Reminders

When worldly matters make you weary, it is well to remember that the best things in life are free:

Step outside before dawn and listen to the birds waking up, chattering quietly in the undergrowth and the treetops. The boubou is waiting for the sunrise before hopping onto the deck and coming to say hello. The cacophonous call of the guinea fowl in the gum tree and the hadeda hollering on the roof make one wonder at their purpose in the avian world! The gentle melody of the turtle dove reminds me of leafy suburbia, in the old days when I was a child. A bokmakierie calls stridently from the hedge, no doubt looking for a mate as the balmy winter days mimic spring.

The glow of dawn colours the sky in indigo and orange, outlining my favourite Table Mountain view in silhouette, never changing and always 'home'. Looking out for the familiar V of sacred ibis crossing overhead, silently swishing by as they fly across the bay to their feeding ground beyond the lighthouse, along the rocky Atlantic shore where the sea has ebbed and flowed for millennia and will continue long after we are gone.

The people who pass through our lives - all for a reason, and to be accepted for who they are, not who society says they should be. We cannot be at peace while we have false expectations. Don't underestimate the power of the kindness of strangers - be that stranger to others. Remember who the real people are - not the politicians, the movie stars, the wealthy - but rather the people who reach out to help others in need, whether through words or actions, without seeking acknowledgement or repayment, but fellowship and service to others. Love and respect each other in the best way you know how. There is so much more good in the world than bad.