Wednesday, July 29, 2009

The good, the bad, and the ugly

While I drove home tonight on the Mitchell Freeway, I was stunned by the most beautiful sunset. Light blue sky mixed with different shades of red-and-white clouds. It was such an awesome sight, and reminded me of the good things in life that we should be grateful for.

It also reminded me of a country that I've left behind. A beautiful country with the most amazing variety of natural wonders:

Awesome sunsets, very similar to the one I witnessed tonight. A dry deserted desert with sand dunes that build an everlasting relationship with you in a weird and unexplainable way. A country with huge farms and national parks that proudly display animals like cheetahs, rhinos, springbuck, kudu, zebra, lions, elephants, and the most beautiful antelope of all - the oryx.

The northern areas with the Kavango river, the Zambezi river, and the Kunene, places that you can't describe in words. The flat dry south with its comical array of people, and some of the toughest buggars you'll ever see. And then there is the Orange river, the diamond-infested perimeter that borders the great country on the Southern tip of Africa.

But there are other things that I also left behind in that place. And they still take away any desire that I have to ever return. I made a decision to provide my family with a more stable, longer-lasting secure future. And Western Australia really fits this description.

Meanwhile we are seeing friends of ours in a situation that I never wish upon anyone. Seeing a marriage fall apart because of a friend's selfishness is not a beautiful experience.

Children should have the privilege to live in a stable country, but even more - in a stable home. Wasn't this the main reason most of us moved out of Africa in the first place?

This whole scene plays off like a horror movie in front of us, and we can't really do anything about it. My father left us when I was 5 years old, and this has left a scar on me - something that I have had to deal with, whether I wanted to or not. He has nothing to deal with apart from a little bit of guilt, which apparently is easy to handle. But to a young boy, losing his father due to the fathers choice is a little bit like being crippled for life.

I wish fathers would think about this before they jump into bed with the first blond who is available.

I also saw some awful video material about the hooligans that are crippling the society in South Africa. Criminals who rule and destroy on a daily basis. It just breaks my heart when I see the destruction and hate that is handed out all over Africa. What a hopeless mess.

But, as I said, I have much to be grateful for. What a good life. Making the right choices is a very important part of your life - your choices direct your future. And some choices are not easy to make.

And I'm not saying I made all the right ones. But at least some of them turned out quite positive.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ek dink jy't so absoluut die regte keuse gemaak. Beskou jouself as bevoorreg...maar ek dink jy doen.