What Matters? Life Matters By All Odds (Perspectives)

This month’s topic of the Perspectives forced me to ponder for days.

What matters?

What in this world really matters?

With this question on my mind I have started and ended my days for the past few weeks, pondering.... pondering....

The roof over my head and the walls of bricks -

the house that keeps me warm and safe?

Of course, it matters a lot, but without it I will still find a way to live warm and safe.

My car, the cute little pink Fiesta that takes me from A to Z?

Of course, it matters a lot, but without it I will still find a way to get from A to Z.

My job, the source of my life-saving income, the reason why I can live proudly independent?

Of course, it matters a lot, but without it I will still live, although not proudly independent.

My children, grandchildren, relatives and wonderful friends? Without their love and support I might have no reason to live.

Of course, they matters a lot – they give a special meaning to my life. But even without them I would be able to live.

The answer I got was: LIFE. Life really matters. Having the privilege to breathe on this beautiful planet Earth is the ONE thing that really-really matters.

Then, surely, my health must be the ‘it’ that really matters?

Of course, my health matters! Without it I would not be able to enjoy LIFE the way it could and should be enjoyed. On the other hand, even in an unfortunate unhealthy state I would be able to enjoy LIFE and LIVING. I would make the best of it, supported (and even not supported) by caring people and medical resources.

Pondering-pondering-pondering....

My precious brain did not come forward with anything that matters more than LIFE.

Life, as we know it as humans on planet Earth regardless of life we might have had before or might have beyond the grave, really-really matters! We may call it a ‘gift’ from The Creator, The Incomprehensible Force that had created and is still maintaining the Universe, including Earth, and all that lives AND dies.

Of course, Life matters by all odds.

“South African society is now more violent than it was under apartheid!” ~ Desmond Tutu, South African social rights activist and retired Anglican bishop.

In South Africa Life is considered to be cheap and easy to end. Recent reports - A-year-from-hell-the-truth-about-south-africa/ - by Sunette Bridges reveals the most brutal attacks on white South Africans during the past year - Since 1 May 2012 to 30 April 2013 (365 days): 306 attacks, 169 murdered. 21 raped.

This is but only statistics stating less than a tenth of all brutal attacks during the past year in this beautiful country that accommodates the so-called “Rainbow Nation” - a nation composed of people of many races speaking one or more of the 11 official languages. By percentages the number of victims in all race groups proves that crime is not necessarily committed with a racist attitude, but by uneducated and ruthless people who regard LIFE as something that doesn't matter at all.

According to statistics 70,000 whites have been murdered by blacks since the ANC came into power in 1994. This may be labelled as a ‘racist’ statement, but unfortunately it is a FACT to be regretted by all.

See wikipedia's page about this MATTER of great concern ~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_farm_attacks

Dan McCarthy, and he emphasizes that according to crime statistics there are more black murders than those of other races.

Keeping the 2011 Census in mind, South Africa's population is composed of -

• 79% Blacks (± 41 million)
• 8,9% Whites (4,5 million)
• 8,9% Coloureds (4,5 million)
• 2.5% Indians/Asians (1,2 million)
• 0,5% Others (280 thousand)

Let’s forget about the ‘more’ in Dan McCarthy’s statement and make a fair and non-prejudicial calculation with the available numbers. just to get half of an idea of how many people were killed since 1994 - (19 years) -

614,444 Blacks

70,000 Whites

70,000 Coloureds

19,444 Indians/Asians

3,889 Others

A total of 777,778

= 40,936 per year

= 112 per day.

However, according to a recent report only 50 murders are committed per day. So let's see if genocide might be the case -

50 x 365 x 19 = 346,750 murders since 1994

Of which 70,000 were Whites, in other words ± 20% of all murders. For a group that forms only 8,9% of a country's population this might very well be regarded as genocide.

BUT THIS IS BESIDE THE POINT....

We are discussing LIFE and the fact that LIFE MATTERS regardless of race, culture, gender or age.

Singer and songwriter Sunette Bridges is the daughter of the legendary Afrikaans singer, late Bles Bridges. She distinguished herself in her own words as somebody “fighting her jis off to create solidarity among white South-Africans”.

(Solidarity is NOT a strong characteristic of white South Africans, and in particularly not of the Afrikaans-speaking group known as ‘Afrikaners’, or ‘Boere’ (Farmers). Since their origin as a nation in the late 1600’s - as the descendants of European immigrants - Afrikaners differentiated themselves as extremely unwilling to surrender to the physical and emotional control of another. Although seeking the same success, peace and joy, they tend to form small groups opposing and criticising each other.)

Sunette Bridges has researched and provided the number of brutal attacks on whites during the past year. She is still doing this on a daily basis on her Facebook Page, knowing that she will be stoned by her own people just because she has the guts to raise her voice. Sadly, she attracted a large following of extremely conservative, narrow-minded and openly racist fans with whom many white South Africans cannot associate.

I take my hat off for Sunette, for proving her passionate love for her fellow-Afrikaners via charity projects to the benefit of those who have lost their work, homes and dignity due to affirmative actions and (reversed)-discrimination. She is not only a ‘talker’ ignoring the label ‘White Activist’ given to her by opinionated critics not using their energy productively by DOING something to the benefit of their fellow-man, but a woman DOING everything in her power to make a difference in the lives of her fellow-Afrikaners.

After all, “charity begins at home.”

As the founder of the Boervrouliga and the Bridges Music Foundation Sunette deserves just as much support as any other charity organisation in the world.

Life really matters.

Imagine if “Live and let live” and “Love your fellow-man as you love yourself” were Everybody’s principle?

Live and let live -

How hard can it be?

Love your fellow-man;

Respect their opportunity to live -

How difficult can it be?

“Love your enemy” –

another Christian principle –

would become an archaic slogan

when all humans could only live and let live,

loving their fellow-man unconditionally.

Alas!

With a hope like this we have no other choice but to believe that only one day, beyond the grave, we will live in a state of being - known as 'Heaven' - where Love and Peace reigns forever and a day.

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Registered :: 2013-05-14 22:35:55
Title :: What Matters? Life Matters By All Odds (Perspectiv
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MARTIECOETSER * BRAVEWARRIOR * DOCMO * MARCOUJOR * MICKEYSR * VICKIW * YOU?

The idea behind this series calledPerspectives is explained in a hub published by MickeySr:

• Perspectives: An Introduction
  What we think and how we feel about things is defined, not by the things themselves, but by our perspective of things. Everything that comes before us is filtered through our perception of things...

Marcoujor - What-Matters: Sleep-On-It

VickiW - What-Matters: The-Team

MickeySr - What-Matters:Truth

Docmo - The-Tao-of-Matter

Shauna is enjoying her well-deserved break this month in order to meet important deadlines.

• Perspective on The Charitable Spirit: Kindness - Generosity - Charity
• Perspective on Knowing Your True Self – Happiness Is a State of Mind
• Perspectives on Regrets and Hopes: Living in the Present
• Perspectives on Vanity ~ Vanity and Humility versus Pride and Modesty
• Perspectives on Gratitude ~ Gratitude is an Attitude
• Perspectives on Loneliness-An-Indisputable-Emotional-Pain
• Pespective on What You Dont Know-How-many-angels-can-dance-on-the-head-of-a-pin