The Selves of Us · Letters
Where does True Power Reside?
1 August 2026·1,220 readers
One of the things I loved to do as a teenager was take very long walks. I used to walk almost anywhere I wanted to. And would subconsciously always end up at the biggest shopping centre and mall. (At the time) If I was lucky, and had some coins, I could be seen doing a bit of dancing with my legs as I licked my coned ice cream, sitting on a bench watching the costumes, faces, colours, smiles, tastes and smells of the world come in and out of my vision line. The world was such a magical place!
I still love to watch people, particularly strangers, because the mind attaches very little if anything. But there is an attachment that seems to be a fixture with being human these days. I see people on their phones and screens all the time, almost wherever they are. Depending on my own frame of mind too, I see it, but so what? There are times the entire world can just stuff itself back into its own bowels.
On the Zen days that infrequently visit though, I am learning to calm that alarming feeling that rises from somewhere out of my belly. These days, I wonder how much human is still left in the ideal mirror we’ve always used to gauge ourselves as such.
I'm reminded of Narcissus almost all the time now. Out in the world. As I watch people almost try to stamp their presence. I wonder about him. And his journey— is this how he felt? So lonely, lost to all ways of finding the way back to the sea? Of his slow but eventual demise as the entire world around him disappears to his own pitiful attempts at compensations to replicate it, taking him down the long, painful hells of obsessions.
So, I have more questions than answers. And these are not new questions but they are complex issues that most vain, empty feeling people are supposed to be dealing with?
Fat chance.
My only hope is in knowing that, hope never dies.
Till we meet again.
— Tshego
Editor's Note · Roy Hewett
The meanings of two significant and evocative words play out in our lives more often than we realise - and often have considerable bearings on their trajectories.
Serendipity, defined as “lucky, accidental discoveries or events while searching for something else”, adds spice to our lives and enriches our experiences.
Synchronicity encompasses more of a “meaningful coincidence connecting an inner thought to an outer event without a clear cause” … seemingly. It would appear that events of this nature may have an element of the Universe playing a role.
The events that led to the development of this blog, which possibly has the seeds of growing into a podcast, seem to fall into the synchronicity category. Roy and Tshego met through her need to have her book edited. Nandawula and Roy’s paths crossed at an Umtiza Arts Festival event and our three trajectories seemed to gel as we investigated possible collaborations. Synchronicity seemed to play a distinct role as like-minded fans of literature developed a mission to interact with anybody who could possibly resonate with our views, disagree and engage or be stimulated to ‘think about things’.
In our team, Tshego is the inspiration, Nandawula the technical expert and builder-of-the-site, while Roy, the ex-teacher, is now the avid learner.
We are excited about this venture and look forward to its growing footprint.