Rock Bottom can become the foundation on which to rebuild your Life

Nobody likes the feeling of defeat or misery. No one experiencing challenging times wants judgement, or selfish advice. How many great men and woman have not stood on the precipice of disaster only for "their ship to come in". We certainly live in unpredictable times, in very uncertain times and people are either busy consolidating or taking major risks on change and new horizons.  My parents generation were those that lived in times where generally work was available and loyalty was rewarded by companies to the extent that employees stayed, worked their time and received a healthy pension at the end.  I have no problem with how this was achieved, or begrudge those that went onto pension on this basis.  After all, thanks to such times, my grandfather was able to be on pension for 30 years and my own dad able to retire comfortably at 60.  I may even be a little envious of their circumstances when I look around me at the moment.  There is so much uncertainty, whether globally, or in our country and between recession (although restaurants seem to be packed everywhere) unemployment, sugar tax and major unrest at universities, the prospects do not seem very upbeat for goal implementation and dreams to be fulfilled.  We should be focused on improving the constitution we fought hard to achieve, instead of finding every petty excuse to bring about unrest, distraction and down right vandalism.  Tertiary institutions are places of learning and should not be political platforms for idiotic motives and the same boring and frankly purposeless notions of racism and language choices.  This country can so ill afford further negativity and we need education to be improved in whatever way, instead of fighting whether English or Afrikaans is to be the primary language of education.  Those people causing this anarchy are the same who should be getting on with their own self improvemnt and education. It is shameful to say the least.  But this is what worries me at the moment about our country, is that we all end up being affected by these minor factions and we start to doubt the worthy ideas and creative opportunities we may have, because we are affected by the neverending attacks on our liberties and reasonable chances to make a difference.  If last year I had thought that consolidation was a buzz word, then I would hate to know the "intensiewe vorm" (and if you dont know the Afrikaans then figure it out, because this is South Africa and Afrikaans is just as much part of the history of this country so get with it people!!) of the word consolidation this year, especially after the budget and the prospects of a better 2016. There is even less to smile about and everyone will eventually be affected.  It just means that we will need to be that much more determined to succeed and work that much smarter to make a difference in our professions.  If you drop a rock into a bowl it will sink to the bottom and lie there, unless you put in more water mix the water enough, or so much that the rock begins to move.  It may stay towards the bottom of the bowl because that is the reality of the situation, but it can move and still affect the area and circumstances of the pool of water that it is in.  It can and should be our challenge to be the difference.