Andrew
Editor’s Brief
Victoria Ruzvidzo
Christmas is a time for merrymaking. It has this feel good effect that one has no choice but to catch up with no matter the circumstances. It comes with very free spirits. Almost all are in excitable moods.
Today is indeed show time for most people. We are aware some started celebrating Christmas from December 1, others last week and yet many today. It is all good. Indeed, it is the least we can do to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It brings with it such good tidings!
Yet for others, it is a time when the painful reality of their circumstances sinks in. It induces a sense of despair and desperation, as others immerse themselves in fun and pleasure. Christmas signals year-end as well and the beckoning of a new one. It proclaims the passage of time.
We take time off our busy schedules and spend it with family and friends. Bonds are forged and relationships renewed away from the rat races, away from the daily concerns.
The spectre of Covid 19 and its many variants has receded. The past couple of years have been brutal on our spirits, engendered by Covid. This year, at the very least, we are relatively free to spend it as we had always done yesteryear.
Spaces have opened up, associations freed and even travel restrictions lifted. To all intents and purposes, we are a liberated people.
The human spirit labours under restrictions. That is how prison is considered the worst experience. A person with all the provisions will still experience stress, if restricted. The spirit flourishes in freedom.
We give thanks to our Creator for the gift of life, for emerging safe and sound from the menace called Covid 19. Humanity has repeatedly shown resilience and fortitude. This is worth celebrating.
We will also remember those who passed away as a result of this dreadful disease. May their souls rest in eternal peace.
We also call upon those able to give to act. In any society, there are people less fortunate than us, whose circumstances are dire. These are the people we need to extend a hand to.
This will demonstrate that we have them in our thoughts. We will be showing them that humanity is one, no matter how different our situations may be.
There are a lot of people who are in circumstances not of their creation. There is no better time to show them the love they so desperately require.
It is always gratifying to make another human being smile, to know that you can make their day, even year, by a simple act of kindness. This can be manifested in a number of ways, not necessarily monetary. Even then, what one may consider small can mean a lot to another.
It is interesting to note how things change. Some years ago, Christmas would be about chicken and rice. That is now laughable. They eat that daily, these young kids of ours. Tables have turned, they now want more. As parents, we are under some kind of pressure to do more. Chicken and rice no longer cuts it. The expectations are high, very high. But what one can do depends on the means at hand. It is potentially stress-inducing.
But we always give of our best. We do what we can and the world goes round. One needs to be a psychopath not to feel for own kids. The very same kids also need to know that at times we do not always do what we want but what we need to.
Circumstances may not permit for us to do all we desire. For as long as we do the best we can, that is fine. In any case, this is a life lesson – people do not just go about acting arbitrarily, they need to take prudent decisions, ones which fortify, and indeed ones which have a greater impact, outside of immediacy.
It will teach our children discipline. More than that, it will teach them not to compare oneself with another. People run their own races.
Our children will learn never to compare with the next door neighbour or another, and to be content with what one has. It will serve them well in future.
Parents have an obligation to take care of their children’s needs, be they physical or spiritual. We have a fiduciary function to keep them in line, to guide them appropriately and keep a monitor on them. It does not say we cannot spoil them here and there, when capacitated.
But above all, the whole meaning and essence of Christmas must not drown in the drinks and foodstuff or even the music we will play. It is a day to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the demonstration of God’s love for us.
Let us enjoy it in peace and let us have lots of fun in the sun or in the rains!
World Cup
The World Cup was a great one. It had moments to savour. I watched the final between France and Argentina, as I did previous games.
Mbappe was outstanding. The hat-trick was memorable. Messi, true to form, was a class act. Those images from the final will live long.
We learn from soccer the virtues of tenacity. That comeback by France is cemented in immortality.
Indeed, as in business, sometimes you win by losing. France played well and never gave up. They kept coming. Argentina, in the end, won it. That it had to go to penalties demonstrates how close an encounter it was. It was a worthy final with goals galore.
Sport, and football in particular, has a knack of evoking emotions. It applies to players as much as it does to fans. It had to take the French president to attend to Mbappe, who was inconsolable.
But, as mentioned earlier, at times we win by losing. We are guided in our defeats or losses, we emerge stronger. We never give up and fight on.
We celebrate Christmas today. We share the love and fun. We express our love to those we care about, friends and family alike.
More than that, we also think and act on those less fortunate than us. We behave on the roads. Lives are typically lost during this time and there is no need for that.
We also remember that soon after Christmas, push might come to shove. There are unavoidable expenses, too, linked to it.
School fees, rent and daily expenses will still be in our faces. Civil servants got their bonuses in forex, as did other people. This should not let us swim in a sea of euphoria.
We need to plan ahead and not overspend. We all know of the January disease. Why does it replicate itself year in, year out? Are we incapable of learning from experiences? Or do drunken stupors condemn us to incorrigible human beings?
I wish each and everyone a Merry Christmas. Be of good cheer. Enjoy the period.
While some will be celebrating, others will be at work. I extend my gratitude for such sacrifice. It is not commonplace.
To all of Zimbabwe, have a good one. Let me rephrase that, have a great one. The next time I write will be next year, the next Sunday falling in 2023. In that vein, compliments of the season indeed.
In God I Trust!
Twitter handle: @VictoriaRuzvid2; Email: [email protected]; [email protected]; WhatsApp number: 0772 129 972.
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