Listening to Reinhold Niebuhr
The last couple of months have been pretty turbulent and disturbing globally, which is probably why I had such a long gap in blogging. I found myself doing too much “doom scrolling” until I made a concerted effort to follow Reinhold Niebuhr’s wise advice. Who on earth is Reinhold Niebuhr you may ask? He is said to be the author of the Serenity Prayer. I am focusing more than ever on learning to accept the things I cannot change. While always trying to remain aware of what is happening in this crazy world in these mad times, I now make a conscious effort to enjoy the birds in the garden, the last lingering days of summer, a good book, a walk in the park, and making as much of a difference as I can, in the lives of those around me. So with that in mind here are a few snippets from Liz at Lancaster.
Seven years ago Liz at Lancaster put a community bookbox on the pavement. Recently, I was upset to see that the door of the little pavement library had been removed (I thought ‘vandalized”). However, Christianah a wonderful good Samaritan, had removed the damaged door to repair and return it. Christianah works at the REEA bookshop, a second hand charity bookshop in nearby Delta Centre. As you can see from the sign on the bookbox, she, as well as residents in the area, help keep the bookbox stocked. When I phoned to thank her we both agreed that many of the books might being taken by informal book traders to sell, but that as we are both passionate about encouraging readers and getting books “out there”, we were happy with this alternative path to encourage reading. Informal book sellers on the streets have increased in number since 2019 and especially in the post Covid economic decline.
An ex-pat guest out from England was very surprised and delighted to see 2 Grey Hornbills at the bird table. He said he had never seen them in Johannesburg. Their habitat has indeed usually been “bushveld” or more sub-tropical, but with Johannesburg’s changing micro-climate and increased food sources in urban areas, they have moved in to some Jozi neighbourhoods. And our pair can be seen daily and their kitten like mewling is now a familiar call.
During a visit to RMB Latitudes Art Fair last year, I succumbed and bought one of Kevin Collins’ delightful ceramics from his Endangered Women series. All the works from this series represent veiled women with headgear showing endangered species. This series combines 2 of Kevin’s concerns – the rapid extinction rate of species in the world (“10,000 species lost to extinction per year, a rate that is 1,000 times faster than at any other time in human history”); and the increased pressure this puts on women in under-developed countries. He notes: “Biodiversity loss forces women and girls to spend more time and travel greater distances to collect water, wood for fuel, and animals and plants for food and medicine. This in turn sets them further back in receiving an education and generating a liveable income and makes it harder for them to have a say in the conservation and management of their communities’ natural resources.” Kevin told me the story behind the initial W. Z. standing for Wolkberg Zulu. Wolkberg Zulu is a remarkable rare little butterfly, found in only two tiny, high-altitude sites in the worlds: in the Wolkberg mountain range in Haenertsburg, Limpopo. So I was delighted to read a recent article in the Daily Maverick about how this brave little insect is now being given legal protection with the first ever “butterfly servitude”. It’s made my WZ ceramic even more special!
Many guests know and love Khaya, all saying what a special gentle dog she is. She has been limping on her left leg for some time and the final verdict was a torn cruciate ligament of the knee. Operations mentioned – one to repair the ligament and one to shave the femur to alter the angle of the bones meeting in the knee, and so reduce the pressure on the knee joint. The decision for various reasons is to go for conservative treatment: physio once a week, medication when necssary, and to strap the leg. Well … let’s see how long the strap stays on. Above is day 1. She knows full well she is not allowed to gnaw at it, so she saunters off quietly and nocholantly to do that out of sight!
Six years ago in 2019 we were privileged to host a couple coming from the United States to adopt a little boy. That little boy was Isaiah whom you see above on the right. Six years later, now a family of three, they came back to adopt a little girl. That little girl is Thsidi on the left. We are so fortunate to be able to share in these truly special and happy events. And to see how Isaiah loves and looks out for his new sister was remarkable. We will miss you all and look forward to welcoming you back as Isaiah and Thsidi get older.
I walk regularly with a friend at James and Ethel Gray Park in Melrose. A very active community group works hard at the upkeep and improvement of this park with benches, upgrades to the children’s playground, rubbish bins, cleaning of the small waterway running through a part of the park. Near the car entrance is a large field area with large rocks around its edge. These rocks are variously embellished with small mosaics of different birds. This little blacksmith plover above doesn’t get a look in on the sign below.
And Highveld cloud formations and beautiful early autumn evening light even make driving in the crazy Joburg traffic bearable!
Thank you for the reminder Reinhold Neibuhr!