seasons.

life has its seasons.
every spring in Pretoria, the Jakaranda trees shed their green leaves for their purple flowery adornments. its a beautiful sight; one that makes you think you're in an earthly Eden. but it is short-lived when summer brings with it huge thunderstorms, the like of which, Singapore seldom sees. the rain pelts down unmercifully on the flowers which end up carpeting the roads. for a while, the trees flourish, and more flowers bloom to replace what's been lost. but soon enough, the trees are barren of flowers, and green leaves start to grow once again. autumn, i have not experienced. but the dry winter is when the trees are bald. one might think they were dead, save for the memories of last spring's beauty and the hope that spring is coming once again.
and life's just like that.

blue skies, white puffy clouds and an expanse of grassland. a land that has flourished after the summer rains. 
as the bible has so aptly put it,  


To everything there is a season,
        A time for every purpose under heaven: 
      A time to be born, And a time to die; 
      A time to plant,  And a time to pluck what is planted; 
      A time to kill,  And a time to heal; 
      A time to break down,  And a time to build up; 
      A time to weep,  And a time to laugh; 
      A time to mourn,  And a time to dance; 
      A time to cast away stones,  And a time to gather stones; 
      A time to embrace,  And a time to refrain from embracing; 
      A time to gain,  And a time to lose; 
      A time to keep,  And a time to throw away; 
      A time to tear,  And a time to sew; 
      A time to keep silence,  And a time to speak; 
      A time to love,  And a time to hate; 
      A time of war,  And a time of peace.

...

      I know that whatever God does,
      It shall be forever.
      Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it.
      God does it, that men should fear before Him.
      That which is has already been, And what is to be has already been;
      And God requires an account of what is past. 

 Moreover I saw under the sun:

 In the place of judgment, Wickedness was there; 
 And in the place of righteousness, Iniquity was there. 

 I said in my heart,
 “ God shall judge the righteous and the wicked,

For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.” 

- Ecclesiastes 3.

on a side note, i'm really glad i'm taking the social work honors module on welfare economics. even if it does highlight the social injustices being done (and encouraged) in society, i will be better equipped with the knowledge and the training to oppose these in the near future. like it says, there's a time & season, and i believe now is the time for learning. the time for action will come soon enough.