#AtoZchallenge (2018) D is for feeling Delighted

My theme for this challenge is “feelings” of a sexagenarian and the influence of social media.

My tema vir hierdie uitdaging is “gevoelens” van ‘n sestig-plusser en die invloed van sosiale media.

English (Afrikaans below):

Delighted: feeling or showing great pleasure. I should have laughed more during my lifetime. I should have taken time off from the daily drudgery to chase after a little light-hearted relief, appreciating the small things that make life worth living.

When my son went through a very difficult period in his life, I introduced the “small things” concept into our lives. In an endeavor to curtail the need for instant gratification, the expectation of grandeur and the tendency to rush into detrimental situations, we turned to the simple life. On a daily basis, we tried to find pleasure in the first bloom of a new rose bush, the antics of a playful puppy, the beady eyes of a crab watching our every move, the occasional false note in a bird’s song.

Sometimes life has a way of pulling us down into a gloomy pit. Sometimes we have to make a conscious effort to pay attention to the small things and permit ourselves to be delighted. Sometimes we should not allow ourselves to be disturbed by other people’s opinions; we must laugh out loud in public and we must find delight in those things that are viewed as silly by others.

The role of social media: Social media is used by a weird mix of people who act as emotional uppers and downers in our lives. On the one hand, there are those that know how to milk a sob-story, the nit-pickers, the arguers and the holier-than-thou’s whom we must try to avoid at all costs. Then there are those who always put a delighted smile on our face with their jokes, conversation and companionship; they understand the concept of “the small things”. Today’s emoji: 😁

Afrikaans:

Verheug: ervaar of vertoon ‘n gevoel van groot vreugde. Ek moes meer gelag het gedurende my leeftyd. Ek moes tyd afgestaan het weg van die daaglikse sleur om die lughartige plesiertjies te geniet en die klein dingetjies te waardeer wat die lewe die moeite werd maak.

Toe my seun ‘n baie moeilike tydperk in sy lewe deurgemaak het, het ek die “klein dingetjies”-konsep in ons lewens ingevoer. In ‘n poging om die behoefte aan onmiddellike bevrediging, die verwagting van grootsheid en die neiging om in onstuimige situasies te beland,  hok te slaan, het ons uitgereik na ‘n eenvoudiger lewenstyl. Op ‘n daaglikse basis het ons probeer om plesier te vind in die eerste blom van ‘n nuwe roosbos, die manewales van ‘n spelerige hondjie, die kraalogies van ‘n krap wat ons bewegings dophou of dalk ‘n vals noot in die voëlgesang.

Soms het die lewe ‘n manier om ons in te trek in ‘n dinker put. Soms moet ons ‘n bewustelike poging aanwend om aandag te skenk aan die klein dingetjies en onsself toe te laat om verheug te wees. Soms moet ons onsself nie steur aan ander mense se opinies nie; ons moet kliphard lag in die publiek en ons verheug in daardie dinge wat ander mense as verspot beskou.

Die rol van sosiale media: Sosiale media word gebruik deur ‘n vreemde mengsel van van mense wat ons emosioneel kan neerhaal of ophef. Aan die een kant is daar diegene wat weet hoe om ‘n huilstorie te melk, die vitteriges, die argumenteerders en diegene wat heiliger-as-jy is, wat ons ten alle koste moet probeer vermy. Dan is daar diegene wat altyd ‘n verheugde glimlag op ons gesigte plaas met hul grappies, gesprekke en kameraadskap; hulle verstaan die konsep van “die klein dingetjies”. Emoji vir vandag: 😁

Read all my entries for the #AtoZchallenge (April 2018) here.