During her lifetime, long before her deathbed in 2008, my mother taught us and showed us how to be caring, kind, and loving human beings. I am not too sure if we all understood her message the same way. Some may have missed it altogether.
But Mama used to say, "What do we live for if not to make things easier for each other?" And she was the epitome of warmth, kindness, care, and, above all, love. She was full of the milk of human kindness. All too often, when I think of my mother, I hear Steve Biko's wish and prayer that we blacks must and shall "give the world a human face."
Many of us believe that to have a happy, festive, and merry Christmas, we must drive into our home with cars full of new clothes, food, and booze. In a material-worshipping world, we believe that happiness and joy can be bought. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The best things in life do not cost a cent. A happy festive is made up of an unending series of decent acts of kindness. This is what makes people look back at a year-end and say, "This has been a bloody good year. My life was worth living." Simply because someone was there to make things easier for them.
Wherever you go, you have a chance to make someone happy. Lend your ear to an abused man. He needs to be encouraged to speak openly and honestly about his trauma and pain. If he does not, he explodes into violence and death. Give your heart to a violated woman and heart. She needs someone to be present and just listen to her before she garners the courage to go for her J88 and police station. Be nice and kind to the grumpy cashier. Give a tip to the petrol attendant and parking vendor. Or the person at the tollgate. Greet the ushers at the theater or movie house. Pay for the cleaners' special lunch. Or give the security guard a lift to the taxi rank.
These are the little moments and gestures that make it a happy festive season. This is what defines our humanity. Of course, it is okay to bring the booze and food to eat, drink, and be merry if you can afford it. Just like in 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, we can add spreading love and being kind to one another to be something that we do every hour of every day.
In my heart, soul, and mind—the places where the spirit of my mother lives—if I can make just one person smile or brighten up their day, I will have played my part to create a "better life for all," to make the world a better place. Not everything is about money and overflowing plastics from Woolworths and Checkers.
Being "a nice person" and kind are the bricks and mortar we use to build the society we all want. It costs absolutely nothing to recreate happiness and spread love, joy, and kindness. This is the best time to show compassion to family, friends, and strangers who are relatives that we did not know we had.
Happy festive season and merry Christmas to you all.
