January is already speeding along at an alarming rate, and while there are probably plenty of bad things already happening, why don’t we for a while keep on focusing on good news?
We do not live in a bubble or a Utopia of bliss and happiness, but sometimes it is good to focus on what is good instead of always harping on what is negative.
After all, do we view the glass half full or half empty? Some, of course, don’t care, they just want to drink it!
So what is good? Well, let us begin by applauding our local matrics and therefore our schools, from those who wrote the IEB to the majority who wrote the NSC exams.
No matter how you look at it, our local schools made Boksburg proud. And as a community newspaper, we are proud of our matriculants – they rocked up at the exams and produced the results.
Numerous schools celebrated 100 per cent pass rate, while others were in the 90 per cent category. Countless distinctions and bachelor passes were achieved.
Education is without a doubt the key to a brighter tomorrow for all and this country, and despite all the challenges regarding employment, it is clear that the matriculants will continue to fight tooth and nail to make a success out of life.
And that is something to be proud of.
For those who failed to achieve what they set out to accomplish, the reality is that it is never ever the end of the road. When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. Life is too precious, too incredible and too exciting to throw away because of school marks.
Even the great Albert Einstein became a high-school dropout when he left school to join his family in Milan. He was so fascinated by mathematics and science that these subjects he studied on his own.
Life is all about pursuing your passion, and this is was Einstein did, and there are many paths to follow to achieve one’s goal. It just takes determination, guts and a never-say-die attitude. So go and make lemonade – you might even get very rich.
So what else is good? Well, I’m bowled over regarding the SPCA Cheer Fund. Seriously. We live in incredibly tough times financially, yet more than R70 000 has been collected to help the animals at the local SPCA.
Now that is an incredible achievement. It makes you realise there is still hope in the world. And yes many will say an animal life does not count more than a life of a human, but at times our quality as human beings are measured by the way we treat the planet.
So well done to each and every person who has made a donation to the cheer fund.
Well done also to Reiger Park’s Keanan Francis who is a top 12 finalist in the Mr South Africa contest.
There is the perception we only report bad news regarding Reiger Park, which is not the case. We report news, period. And this is certainly good news. Let us all support Keanan and let us hope he can bring back the title.
And then finally congratulations to the concerned citizens who alerted law enforcement to the house in Farrar Park where a man was arrested for cultivating dagga at his home.
It is so easy in this time and age to remain silent and to turn a blind eye as we watch the world around us burn, and it takes a special effort to make a stand and to do the right thing.
Dagga might not be so serious to some, but dagga remains an introduction drug that could lead to an addiction of far more dangerous substances.
Drugs are destroying our world and our youth, and if we want a better future, this trade needs to be exposed.
So there you go. Some good news.
Let us continue to seek the silver lining in the storm clouds, because surely this country has to catch a break some or other time (by the way, don’t you just love how the Proteas are playing these days?).
