René Roberts

Just when you think you’ve seen and heard it all, you’ll switch on a television or open a newspaper. The one thing you can truly rely on in this life is to be entertained. So much money and creativity gets invested every day in finding ways to entertain ourselves. We buy expensive game consoles and home theatre systems. We invest in 3-D television sets and if it’s not in HD we won’t watch it. We jump off bridges and we explore the depths of the ocean. We dive with sharks and we tame lions. In essence, we are restless and bored.

I’m a lazy person at heart. I don’t fight it. I surrender to the need to do as little as possible. The couch is my favourite holiday destination and the television my habitual guest of honour. Needless to say, I don’t have the energy to jump off anything or dive into anything. I’m more likely to jump to conclusions and dive into a bag of chips. I like my entertainment at my fingertips. So I take the easy route. I look around me.

When you picture the world, you’re bound to think of the image of a multicoloured, revolving sphere. That’s a common occurrence. Like a child drawing Jesus with long blonde hair, a beard and blue eyes. Hitler must be so proud. I think the image of a revolving sphere belies the volatility of this world. I want to picture a messy, haphazard maze. Nothing structured or solid like a revolving sphere. The one thing you can always expect from this life is to be entertained. Strap yourself in and enjoy the ride.

So, on my couch, I go looking for entertainment Sunday night. I switch on the guest of honour and wait to be lifted off. It doesn’t disappoint. Derek Watts tells me about a rare illness called anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. In simple terms it comes down to this. It’s entirely possible for a cluster of cells in your body to decide to attack your brain. Totally unprovoked like a PMS bitch, it can take a look at tissue it’s always been buddies with and declare war on its ass. Why? Because it’s entertaining. It makes you act like a mentally disturbed individual, vivid hallucinations and extreme paranoia and all. How do you diagnose it? In the case depicted on the show, it came down to the simple drawing of a clock. By asking the patient to draw a clock, all mental illnesses were eliminated and this started the journey toward finding the right treatment and ultimately recovery. Treatment is quite simple and it makes the difference between foaming at the mouth, mumbling incoherently and being a successful journalist at a famous newspaper. How is that not entertaining?

The story has a happy ending though. People don’t like to admit this, but they get bored with happy endings. That’s why we need newspapers and reporters. They’re not in the business of happy endings. They are in the business of reality. They like to tell you stories such as that of the recent German plane crash. They want you to know that it’s also entirely possible for one deranged pilot to decide to take 148 unsuspecting passengers with him on his suicide journey. We are capable of such evil things. Evil is the twin brother of Love. I say this, because they share quite a few traits. Just think about the ballad, Love is all around.

Now, I don’t mind taking a second to digress here. Two things I despise needs mentioning. If I mention Ingrid Jonker and you ask me who she is, I’ll cut you off. I can’t be associated with anyone that does not know and love her. If you think that Love is all around is a Wet Wet Wet song, it’s been nice knowing you. Do not credit a current artist for writing a song that’s actually been around longer than your grandmother. I feel lighter now. Maybe it’s because I just lost half my family.

Anyway. Love is all around. So is Evil. It’s omnipresent and dormant. I recently caught up with an old friend that immigrated to New Zealand a few years ago. What does he miss? South African sunshine. Is it a fair trade? Sunshine for sanity? I think not. There’s no place on earth that Evil won’t find you. All over the world, we blow up buildings, we crash planes and we wipe out nations. Evil is not bound by religion, ethnicity, language or culture.

I never had a liking for the city of Johannesburg. It seemed filthy, overpopulated and menacing. Life happened and I ended up working in the middle of the same city I feared. Perception is a powerful force. I’m now struck by the beauty of this place. I believe the city is the perfect paragon of the rich diversity and dualism that’s at the heart of not just our nation, but humanity. Humanity is defined as the quality of being humane. Synonyms for humanity are compassion, kindness, consideration, sympathy, tolerance and mercy. Looking at these synonyms, one can consider humanity to be a rare gem these days.

On what can probably be considered the busiest highway in Johannesburg, I saw a lost child this morning. He seemed to be about eight years old in the flesh, but possibly five times that in spirit. His clothes were dirty and tattered and he wore no shoes. He stood in the middle of a road that less than two years ago scared the shit out of me, with no expression on his face. He didn’t carry a sign. He didn’t hold out his hand for a few coins. He simply stood there with thousands of cars passing him by. Mercy has left the building. Compassion and tolerance in tow.

Dualism is such a fascinating thing, and here it comes into play. Dualism is defined as follows : the religious doctrine that the universe contains opposed powers of good and evil, especially seen as balanced equals. Opposed powers of good and evil. It mostly manifests as irony. My best friend recently took her new-born to a chiropractor. One of his recommendations was to not handle Addison too much. That’s a lot to ask, because she’s the most beautiful little angel you’ve ever seen. It’s also a lot to ask because my friend is such a naturally nurturing and caring mother. Here is a doctor advising baby Addison to be held and comforted and cuddled a little less. In sharp contrast, here is a little boy in the middle of the highway, possibly not able to remember the last time he was held. Compassion? Mercy? Sympathy? Tolerance? Rare gems indeed.

There’s no lack of entertainment. There’s a lack of enlightenment. There’s a lack of humanity. People need to be held. People need to be comforted, nurtured and tolerated. We have that in common. This need stretches across all boundaries and it doesn’t disappear once we outgrow our nappies.

Take the time to hold someone.

Maybe not the neighbour’s wife.

Just hold someone.