VN October 2020

Vetnews | October 2020 25 This morning, during some reflections, I saw a picture of a person standing on a high mountain cliff, with the ocean beneath. There was mist and the person was busy with everyday things with his back turned to the ocean. Every now and then he would look around to the sea, as he was awaiting a large ship. He knew that this shipwas a great opportunity that he has been hoping and yearning for, for a long time already. He had received word that the ship’s route would be close to the cliff and he did let them know that he wanted to join the crew. He knew that if he could just make that jump, everything he wished for would start falling in place. One morning he woke up and he just had a sense that the ship passed in the night. He wasn’t sure if it was actually there, or if he was just too busy with work and all kinds of other stuff and he didn’t see it through the mist. He was devastated. He now had no choice but to settle for the familiar, giving up on his dream, and living an industrial 09:00 to 17:00, with an occasional weekend below at the beach. It is such a cliché when we all remark on how fast time goes by. How big your friends’ kids have become since you last saw them, or how you cannot believe we are in lockdown for months already. Like we are trying to make up conversation. However, thinking about it, I sometimes wonder if the problem is not that we are in so much everyday routine, work-focused, stressed and almost somewhat resentful and bitter because in our hearts we felt like we missed our ship. Then we settle for a life where time goes by so fast, because we are disappointed and hopeless. What is the possibility that you and I are waiting for the ship, because then all we need to do is jump and if it doesn’t come, at least that is not our fault? WHY CAN’TWE CLIMB DOWN THE CLIFF AND START BUILDING OUR OWN BOATS? Arewe so scaredof takinga risk, of spending toomuch timebuilding, or even fearing our DIY boat will sink, that we would rather just give up and live in disappointment and regret? In my own life I realised how often fear kept me away from the adventure of building my own boat. Maybe you are stuck on the cliff too. Maybe, just maybe, all the tools and wood are right there on the beach waiting for you to come and make your dream a reality. This metaphor is intended to challenge you. You will need to take some quiet time and reflect on it. Do not just read it. Tweak it, play around with it, draw it, and dream about it. Make sure days don’t just fly by, whether it is on a boat or on the cliff – the days should all count. Carien (Carien Human is a psychologist in Johannesburg). v (Photo credit: By rompali harish, from Pexels) Vet's Health I Carien Carien Human Did your ship pass by? Ken Pettey: 082 882 7356, ken.pettey@up.ac.za Tod Collins: 083 350 1662, collins@nudvet.co.za Aileen Pypers: 072 599 8737, aileen.vet@gmail.com Willem Schultheiss: 082 323 7019, willem.schultheiss@ceva.com Nico Schutte: 023 626 3516, doknico@tiscali.co.za Ian Alleman: 072 558 4883, accommodation@nieu-bethesda.com Ellené Kleyn: 082 881 8661, elly1@mweb.co.za Mike Lowry: 084 581 2624, mikelowry@sai.co.za The following SAVA members are available on the SAVA stress management hotline. The SAVA Stress Management Hotline 24-Hour, Toll-Free Helpline: 0800 21 21 21