My South Africa

South Africa-land of the  Springbok, of the bluest  skies on the planet, the most violent thunder storms and lightning that is just breathtaking to witness. This country is  my real home-that is where my  heat and soul often returns to when it is in turmoil. Though I was not born there, but spent all of my childhood as well as my later years in that magical, mystical country .

I started  school there,  then  went to college, fell in love and got married there –so all my memories are  the sweetest ever the reminders of that place. Sweet, serene Saturdays day spent with my grandparents almost weekly whom I loved dearly.

 I had a wonderful childhood, and awesome memories and the most wonderful life. The experiences that I had are always with me and I was blessed for the time I was given to have lived and grown up there in that exotic land of the Jacaranda,the Eucalyptus and Mimosa trees. Hearing the amazing native legends, and  be part of the land of the Proteas.

But times slowly changed and by the time we had left-after more than 20 years, it had changed into a land which I hardly recognized. Today-it has  transformed into an unrecognizable country-sadly crime, murder and fear are a daily constant reminder to all who have stayed behind-though more that half of the white population have left the country, and the land is filled with millions of migrants from all over Africa-and  the whole country has sunk into total mayhem and chaos-from a first world country into a third world country. This is especially present in the  golden city of Johannesburg. Cities like the capital  Pretoria and Cape Town seem to have large conclaves of white population, and  they seem much more safe and protected.  They are almost like the old fortified cities of old.

Everything changes with time-though at the time we thought those days would never end, but end they did. We were young, idealistic and we thought that time was on our side-it wasn`t . Sadly nothing ever stays the same-only the memories remain. But memories  are blessings-for they can always be returned to and we can re-live them and strangely in our mind they all seemed to have happened yesterday.  It gives me such tranquil feelings of peace, hope,  happiness and such deep love-when my mind wanders there. So-always be conscious of the situation you are in-make and record those memories that you will be able to  conjure up later from  your mind. For only they remain. only they are constant-all else changes.  Yes-We are indeed strange creatures of God, in a creation where nothing is permanent but change.