I never thought anything said by Field Marshal Jan Christiaan Smuts would talk to my soul.
But I was wrong. This does…
“The bushveld is a place where the human element indeed shrinks into utter insignificance, and grips you and subdues you and makes you one with yourself.” – J. C. Smuts, South African Prime Minister (1870-1950).
Er, those dates don’t indicate the time Smuts ruled our country but the length of time he spent on earth. And he clearly spent a great deal of that time close to Mother Nature to reach a place in which he could release that pearl of wisdom.
The longer I live in our great country and the more I gravitate away from the city to the wide expanses of natural magnificence that dominate South Africa, the more Smuts’ words resonate with me.
I have this hunger for my authenticity and I increasingly know that it can only be attained by making myself small and surrendering to the power of the natural world, away from the myriad distractions of the urban conurbation with its noise and self-importance and false illuminations.
Pic: Hatman
Fred Hatman (AKA Howard Donaldson) knew he wanted to be newspaper journalist at age 13. He has worked as a reporter and sub-editor for the Daily News and Cape Times, both based in South Africa and Wimbledon News, Today, London Daily News, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mirror, all based in London .
