Today, as South Africans, we are all dreading the news that any day now our nations father, Nelson Mandela, or affectionately called Madiba, may pass away.  Some, like myself, feel it will not really have any impact on our lives any more, but the doomsday prophets fear that we will have some or other disastrous consequences as a result.  The newspapers like the Sunday Rapport, publish stories of how stoical and serene his wife, Graca Machel is guarding him by sleeping in a chair next to his hospital bed, or gossip about his ex, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela‘s  much publicised and photographed visit.  Even the president, Jacob Zuma, cut short some official visits to spend time by his bedside, and all the while the remaining family members are already fighting about what they will inherit, or how they can make even more money out of the Mandela name.   Apparently every Tom, Dick and Harry now tries to be a Mandela!

English: Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, Gauteng, on 13 May 1998 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Death is a strange thing – otherwise normal, good people can turn into monsters at the sight and sound of the word “money”!  I am one of S A’s top financial advisors for our second largest assurance company, Sanlam, where it comes to wills, estates and trusts, and my o my!   Have I seen the green-eyed monster lashing out its claws and baring its teeth when some of my beloved clients have passed away!

Now what does all this sordid human behaviour have to do with my heading?  Well simple – today I actually got up feeling rather glum – Monday morning Blues in its full glory attacking me.  And perhaps it had something to do with reading the Sunday newspaper in bed last night before I went to sleep??  My answer was to get up as soon as I was fully awake, so as to banish the depression and rather see the beauty all around me.  And boy, is it beautiful!  How often do we miss hearing the birds?  I have hundreds in the trees around my house.  The mornings break in beautiful red glory, the African soil smells fresh, like the finest perfume could never smell – after a bit of rain over the weekend.  And I simply want to share some of the beauty with you.  Enjoy.

Related articles

• South Africa: Emotion builds over Mandela (kvue.com)
• Mandela speculation ‘hard to bear’ (iol.co.za)
• MADIBA- My African Hero, A Perfect & Shining Example for Africa – By Clare Henshaw (clarehenshawblog.wordpress.com)
• You: Graca Machel: the impressive face of a new Africa (japantimes.co.jp)
• Nelson Mandela’s wife thanks world for ‘love, generosity’ (princepremeo.wordpress.com)
• Pienaar, Tovey recall Madiba magic (iol.co.za)