••• FUTURE FOCUS
JENNY MATHEWS
THE POWER OF ONE
DURING JUNE WE TRAVELLED THROUGH THE NORTHWEST , FREE STATE AND THE KZN MIDLANDS . EVERYWHERE WE WENT THE EFFECT OF THE DROUGHT WAS EVIDENT .
We saw livestock roaming the grasslands and the foothills of the Drakensberg and wondered how they are going to survive the winter . The sights which distressed me most were the dams and rivers surrounding my rural childhood home in KwaZulu-Natal . I have never seen them so low and running so silently – if they were running at all . Rivers wrapped their bare curves silently around the contours of KwaZulu-Natal with pools of sludge defining their once flowing course . The centre pivots stood still with only here and there a brave one sputtering on , spewing brown water over the green feed for the dairy cows .
I fear I am growing old as I begin sentences with ‘ In my day …’ but : In my day , as we picnicked alongside sparkling mountain streams of crystal waters or carelessly launched our tubes into fast flowing rivers which meandered through the green countryside , we never imagined the possibility of the waterways
running dry or being reduced to pathways of squelching mud ; or being declared polluted , toxic waters completely unfit for human consumption … And if it ’ s not fit for me and you , what about our animals and what about the irrigated vegetables we eat ?
Truth be told , it is very easy to feel really depressed and overwhelmed by the troubles in our world which range from political chaos , personal safety issues and serious economic crises , to environ mental concerns which threaten to cause the imminent demise of humankind . And yet , even right now in poverty stricken corners of the world and in the midst of war-torn countries , the heartbeat of humankind continues ... People live , breathe , give birth , have faith and struggle on … The BIG QUESTION really , is how are you and I going to cope ? How do we approach the future ? What will we focus on and where do we place our faith ?
There are so many things over which we have absolutely no control . We can do nothing about them so we should stop fretting since this is the root cause of helplessness and sometimes overwhelming depression . If we are wise , we will pick our issues . These should be in areas where we actually can do something constructive and make changes which will make a difference to our world and the lives of others around us .
I have long been overwhelmed
by issues surrounding the pollution and destruction of our planet , like the current water crisis . I am distressed when I read statistics like : There are 5,25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean , an estimated 269 000 tons of plastic debris floating on the surface of the ocean and about 4 billion microfibers of plastic per / km 2 littering the deeps of the sea ! Like you I ’ m sure , there are other issues I care deeply about too : poverty , malnourishment , empowerment through education , land transformation , the impact of climate change , water quality , etcetera .
So ! My new ‘ self-help theory ’ on How to Survive in a Chaotic World now looks like this : “ We only have one life to live and a responsibility to live it well – But !!! I can only do what I can do , to make the changes I want to see !” This means that if I care about plastic pollution , I must stop spouting forth on the big issues and start making small changes in my own world . I need to take my re-usable shopping bags to the supermarket ; I need to reconsider my purchase and use of plastic items . I can ’ t restore water supplies , but I can work more wisely with water . I can ’ t end world hunger , but I can feed one hungry mouth ...
It doesn ’ t matter what issue strikes a chord in your heart . It doesn ’ t matter what is being said on the world soapbox platforms on that issue . Ultimately all that matters is what YOU do about it
54 AUG / SEP 2016 • SENWES Scenario