Dancing Towards Happiness

Sometimes you capture it in a moment, other times only in a dream. But mostly, happiness is right under our noses.

- Karin Barnard

When the virus descended on us and the whole world suddenly ground to a halt – death lurking at our doors – many of us had not an inkling of what had hit us or what to make of it. First off was the deluge of jokes and goofiness. To counter the panic, there was frenetic shopping, spring-cleaning, visits on WhatsApp and Zoom; a kind of euphoric hysteria. And in the background, flickering on TV screens, frightful images of dying people and the endless rows of hearses. Surreal.

As the shadow of the virus grew and an eerie silence filled the world, there were those whose thoughts turned inwards. In Stellenbosch, where I live, the bells of our historic Mother Church rang out at noon each day, its melancholy chimes sounding you to pause.

“Ask not for whom the bell tolls,” the chant reminded us. “It tolls for thee.”

On the radio and in the newspapers, more reports started appearing about getting one’s affairs in order, about death and dying and how to make sense of it all.