.  

For many that will be Christmas. We all live in hope that we will see the breaking of the dawn every day. I am sure we all go to bed at night with a huge measure of confidence that we will awake as normal from a nights rest. 

Maybe the point I am trying to make is that we should treasure every moment. Capture those little moments of life that we seem to miss as we go about our business. 

As for Christmas. May we all just be that little light that will brighten up the day for someone else. That stranger in the car next to you may just need a smile. That colleague at work that never fails to wind up your last nerve may just need a hug and a word of re-assurance. And then, let us not forget the REAL meaning of Christmas. Let's put the CHRIST back in Christmas. 

"Let it be good one"

One of Life's Most Precious Gifts.....

We sit with candles burning all around. I am on a laptop with battery power and using a mobile WIFI devise to connect to the internet. I guess on the bigger scale of things I am a lot better off then a lot of other people. We have just had supper. Fortunately the food was prepared by yours truly earlier this afternoon. Depending on your perspective ,the only little or major  inconvenience is the fact that our power utility has failed to plan correctly and as result has turned our cities into black holes.So when one looks at the bigger picture, it certainly seems like I am better of then most.

Lets take this just a little further.

Yesterday afternoon, just as we are about to enjoy Sunday roast, a cell phone rings. The wife answers and hands the phone to me. On the other end is a desparate, almost distraught voice. He is a friend. The news he shares is not good news. He's young wife is breathing her last living breaths. Cancer has brought her to the edge and time is running out very rapidly. His plea is a simple one. Will we please just come through and spend a few moments with her and him. 

However things are never all that simple. Our location in relation to where they are is about a forty five minute drive. We overlook that small detail and decide to hit the road. 

What we find rocks the wife and I to the core. She is not human anymore. Her face is distorted and the once beautiful head of hair is no longer. Yet through all that she hears my voice and sort of responds. What is very evident is time. TIME is not on her side. Sadly her clock is ticking. It is only a matter of TIME. 

In Celebration Off..........

I was driving with a colleague to the city this morning. The one thing we have in common is that we celebrate our birthdays days apart. She is a deeply spiritual person whom I greatly admire for her strength and courage oft times in the face of great adversity. Our discussion leant toward the things in our lives we can be thankful for. My thoughts then moved toward considering the lives of two very specific women. 

I have never met either Whilma Liedeman ( @WhilmaL) or Gaynor Young (@earearblog). Ms Liedeman's background is unknown to me. Ms Gaynor Young's life story is well documented in her biography "My Plunge to Fame". The common thread here is that they both had their lives irreversably changed by events and moments that I believe they could never have foreseeing. Ms Young was at the pinnacle of her opera career when an accident changed her life in ways unimaginable. These two women are confined to living their lives in wheelchairs and with extreme challenges that would make people like me want to give up. Yet they both, unbeknown to them, have become to me and many others, incredible beacons of hope and life. 

The picture is of a gentleman unknown to me. He is blind and is playing a Baritone mouthorgan. The important fact is, he is blind. 

Considering all this, perhabs the one lesson is that God often uses us when we are at our most vunerable. When we are at our weakest He uses us to inspire others to greater heights of understanding and faith. All around us are men and women who face incredible challenges in life. Men and women who in spite of the obstacles rise up to show the world that with God given strength and human determination, anything is possible. In the words of Winston Churchill, giving up is not an option.   

I am a completely able bodied, healthy guy. I have no reason to complain in any way and can be thankful that I have been blessed with what I have. I have talents that I believe many would love to have. Yet there is the tendency to take things for granted. The fact that I can walk and live an active life is blessing in itself. The fact that I can see and breathe normally is a blessing in itself. I have no reason to complain. As Gaynor Young puts it very simply, "I am alive". 

September 3 is the day I celebrate my birthday. I may not have much to celebrate. Yet the fact that I breathe is but through the grace of God and that to me is enough reason to celebrate. Thank you to those who have inspired me in the past year. There are many amazing women and men that I will probably never get to meet in person. Yet know this, you have made your mark. 

Thank You.

PS. When you have a moment, please read www.earearblog.com. 

Digging Deep to get to the Sweet Stuff

There is this evergreen bush in my garden. I do not know what it's called but at the onset of Spring it undergoes this incredible makeover. It covers itself in a miriad of little pink flowers. These little pink flowers in turn attract and become the playgound for bees by the hundred. Needless to say, my fascination is peaked by these little creatures and the photo oppertunities presented. The challenge is getting these little guys to sit still for a second. I can almost hear them say to me, "sorry mate, we're to beezy for a photoshoot right now". 

Anyway, so I contort myself and fire off frame after frame hoping to get at least one that will be sharp and usable in some way.

But this "hive of activity" got me thinking. Every now and then one or two of these hyperactive little chaps would dive headlong into the depths of these little flowers. So I wondered. 

Nature has determined and the bees instictively know there is something in the flower they want. However, what guarentee do they have that they will find what they are looking for. Yet every single time, they dive with almost reckless abandon, searching for that "sweet stuff". 

Then this human aspect came to mind. Each and every person I believe is born with some "sweet stuff". Some may have more then others. For some the "sweet stuff" simply oozes out of them. Their outlook and positivity of life is a constant display of the abundance of "sweet stuff" in their souls. 

And then there are those that have had their fair share of lemons in life and the "sweet stuff" has been pushed so far down that their outlook is completely drowned by lemon juice. They battle to find the "sweet stuff" in their own lives. And then someone comes along, not knowing the circumstances, has a taste of the lemon juice and decides "not for me" and they get flushed down the drain without being given a chance to show of their sweetness. 

Even within our own lives we at times have nothing but lemons and we battle to find the "sweet stuff" within all the sours that crop up in our day to day lives. We at times have to dig really deep to get to the sweet stuff deep even within our own being. 

But these little creatures know, just as winter comes and the flowers will go away, spring will come and the blossoms will bloom. Seasons change. Lemon juice changes to syrup and the "sweet stuff" will once again appear. You know it's that "every cloud has a silver lining" bit. There are however those occasions when we need to dig really deep to get to the "sweet stuff". We at times need to to dive headfirst into the challenges to find that sliver of hope.  

We all have the sweet stuff within us. For some it's a lot closer to the surface. Just sometimes, we need to dig really deep to find it. Nothing ever stays the same. Even the bees know that. Thats why they come back every year to this bush looking for the "sweet stuff".

The REWARD, is SWEET beyond description.     

Be Thankful .......For The Simple Things

We live in very harsh unforgiving world. Much of the time we are caught up in the rush of life, so much so that we forget to stop and "smell the coffee". We chase after the those things that we believe will bring us happiness and fulfillment. We forget to be thankful for the little things in life. 

The last week brought into focus for many of us, the plight of those who are less fortunate. Newspapers in this beautiful city of ours showed us the horrible underbelly as people were forcibly removed from their homes. I am not in any way qualified to offer opinion as to the rights and wrongs of the actions of either side. Yet the pictures we saw portrayed images of inhumanity and cruelty by those who held power in their hands. Yet while all this was going on, not very far from us, I was able to snuggle into my warm bed and sleep peacefully, the only disturbance been the sound of the rain against my bedroom window. I was able to shut out the harsh reality of the pain and the suffering that children were going through simply because they did not have a place to call home.

So I am thankful for the fact that I woke up the next morning. I was alive. I had not been harmed in any way. I was able to have a hot shower, get dressed, have coffee and go to work. I had everything I needed to go about my life without any fear or discomfort. 

Now and then, amidst the activity of a busy day, we would find the time to talk about the plight of others. But that was all it was, just a casual chat. It did not serve to change anything,maybe just to ease our conscience.

In essence what we have, we have by the grace of God. The words of a song by Joan Baez come to mind. "There but for fortune, go you and I". I would re-phrase and say, there but for the Grace of God, go I.

So I am thankful for what a I have. 

The simple things of life.

Please Be Gentle.

Hi there. My name is Peter and no, I am not an alchoholic. I take photographs of people and things around the Mother City and occasionally photograph events like the Twitter Blanker Drive or #TBD2014 as it is known. 

This whole exercise is all new to me. So before you come crashing down with critizism, some words of advise will be greatly appreciated. Hopefully I will be more inspired in the future and indeed share things that will really rock the world. 

In closing, I coin a phrase from the writings of Robert Zimmerman AKA Bob Dylan, "Don't critizise what you can't understand".

Good Night.