Currents in Life

I have been finding it difficult to write anything for some time – I have no “mojo”. But then life throws things at one which are unexpected and for which one may be totally unprepared.

It is almost as if there is an under-current which no one can see but which sweeps one hither and thither as it sees fit, I suppose. Take for instance my wife, Maria, or Magucha as she was universally known; above all she was my best friend for nearly thirty seven years. That is a big chunk of anyone’s life. Now that she is no longer here, alive and vibrant (as she was) I have to try to live – not my life with her anymore – but to live my life in a totally different manner.

This is very difficult to explain. While Magucha’s death was not a complete and absolute surprise the speed and the manner was. She had been very ill before and had not been 100% well for quite some years. Now it is almost as if she is still with me. For instance when I shop for food I seem always to look first for what I know she used to like. Sometimes I catch myself turning to ask her if she would like this or that!

To me our marriage was in truth a partnership. We were in it together, different roles, but each was half of a whole. We had our differences, of course we did, but we were still very strong together and I never thought of her as anything other than an equal partner in our marriage. She was always independent and never liked to be tied to any particular course of action – she was in every respect a free soul.

I forget the exact words but there is a saying that goes something like this:-

“If you love something let it fly free; if it returns its yours; if it doesn’t, it never was”.

This is what I tried to do with our life together and by and large I think I succeeded.

I’ll end this post with something that the American rebel and “Gonzo” journalist, Hunter S Thompson, wrote that I think applied to and gives a good insight into Magucha’s whole approach to life.

“ Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow! What a Ride!”

Injustice is the Problem.

Amended January 31, 2020

I am no soothsayer nor do I have special access to any particular research but I do, sincerely, believe that what follows is true and applies, and has applied, for all peoples for all times.

I ask the question - "isn't their just one species of human? Homo Sapiens? Isn't the fact that different languages are spoken; that people have different coloured skins; that people worship (presumably) the same God in different ways; isn't all this dependent of where they were born?" 

And another question - "did anyone have a choice about where they were born or who their parents were?"

Where there is prejudice; where there is discrimination based on the colour of a person skin; where there is great inequality in the distribution of wealth between the very rich and the very poor; where  access to good health facilities and health care is determined by the amount of money they spend; where there is a perception that how any individual worships God matters to others; where justice is denied; where the concept takes hold that “profit” has precedence over “people”; where access to high quality education is limited or non-existent; where there are limited or non-existent employment opportunities; where there is corruption or a perception that the wealthy can bend the rules and “get off lightly”, the prospect of social unrest will inevitably arise.

This is the root cause of the current problems in the USA, in Europe, in the Middle East in Brazil and other South American countries, and unfortunately – for future peace prospects – in China and Russia, though both are struggling to contain the unrest.

Australia, Canada and other so called “Western” countries are not immune!

I just hope that ideology will be set aside and that statesmanship and commonsense will prevail. Both of which I might add, are notably absent today!

I'm not going to hold my breath!

There is  a speech by Frederick Douglass (African American, a former slave, social reformer, orator and statesman) on the 24^th anniversary of emancipation, Washington, DC, 1886, which has great relevance today, and I quote:- 

“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails and where any one class is made to feel that society is in an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.” (From “Spirit Level” by Wilkinson and Pickett)