I have a couple of Soap Boxes. I suppose we all have. Some of my Soap Boxes are I do not buy “made in PRC”, which is China in disguise. I also do not support American brands, unless I have an unsatiable urge for a McFlurry – we are all allowed a small double standard occasionally. I find it difficult to celebrate Secular days (no Valentine for me!) but enjoy the double standard of my sons’ attention on Mother’s Day. I do however acknowledge VE Day and Armistice Day, simply as I see these as reminders of what we should never do again as a common humanity. For that same reason, my profile photo on WhatsApp on the 6^th of August every year, is an image of Enola Gay. And I am always amazed at people’s ignorance when I wear my Poppy Brooch. China, admittedly, did give us some historic items, such as Acupuncture and of course: Confucius.

Before I get into Confucius, I first have to share that at one time in my life, I taught Sunday school for about 14 years. There is a lot you can learn from Sunday School as an adult. Firstly, as a new Christian, I felt rather inadequate not knowing or understanding the Bible all too well. Go teach Sunday School! In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Having worked my way through the 3-year syllabus a few times, I can truly claim to have read most of the Bible, a few times. Another benefit of teaching the young is that you gain incredible insight into family dynamics. One of my pupils, who must have been about 5 or 6 years old at the time, one day told me: My Granny is very old. She was around at the time when Jesus was born. I happened to know the Granny, and I think she did live through the Beatles and Flower Power, but Biblical times was stretching it a bit. But for the sake of this story, maybe she was, and as Confucius was born just a few very short centuries before Jesus, maybe her Granny was a toddler around the time Confucius was around.

Confucius, born in 552BCE, was a Chinese philosopher and politician. His teachings underpin East Asian culture and society to such a point, that it remains influential to this day. I first became aware of his existence when I was maybe in my mid-teens. I was away on holiday with friends and wanted to send a postcard home (remember the days when we did that?), and I found one with a Confucius quote on. It read: Woman who cooks meat and peas in the same pot, is very unhygienic. I enjoyed the word play, but in time, it did introduce me to his philosophy. Another of his wisdom’s is: Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.

One can find beauty in everything. You can find good in tragedy. Given all the bad news we are surrounded with every day, it is sometimes hard to realize this. But all the bad news of the level of plunder and corruption we suffer in our beautiful country gives us the opportunity to be reminded of our individual true values. It reminds us that we can make different and better personal choices. An ending can be a new beginning.  I heard someone mention that you need to appreciate your pain. That’s a bit of a stretch, I thought, but then my thought process took me to the inevitable pain all of us experience at times. Pain makes you stronger. Everyone reading this can reflect on some childhood trauma, and I had my fair share of it. As I grew into adulthood, I eventually reached the realization, that my trauma is not a harness to keep me back, but that it is in fact the cornerstone of the person I am today. Once I embraced this, I was able to become the person I am today. (Disclaimer: you may or may not like me. What is important is that I like myself.) There is beauty in endings, as they ring in new beginnings. To start the next chapter, you have to turn the page. Things happen in life. People die, relationships end, jobs are lost.

How then, can one find beauty in everything? Confucius can help you here. Everything has beauty. We just need to see it. You do know by now that my trusted steed, Colin, takes all (OK, most! Sometimes we borrow from one of the sons….) the photos for this blog. Colin has an artist’s eye. (he also has an artist’s mind, hand, and inability to budget, but that is another story.) Somehow, Colin always manages to take the perfect photo to go with what I am trying to write about. A dark sky on its own is ominous. Mildew on what used to be a pristine white Cape Dutch gable, on what must be one of the most beautiful houses in the valley, is a menace. Capture both in one image and see how it transforms into beauty. Photoshop took care of the Satellite Dish to the left of the gable. You see, there is even beauty in modern technology! Domino too has that ability. What to every gardener is a bl@$ted mole in hole in the middle of the lawn, transforms into an opportunity to, firstly, a live fluffy toy and then a tasty snack, in his mind.

Yesterday took us back to Botrivier Village. We were there to attend a farewell event for a couple who have reached the end of their current chapter, and now will be turning the page to start a new, and I hope, a much better one. How is Domino?, they all wanted to know. He is under house arrest, I remind them. Pity, they say. Apparently, they miss him. We slipped away from the function, to have a quick pop-in by the Lady I mentioned last week. Lying in her bed, she was a picture of absolute serene beauty. She looked so at peace. I was tempted to say: you look so well. Touching her skin-and-bone-shoulder reminded me however, of her reality. Later in the evening, it also reminded me that there is beauty, even in death.

In the words of Julia Cameron (author of The Artists’ Way): If you work on your creativity, you deepen your spirituality. And if you work on your spirituality, you deepen your creativity.

There is beauty in the situation you may find yourself in right now. And if it is not a good place to be, remember: your current situation does not define you as a person. It may just be a speedbump on the road that leads to that beautiful place.

There is a lot you can learn being a Sunday School teacher. Such as: No. Your child is not the naughtiest in the community. There is always one naughtier. Others again, have very old Grannies. Older than Confucius when he said: Old age is a good and pleasant thing. You are gently shouldered off the stage, but then you are given such a comfortable front stall as a spectator.