I’m sitting behind my desk scratching my head for inspiration for the March editor’s letter. I’m paging through the February issue of Sawubona and there it was.
My eye caught the hashtag #Don’tCrackUnderPressure on an advertisement for a TAGHeuer watch featuring Steve McQueen. In the description on the ad it says that Steve McQueen’s legacy is timeless, that he was more than an actor, more than a pilot; he became a legend.
He never cracked under pressure. It’s such a hard thing to say, because it requires extreme discipline and resolve to rise above whatever is thrown at you.
Hell In A Handbasket
Reading the newspapers and trawling the internet for the latest news can be pretty depressing, because it seems like everything is going to hell in a handbasket. There’s turmoil everywhere, from politics to business to health to Twitter.
Am I going to have a job when I wake up tomorrow? Will I be the next victim of the coronavirus? Will my business survive the latest economic onslaught?
Will my political party fix the potholes in my road? Will my kids get the best education in the world? Will I be safe in my car? Can I walk down the road without being hassled or kidnapped or killed? It’s depressing, right?
#DontCrackUnderPressure
But there is always a rescue for most things in life if we apply our minds to get us out of the rut we are in.
If we resolve to #DontCrackUnderPressure, if we are active citizens who want the world to work, when we look at people like Greta Thunberg, Masechaba Ndlovu, Zuks Ramasia, Melinda Gates, Bogolo Kenewendo, Kamissa Camara, Caster Semenya, Ava Duvernay and Zozibini Tunzi, I can’t help but believe that we will be taking the world in a new direction.
#TakeUpSpaceInSociety
We have to. It can’t be business as usual. These women are changing the way I see the world, they are changing the way we interact with the world. On the Miss Universe stage in December 2019, Zozi said,
“I think the most important thing we should be teaching young girls today is leadership. I think we are the most powerful beings on the earth, and that we should be given every opportunity. That is what we should be teaching these young girls – to take up space. Nothing is as important as taking up space in society and cementing yourself.”
None of these incredible women seem to crack under pressure, in fact, they rise to the top whatever is thrown their way.
So I’m going to take Steve McQueen’s #DontCrackUnderPressure and turn it into #TakeUpSpaceInSociety. It’s human to crack, we are not invincible, but if we actively work towards making the world a better place for all, we can’t but turn the corner to put the world back on its axle.
Till next time.
Ingrid Jones
