Tributum Newsletter #86
Hello
So, I was hoping for a more positive Newsletter this month. Yeah well, about that…April turned out to be a Duzi. The US/Iran war is a bad episode of Love Island (OK, every episode is probably bad so worse than the worst episode then) – are they talking, are they breaking up or making up, are they negotiating, who else is involved? But this is not reality TV, its just reality.
It has dragged most of the Middle East directly into it, and indirectly the rest of us that are suffering at the pump. More fuel price hikes are expected in May. I am starting to look for my COVID masks again. So that I can wear them over my eyes next time I fill up at the local station and not see the price. But I need to get positive about something (not HIV hopefully), but it is easier said than done. Small victories I suppose. That is what we need to see and be grateful about. So, what were my highlights in April?
My eldest received her degree on 1 April, and it is not an April fools joke. It was a privilege to be a parent on the North-West University Potchefstroom campus that day. Just as it was a privilege to be able to give her that education. Grateful, not just for the degree but for what it represents for her future
Easter weekend where I could meditate and celebrate my Faith. With loved ones. The safe travels that weekend. So much to be grateful for.
On 12 April Rory Mcllroy defended the Masters crown he won last year, becoming only the 4th player in 60 years to achieve that feat. Newsletter 74 of 12 months ago were about the lessons from that 2025 victory (https://www.tributumsa.co.za/2025/04/30/tributum-newsletter-74/). Massive victory for him again in 2026, small victory for me. But that is what we must look for. To be grateful.
On 23 April my youngest came home for a week’s holiday. Short but sweet.
In between, things got hectic, deadlines loomed and one day rolled into the next. Work came in and was done. Stress and frustration. But at least I had work to do. Small victories, that is what we must look for to be grateful. It is tough out there. The world is not designed to have your best interest at heart. That is your prerogative.
And sometimes you cannot change the world or the way things are, especially in the short term. Expecting a different outcome at these times will lead to frustration and fatigue. At these times you have to change your mindset. That mindset will change the expected outcome and maybe, just maybe, provide you with an opportunity to be grateful.
So as autumn is well on its way and winter looms, let us practice being grateful more often – like being able to stay warm. Until next month, keep breathing.