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Your piece of Earth

Liewe Leser

Om na aan die aarde te leef bring ’n nuwe dimensie van WEES vir die mens. Soms druk die dorp of stad jou vas en al waarna jou liggaam en siel smag, is ’n stukkie natuur. Vir sommiges die veld, vir ander die see.
Vir my is die kleur van ons land se winterlug altyd ’n ekstra diep blou. Die mooiste mooi. En dan praat ek nie van die natuur se wintergeure nie – ’n koejawel se reuk wat die hele kombuis vul of ’n geknakte lemoenhuisie – dit beur my sommer op.

Maar kom ons kyk ’n slag af… na die waardevolle stukkie aarde onder ons voete. Vir my verskaf dit groot vreugde om ’n blom te sien groei wat ek self geplant het, of om ’n mandjie patats uit my groentetuin te oes. Geen grond, geen voortbestaan.

Grond is so belangrik dat God die eerste mens daaruit geskep het. Ironies dat dit presies ook die plek is waarheen ons liggame sal terugkeer aan die einde van ons tyd hier op aarde.

Maar vir eers het ons almal ’n taak. ’n Stukkie aarde is aan JOU toegeken. Kyk jy met dapperheid daarna en maak van ons wêreld ’n beter plek? Of is jy, soos my destydse skoolhoof altyd gesê het, net ’n suurstofdief? Kom ons leef en laat leef.

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Dear Reader

Living close to the earth brings a new dimension to the concept of BEING. At times city or town life seems to suffocate us and all our bodies and souls desire, is a piece of nature. Some folks prefer the sea, others the veld.
The winter air in this country seems extra blue to me – the blue of perfection. Not to mention nature’s wonderful winter aromas, such as the whiff of fresh guavas filling the kitchen, or the citrus smell of a split orange segment. These smells just lift my spirits.

But let us look down instead, to the precious earth beneath our feet. It gives me great joy to watch a flower grow which I planted myself, or to harvest a basket of sweet potatoes from my veg patch. No soil, no survival.
Soil is so important that God used it to create the first human. And ironically, our bodies will return to this very soil when we have completed our earthly sojourn.

But before we leave, we each have a task to fulfil. A piece of this earth has been entrusted to YOU. Do you regard it with courage, and do you make this world a better place? Or are you, in the words of my school principal years ago, merely an oxygen thief? Let us live and let live.

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Our Theme: Brave Ground (Dulux colour of the Year)

The Dulux Colour of the Year 2021 is titled Brave Ground and is a warm, neutral colour that seems greyish-brownish depending on the light and the way you combine it with other hues. It exudes a feeling of satisfaction, of being solidly anchored. It creates a safe space in your home as if the rough patches of life have been gently planed away. Brave Ground is the sort of colour that us Namibians instinctively adhere to – as if the Namib Desert itself rises up to meet us.

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KEEP IN MIND:
“God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’”
(Genesis 1:28) (NIV).



Gerty Basson