Lockdown Day 29 – 24 April 2020 – Doors

Posted on April 25, 2020 by PietMar

So we go into new lockdown rules a week from today. As said before, I will try and keep safe as much as possible. But it does seem we will be able to drive out on the dirt roads. Reason for excitement.

While dressing, I envision driving the backroads and stopped by the police. The imaginary conversation goes like this:  “Morning sir, where are you going?” “Morning, Officer, I am going home.” “That is good, sir, where are you coming from?” “I am coming from home, officer.” That is what driving backroads are about. Going nowhere at 20km/h with many photo-stops. And from an imaginary drive we end up listening to two amazing songs.

Sissel Going Home – isn’t Sissel a beautiful woman with an amazing voice? I prefer her rendition of Going Home above many others. As a bonus, another version of Going Home

Then Colm Wilkinson sings  Bring Him Home from Les Misérables. I had the privilege to be in the auditorium when Les Misérables was in Artscape. That was an experience.

“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Oh, my friend, it’s not what they take away from you that counts. It’s what you do with what you have left.”
Hubert Humphrey

“That last page turned is a perfect excuse to write a whole new book.”
Toni Sorenson

We are still in lockdown, so very few people should be going home, they should be AT home.

As always, the end is also a new beginning. It is important to realise that the end of the lockdown is not the end of the virus. We are leaving the safety of our homes as the curve is starting to rise. Although I think Pres Ramaphosa is doing very well in these times (just wish we could agree on when it is 19h00 or 20h00, because it seems we understand that differently). I cannot wonder what history will say a year or two from now when we look back with 20/20 hindsight. Life is not a repeatable experiment. I believe each and every country and individual is doing as best he can in these times. But looking back at this situation, I wonder what the opinions would be where we could do differently with perhaps a better result. What am I learning from this situation? What will I say a year from now about my own reaction to lockdown and everything it stands for?

The end of lockdown also starts a new beginning for most businesses and people. Even if you have an essential business, turnover was not the same. It will take a very long time to catch up on lost income and turnover. That is an even bigger problem on an individual level.

I have a fair understanding of the economy and I understand many things. For instance, there is compelling evidence that the standard of living is rising worldwide. I like that. But I dare you to convince the guys begging at the robot that it is true! In the same way I believe the economy will recover, but I am convinced there will be significant personal suffering.

A new beginning also means a new opportunity. Right at the beginning of the pandemic, I read an article and the author discussed the way ahead. One thing he said stuck with me.  “If your business is already faltering, perhaps now is a time to walk away with dignity, get rid of the burden, and start over. If that will be possible, depends on the structure of the business.” There is an opportunity when a door closes and a new one opens.

There is hope in new beginnings.

Feb 2006 a minister of religion told me this story. He was a minister in a medium-sized town. There was a baker who baked the best cookies and biscuits you could imagine. This minister encouraged the congregants to tithe. Mr. Baker told him: “If I tithe, I will go bankrupt.” To which the minister replied: “Perhaps that is what God intends because he has much bigger dreams for you.” (I have many reservations about this conversation!) As you can imagine, Mr. Baker did go bankrupt, he moved to Johannesburg, opened a new bakery and it became a BAKERY. Because I know the minister, I believe the story.

Has anybody ever asked you: “If you could start over and there are no constraints, what would you do?”

NOW COULD BE MY TIME!

And then, perhaps, I would really be going home. Except, short-term insurance is home to me. I might have to start over, but I will rebuild my home!

 

 

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Lockdown Day 28 – 23 April 2020 – The Storm That Ran Out of Rain

Posted on April 24, 2020 by PietMar

This morning starts with Mozart’s Symphony N0 40

“When you are in the middle of a storm cloud it’s hard to think outside of it, but the only way out of the storm is to ride through it and things will be a lot clearer on the other side” 
– Jodi Ann Bickley

“Every storm runs out of rain, just like every dark night turns into day.”
Gary Allan

Last night I lay in bed thinking of the good times our family had. My mind goes back to the December camping holiday at Victoria Bay. We camp on the terrace above the jetty. Lots and lots of fun and good times. I cannot remember the year, but on 23 December we walk along the railway line to Kaaimans Bridge. When we came back, I went for a swim and while I was at the back of the waves the sea changed. I had to swim out, something I never do if I can help it. That is what waves are for.

The family was warned of a change in weather and in seaman’s terms we battened down. Then the wind came. And with the wind came the rain.  The wind pushed the rain through the canvas of the pop-top roof. The roof was lowered. The caravan shook in the wind. We decided to take the three girls to my sister in George, where they would be safe and dry.

It was a bad night, because I had to go out in the rain regularly to check the guy ropes and pegs. Eventually the wind subsided, the rain stopped and there was a calm. We camped through many storms. It has always been like that. For the record, Hartenbos got 75mm rain that night!

The next morning the sunrises, somehow it does that every day. It is 24 December and the clouds are cotton balls in the sky. We had an Add-A-Room tent added to the main tent. That is where the 3 girls slept. It had a build-in waterproof groundsheet. When I got out  that morning and started checking everything, we were the only people camping at Victoria Bay with an in-house swimming pool, all of 75mm deep. That is about the rain in Hartenbos!

When we came outside, there was a new camaraderie amongst the campers. We all survived the storm.  Some had damge to tents or other camping gear. We all helped each other where we could. We supported each other through the storm. The storm brought strangers closer together. The storm turn strangers into friends.

Afterward, there were two groups in the camp. Those that survived the storm and those that came after the storm!

My we exit this storm as friends!

AN IRISH FRIENDSHIP WISH:

May there always be work for your hands to do;
May your purse always hold a coin or two;
May the sun always shine on your windowpane;
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;
May the hand of a friend always be near you;
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
and may you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows you’re dead

 

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Lockdown Day 27 – 22 April 2020 – Can You Imagine Us Years From Today

Posted on April 23, 2020 by PietMar

I felt like Neil Diamond this morning – it is a bright day and it surely is not just gloom! Then I found this Neil Diamond song for COVID 19

It also reminded me that I am getting old! Replaced my Hot August Night Double Album with a CD years ago.

Often I read a book, article, poem or whatever and I at the end, with a sigh, I say: “Damn, I wish I could have said it like this.” Then I shut up. Nothing can be added! That is what I do today. At the bottom I have a Simon & Garfunkel song for everybody I love, care about (there are many of those), my coffee buddies – soon we will sit like Bookends!

“Those who are resisting quarantine are not advocating for “live free or die”, they are advocating “I must have my freedom even if it means harming others.” Remember, if your freedom comes at the cost of other people’s lives, then that’s not freedom, it’s savagery.”
― Abhijit Naskar

“Crisis either causes regress or progress depending on the will of the people.”
― Abhijit Naskar

“We cannot fix a sickness of the society merely with strategy – that strategy has to be followed by the responsibility of the citizens.” 
― Abhijit Naskar

“In these times
when the majority
are giving a premonition
of doom,
when you and I are
watching the media
and feeling something
sinister is going
to loom
when we are being
bombarded with messages
of the catastrophe
of Corona Virus
and feeling gloom…

These times of using
masks & sanitizers
and of not hugging
or shaking hands with
friends or family members…

of these times
when the world is being
painted with dark shades
of hate and fear,
and the majority are seeing
the world as a place
of bad fate & tear…

you come out with
positive vibes & energy
and use bright colors
of love and warmth
and paint a
beautiful rainbow
of hope & good old
cheer”
― Avijeet Das

Quotes found at www.goodreads.com

“Can you imagine us years from today
Sharing a park bench quietly?
How terribly strange to be seventy”
(Seventy is not so far off as it used to be!)

Here is the lyrics to Old Friends/Bookends

AN IRISH FRIENDSHIP WISH:

I hope it works…

May there always be work for your hands to do;

May your purse always hold a coin or two;

May the sun always shine on your windowpane;

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;

May the hand of a friend always be near you;
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

and may you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows you’re dead

AN IRISH FRIENDSHIP WISH:

I hope it works…

May there always be work for your hands to do;

May your purse always hold a coin or two;

May the sun always shine on your windowpane;

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;

May the hand of a friend always be near you;
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

and may you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows you’re dead
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Lockdown – Day 26 – 21 April 2020 – Weeping

Posted on April 22, 2020 by PietMar

I knew it was going to happen from the first moment, and when it did, it hit me like a fist between the eyes!

This morning the enormity of the situation is more than just statistics, it is friends that I reach out to via Whatsapp and who reply honestly “I am not sure how I am! No work, no pay!” – it is human beings all over the world. Where will it end? I am at a loss for words. I turn to John O’Donohue, an Irishman who surely should know about life!

My music is the haunting Spiegel im Spiegel by Arvo Pärt.

For Equilibrium, a Blessing:
Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore,
May the relief of laughter rinse through your soul.

As the wind loves to call things to dance,
May your gravity by lightened by grace.

Like the dignity of moonlight restoring the earth,
may your thoughts incline with reverence and respect.

As water takes whatever shape it is in,
So free may you be about who you become.

As silence smiles on the other side of what’s said,
May your sense of irony bring perspective.

As time remains free of all that it frames,
May your mind stay clear of all it names.

May your prayer of listening deepen enough
to hear in the depths the laughter of god.”
 John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings

“This is the time to be slow,
Lie low to the wall
Until the bitter weather passes.

Try, as best you can, not to let
The wire brush of doubt
Scrape from your heart
All sense of yourself
And your hesitant light.

If you remain generous,
Time will come good;
And you will find your feet
Again on fresh pastures of promise,
Where the air will be kind
And blushed with beginning.”
― John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings

 

FOR SUFFERING

May you be blessed in the holy names of those
Who, without you knowing it,
Help to carry and lighten your pain.

May you know serenity
When you are called
To enter the house of suffering.

May a window of light always surprise you.

May you be granted the wisdom
To avoid false resistance;
When suffering knocks on the door of your life,

May you glimpse its eventual gifts.

May you be able to receive the fruits of suffering.
May memory bless and protect you
With the hard-earned light of past travail;
To remind you that you have survived before
And though the darkness now is deep,
You will soon see the approaching light.

May the grace of time heal your wounds.

May you know that though the storm might rage,
Not a hair of your head will be harmed.

by John O’Donohue

 

You may want to read this post by Kristine – she has words to express my fumbling thoughts!

Somehow, it this time of lockdown the song Weeping comes to mind. Different circumstances, so many similarities! Read the story HERE.

This is the original 1980’s version.

WEEPING
Written by Dan Heymann
(Copyright Bright Blue)
______________________________
I knew a man who lived in fear
It was huge, it was angry, it was drawing near
Behind his house, a secret place
Was the shadow of the demon he could never face
He built a wall of steel and flame
And men with guns, to keep it tame
Then standing back, he made it plain
That the nightmare would never ever rise again
But the fear and the fire and the guns remain

It doesn’t matter now
It’s over anyhow
He tells the world that it’s sleeping
But as the night came round
I heard its lonely sound
It wasn’t roaring, it was weeping

And then one day the neighbors came
They were curious to know about the smoke and flame
They stood around outside the wall
But of course there was nothing to be heard at all
“My friends,” he said, “We’ve reached our goal
The threat is under firm control
As long as peace and order reign
I’ll be damned if I can see a reason to explain
Why the fear and the fire and the guns remain”

From the Weeping Page

The full history of the song is there with a link to Josh Groban’s version.

 

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Lockdown Day 25 – 20 April 2020 – Three cats and a Goldfish

Posted on April 21, 2020 by PietMar

SCROLL DOWN to ENGLISH

Dag 24 moet oorstaan tot ek my eie kop uitsorteer!

Gister was Sondag. ‘n Rustige dag. Nie elke dag in lockdown is rustig nie. Met my boek klaar gelees besluit ek op ‘n fliek uit die vorige eeu. Maar dit was ideaal. Dit was goed om vir nonsense te lag en vir ‘n ruk te “onstnap.” Wie onthou nog Police Academy?

Humor is ‘n wonder middel (soos ander goed wat ek nie hier sal noem nie!)

Dit het my vanmôre laat dink aan musiek met humor.

Ek het terstond eers weer The Cat Duet geluister.

Daar is ‘n komiese opname van ‘n operasanger wat lank gelede onder die prop op die verhoog gegaan het, ek kon dit nie weer op YouTube kry nie. As jy dit het, plaas die link hier onder, asb.

My aanhalings gaan nie oor humor nie, maar is aweregse humor – soos ek daarvan hou!

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”
― Albert Einstein

“Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.”
― Robert A. Heinlein

“The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.”
― Terry Pratchett, Diggers

Weereens het ek dit by www.goodreads.com gekry.

Te midde van Lockdown, onsekerheid, vrees, hartseer, rou, verlange, watter emosie ons ook al ervaar, is daar altyd iets om voor dankbaar te wees. En kan ons iets soek om voor te lag. Ek glo humor, soos trane, is van die beste medisyne wat daar is.

Ek glo mos nie in toeval nie? Toe ek my epos oopmaak lê daar ‘n epos met humor!

Little Tim’s Goldfish.
Little Tim was in the garden filling in a hole when his neighbour peered over the fence.
Interested in what the cheeky-faced youngster was up to, he politely asked, “What’cha doing, Tim?”

“My goldfish died,” replied the boy tearfully, without looking up. “I’ve just buried him.”
The neighbour was concerned. “That’s an awfully big hole for a goldfish, isn’t it?”

Tim patted down the last heap of earth, then replied, “That’s because he’s inside your dumb cat.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=151gOUKTdYs

ENGLISH

Day 24 awaits me sorting out my thoughts.

For a laugh, watch the video above.

Yesterday was Sunday.  A leisurely day of doing very little. Not every day in lockdown is leisurely! After reading my book, I wanted to do something else. Not another documentary or true story. Something light-hearted. Nonsense and funny. The choice was a movie from a previous century – Police Academy as the main character could not escape his situation, he helped me escape mine!

I believe humour (and a thing or two I will not mention here), like tears, are good for the soul. It takes our minds away and it just cast a different light on things.

So, humour it is with the The Cat Duet

There was an opera singer who tried singing after indulging the good wine, many years ago. I unsuccessfully tried finding it on Youtube. If you find it, please post in the comments!

My quotes are the type of humour I like.

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”
― Albert Einstein

“Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.”
― Robert A. Heinlein

“The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.”
― Terry Pratchett, Diggers

Even in these times, there is always something to be grateful for, and laughter is the best medicine!

When I opened my emails, there was an email with a few jokes – I do not believe in co-incidence!!

Little Tim’s Goldfish.
Little Tim was in the garden filling in a hole when his neighbour peered over the fence.
Interested in what the cheeky-faced youngster was up to, he politely asked, “What’cha doing, Tim?”

“My goldfish died,” replied the boy tearfully, without looking up. “I’ve just buried him.”
The neighbour was concerned. “That’s an awfully big hole for a goldfish, isn’t it?”

Tim patted down the last heap of earth, then replied, “That’s because he’s inside your dumb cat.”

 

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Lockdown Day 23 – 18 April 2020 – Grandchildren & Economy

Posted on April 20, 2020 by PietMar

Do you know the story of the Cellist of Sarajevo? The true story of Vedran Smailović who played his cello in Sarajevo during the fierce war, is goosebump stuff. Read about him here.

Vedran Smailovic plays Albinoni’s Aadagio in G-minor

“An arrogant rich and a humble poor both need help! The former needs help to be human; the latter needs help to live humanely!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan

“Give dry bread to a rich kid and he will throw it into the dustbin, give it to the poor kid and he will remember your name for the rest of his days”
― Bangambiki Habyarimana, Pearls Of Eternity

“If trickle-down economics worked, we would not have four food banks in Kensington and Chelsea.”
― Emma Dent Coad

(Quotes from Goodreads.com)

Saturday morning and a lack of routine, writing after lunch.

Do you know the story of the Cellist of Sarajevo? The true story of Vedran Smailović who played his cello in Sarajevo during the fierce war, is goosebump stuff. Read about him here.

Vedran Smailovic plays Albinoni’s Aadagio in G-minor

“An arrogant rich and a humble poor both need help! The former needs help to be human; the latter needs help to live humanely!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan

“Give dry bread to a rich kid and he will throw it into the dustbin, give it to the poor kid and he will remember your name for the rest of his days”
― Bangambiki Habyarimana, Pearls Of Eternity

“If trickle-down economics worked, we would not have four food banks in Kensington and Chelsea.”
― Emma Dent Coad

(Quotes from Goodreads.com)

With my first cup of coffee in bed I watched the photos of my grandchildren from Canada. They grow up so quickly and I realise I really miss them. Regular Whatsapp video calls are good. But play and tickle and Maya-the-Bee or aeroplane does not happen over Whatsapp video. I have two more grandchildren about 5oo meters up the street. With lockdown and the mutual responsibility to keep other safe, they could also be in another country. I miss them as much!

In this time of the virus, I have trouble not considering the economy. Sometimes I am not sure what is worse – the health effects of the virus or the effect on the world economy? There is a lot of discussion going on about the virus. We can discuss the economy post virus and how we want it to be as well!

I have never believed that should be just because it is!

 

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Lockdown Day 22 – 17 April 2020 – Lost Freedom – Twice!

Posted on April 19, 2020 by PietMar

CLICK HERE to Scroll Down for ENGLISH

Soos belowe, Mozart se Bassoon Konsert.  Baie mooi musiek.

“The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.”
—Aung San Suu Kyi

Vandag sou op die eerste rondte van lockdown my eerste dag van vryheid wees.  Ek is steeds nie seker wat ek op my eerste dag van vryheid gaan doen nie!  Wat dit betref is ek bietjie in twee gedeel en tussen 2 vure.  Ek sal wat wil gee om te gaan fietsry in die gym, maar die gym is plek waar ek kan aansteek met die virus wat nie saam met lockdown se einde ophou leef nie! En ek moet my vrou se “immune vulnerability” in ag neem.  Aan die anderkant, as sy self moet teruggaan skool toe, is sy ook blootgestel aan die virus.  Ek sal die een met groot omsigtigheid moet benader.

Terselfdertyd vind ek in myself ‘n traagheid oor die vryheid wat voorlê.  Die inperking is op ‘n manier ‘n veilige hawe. Die inperking skerm mens af van die harde realiteit van die effek van die virus. Die inperking skep ‘n illusie dat alles OK is. En as 1 Mei aanbreek en ek mag uitgaan, dan moet ek die realiteit in die gesig staar. Natuurlik is daar ‘n ander aspek – tans hoef ek nie ‘n besluit te neem ten opsigte van bly of gly nie!  Daar is ‘n wet wat my gedrag bepaal. Ek het min keuses. Maar in terme van wat ek hierbo sê, mag ek skielik op 1 Mei vryheid hê en is die verantwoordelikheid om te bly of gly geheel myne!

Hoe dit ook al sy, vryheid met vrees is nie vryheid nie!

Ek het myself sekere doelwitte gestel vir die lockdown.  Hoe het ek gedoen?

  • Ek het elke dag gejournal en dit op my blog gepost. Die deel van my gedagtes was vir my aanvanklik vreemd.  Dit het algaande makliker geword. Ek is wel dankbaar vir mense wat laat weet het hulle lees en geniet.  Dit het gehelp. En die proses van journal het ook makliker geword. Dit is goed vir my.
  • Ek het ‘n boek op Kindle publiseer. Ongelukkig het ek die woord “COVID 19” gebruik en is daar ‘n wet dat daar niks in Amerika gepubliseer mag word oor COVID 19 wat nie amptelik is nie. So ek moet dit uithaal.  Ek het besluit ek kan enige dag weer iets op Kindle sit.  Ek gaan die boek binnekort weggee. Ek het my doel bereik – ek het ‘n boek op Kindle gesit!
  • Ek het die The GUTSy Newsletter begin. GUTS is “Genuine Urge To Succeed.” Ek voorsien dat baie mense baie GUTS gaan nodig hê om in die post-virus lewe uit te gaan. My nuusbrief is vir hulle.
  • Ek het ‘n boek geskryf “12 Ways To Stay Sane During Lockdown.”  Ek het ‘n paar dinge hiermee afgetik op my lysie.
  • Bogenoemde twee prestasies wys ek het my oorhoofse doelwit om aanlyn tegnologie te bemeester behaal. My vaardighede rondom WordPress en Bulkmail het in die proses baie meer geword. Ek ervaar hoe ek makliker werk met meer vertroue.
  • Ek het die “saag” beslis opgradeer en skerper gemaak.

Ek het nog heelwat goed wat ek wil doen terwul lockdown aanhou.  Ek het nog ‘n paar Prisons to Escape!

(Sharpening The Saw is one of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Here you can read a cartoon that explains it.)

ENGLISH

As promised Mozart’s  Bassoon Concert.  Beautiful music.

“The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.”
—Aung San Suu Kyi

If lockdown was not extended, today would have been the first day of freedom. I am not sure what I will do on my first day of freedom. Coffee at Meerendal? Picnic and walk at Melkbos beach? I would love to ride the bicycle in the gym again. About the gym I am in a catch-22. My wife is immune impaired and the gym is a good place to meet the virus. The virus will not die because lockdown ends. At the same time if my wife must go back to school, she will be exposed and at risk, anyway. It is a situation we need to plan carefully.

I find a reluctance in myself about the end of lockdown. I realise it is a difficult situation. On one hand we try to keep numbers down and a flat curve. On the other hand the economy my kill more people! On the one hand I want to get out and working. On the other hand lockdown creates a safe space. While in lockdown we are very safe and there is an illusion that everything is OK. When lockdown ends, we have to face reality! There is another aspect – currently I have very little freedom of decision. My actions are controlled by a law. After lock down I have to make the decisions and the responsibility is mine to decide about the coffee at Meerendal or not, the bicycle in the gym, or not!

However I handle that, fear is not freedom!

I entered lockdown with a number of things I wanted to achieve, how have I done?

  • I did journal everyday and I am sharing my journal here. At first it was strange to write down my thoughts. It became easier. I was uncomfortable putting myself “out there,” that also became easier as I got positive feedback. I think the journaling is good for me.
  • I published a book on Kindle. Unfortunately I referred to “Covid 19” and according to USA laws, no unofficial COVID 19 documents are allowed, so I had to change it, I will soon give the book away for free. I can publish a book on Kindle whenever I want. That skill was the goal. Tick.
  • I started The GUTSy Newsletter (Genuine Urge To Succeed) as I think many of us will need a lot of GUTS post-lockdown.
  • I wrote a guide 12 Things You Can Do To Keep Sane During Lockdown. That ticks a number of things on my list.
  • The newsletter and book is proof that I have achieved a bigger goal of getting an online presence. My WordPress and Bulkmail skills have really improved (I even added the Scroll to English links!).
  • There is no doubt that I have upgraded and sharpened the saw.

I still have a few things to achieve until 1 May, if that is really the DAY. I have a few more prisons to escape!

(Sharpening The Saw is one of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Here you can read a cartoon that explains it.)

 

 

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Lockdown Day 21 – 16 April 2020 – Cabin Fever!

Posted on April 18, 2020 by PietMar
Find yourself

Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere. And sometimes in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself – Unknown

 

Would lockdown have ended yesterday, so that today I could freely go out? Or would I today be standing at the security gate, impatient to get out like a prisoner in jail? The answer is of academic value only!

“And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.”
– William Shakespeare

Nobody can express my feelings and the place I long for today better than John Denver.
Country Roads
Rocky Mountain High

As ek net een John Denver song moet kies, is dit Poems, Prayers & Promises

In drive around in my own memories – as you can see in the video above.  A special day. Special memories and I want to go back again.

 

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COVID 19 Lockdown Day 20 – 15 April 2020 – What About End April?

Posted on April 17, 2020 by PietMar

This morning I am listening to Ennio Morricone conduction his own composition from The Mission – Gabriel’s Oboe

Tomorrow Lockdown would have ended.

I try to keep a routine to my life. I do admin – surprisingly quite a bit of admin in these times. Short Term Insurance is very admin intensive at the best of times.  Now that we know more or less what is happening and can see how lockdown is affecting us, structuring policies become important. I spent time contacting clients and discussing options and relaying messages from the insurers. Clients have become like family! I fill up my time doing things that can help me become a better broker and businessman. (I must remember I still need 2 hours of CPD!)

As I have said numerous time, I avoid the sensational news more fervently than the virus. I am interested in the management of the virus process. I am interested in how different countries responded and the different measures that was implemented. As always, leadership plays a very important role.

Dinner time I switch off. Then it is a book like reread a Western for the umpteenth time. Or a movie on Netflix. It is a bad idea to take a virus to bed.  Which is difficult if your wife takes the time after dinner to study the situation in depth an then start discussing it 23h00! That is not conducive to good sleep.

Fear doesn’t exist anywhere except in the mind.
– Dale Carnegie

We suffer more in imagination than in reality.
– Seneca

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more so that we may fear less.
– Marie Curie

In times of uncertainty, employees crave clarity. As a leader, you won’t always have all of the answers – no one expects you to – so you must be open to listening and learning from others. Once you understand a particular challenge and outline the options, you have to be confident in making bold and optimistic decisions.
– Marillyn Hewson

We all live with uncertainty at the moment, that is my conclusion talking to people.  If you work at a restaurant, your income came to abrupt end at the end of March. The uncertainty of making ends meet end of May is the question. What if lockdown is extended? Even if you have an essential business, your turnover is probably not enough to cover all the expenses.  If you are in business, you have extra worries, because you feel a responsibility for the employees. This I hear in many discussions.

That also becomes the source of fear! We start creating all kinds of “what-if scenario’s,” like I did last night! Imagination creates all horror movies. Just scroll up and read Seneca and Carnegie again.

Marie Curie has good advice. We have to try and understand the situation. There is help available from banks, life insurance companies, medical aids and even short term insurers. Contact the bank before a debit order does not go through. Contact the landlord in time. Anybody who thinks must realise that it is in everybody’s interest to keep as many people and businesses afloat as possible! Much better to receive a reduced rent than to try and find a new tenant or client amidst an economic depression. We are all in the same boat. Plan and prepare. The new world will create immense opportunities for individuals and small business. Be prepared!

That brings me to the quote from Hewson. Naturally it is important to speak to employees in these times. They have the same fears that we all have – and avoid rumours, some people live in their own horror movies and spread as fact! But remember our biggest leadership efforts are internal with ourselves.  It is a generally excepted fact that there will be new opportunities and growth after this. Nobody says it will be easy! But it seems the best never comes easily! This is where entrepreneurship comes in. Forget about the day-to-day score.  Start listening to successful people and what they say. Find articles about them or watch videos. I am thinking of people like Bill Gates, Ray Dalio, and others. Find them. The world will evolve – with or without me. I choose to be there.  Instead of stressing about things I cannot control, I’ll think how I can get on the ship that is about to sail from the harbour to a new and better destination.

That is the road to peace and tranquility.

(Don’t get me wrong, I don’t watch horror movies, never have, but if I allow my imagination to go down the wrong track, I can give any existing horror movie a run for its money at the box-office!).

“Once you understand a particular challenge and outline the options, you have to be confident in making bold and optimistic decisions..
– Marillyn Hewson

GABRIEL”S OBOE

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Lockdown Day 19 – 14 April 2020 – The Same Kind of Different As Me

Posted on April 16, 2020 by PietMar

My music this morning is Mendelsohn’s Violin Concerto.  I have an affinity for strings. Some morning we need to listen to Mozart’s Bassoon and Cello concerts, respectively, so I can show my interest goes beyond strings.

Yesterday evening we watched The Same Kind of Difference as Me on Netflix.  A true story of a woman who dreams about a wise homeless man who will change the world.  Enters Denver Moore. The title of the book is Same Kind of Different As Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together

Denver Moore, the “slave”of the book, says: “The only things we get to keep in life, is the things we give away.”

It is very true. Perhaps we remember the guy who cheated us. We are more likely to remember the person who was good to us with a warm-hearted fondness. That person who encouraged us when we really needed it. The person who gave us a hand up when we needed a hand up. I often experience this. Sometimes I think the people do not even realize what they have done, because they do it because that is who they are! Sometimes it comes from very unexpected places.

This movie made me think.  I think a lot and have few answers. I often wonder about life and what life is all about. Surely life cannot just be about money and owning stuff?  Life cannot just be about getting up and going to work, come back, supper, bed, Repeat. At the same time we cannot exist in the modern world without money and things. Money is, I think, currently the biggest stressor in the middle of lockdown. We get caught up in a process to make a living, food on the table, roof over our heads, education for the children. The bottom of Maslow‘s hierarchy. We do not really live. Those of us who manage to rise above the basics of Maslow‘s hierarchy often forget about those still at the bottom of the hierarchy. Those that battle with a day-to-day existence. That is part of the problem – those at the top talk down to those at the bottom. Often without the slightest insight.

Stephen Covey says our “purpose” is “to live, to love, to leave a legacy.” This movie made me think of my life and what legacy I will leave. Our legacy lies in the things we give away, as Denver Moore says.

Years after my mother’s death we camp at Victoria Bay. We stand in a que at the till and a coloured lady comes up to me. “Are you Mrs Magriet Maritz’s son? she asks. I confirm I am. She continues: “Your mother was a very good person.” She turns to her friend and says “if it wasn’t for this man’s mother, I do not know how we often would have survived.” My mother was not a learned person. My mother was not rich by any measure – she gave away way to much to be rich. My mother left a legacy that survived her by decades!

If I want to leave a legacy, I better start now, “times are getting real few.”

Here is a few more Denver Moore quotes I found at Goodreads:

“I used to spend a lotta time worryin that I was different from other people, even from other homeless folks. Then, after I met Miss Debbie and Mr. Ron, I worried that I was so different from them that we wadn’t ever gon’ have no kind a’ future. But I found out everybody’s different – the same kind of different as me. We’re all just regular folks walkin down the road God done set in front of us. The truth about it is, whether we is rich or poor or somethin in between, this earth ain’t no final restin place. So in a way, we is all homeless – just workin our way toward home.”

“You was the onlyest person that looked past my skin and past my meanness and saw that there was somebody on the inside worth savin…We all has more in common than we think. You stood up with courage and faced me when I was dangerous, and it changed my life. You loved me for who I was on the inside, the person God meant for me to be, the one that had just gotten lost for a while on some ugly roads in life.”

“Good medicine always tastes bad.”

“The Word says God don’t give us credit for lovin the folks we want to love anyway. No, He gives us credit for loving the unlovable.”

Wisdom does not come from books, it comes from living life –

“to LIVE, to LOVE, to LEAVE A LEGACY.”

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