There is almost nothing that is not refined under the onslaught of pressure and of time. It is how all precious gemstones are made. Personally, we can rid ourselves of a great deal of the pressure in our lives, but time no mortal can shake off. Time stands out of reach of wristwatches. It is a law that, independent of the minute-hand, marches mercilessly onward, fixed into the firmament — into the seasons of its sun and its moon. Money can lessen the pressure in our lives considerably, because the more conveniences you can afford, the less pressure you will feel. The truth, however, remains a teasing paradox. Because the luxury of more time does not necessarily guarantee more character turning itself into noble metal. A too-easy existence rather guarantees the opposite. Perhaps because more time for relaxation is not used for active relaxation, but ends again in passive relaxation in front of TV or computer screens. Children who have never felt the rough rub of pressure-discomfort scour against their hands or on their bodies will not possess the necessary inner qualifications when the onslaught of old age or the challenge of the moment calls upon a stronger steel.

Dividing lines are growing narrower and narrower between generations as uselessness cuts on both sides into softened victims. Both of these victims (of the growing-up and the growing-old process) are kept at the edges of the full flavour of life — life where reality teems with skills and responsibilities practised and fixed in salty, dusty dirty work and clean work.

As the gravity of age plays its own elimination game, the beauty industry capitalises enormously on this bully's dread-inducing breath against the necks of its victims. Because time reflected back in mirrors can only be held under lock and key with expensive preparations and with empty promises. Not that anyone is being dishonest. It was simply never part of the guarantee at birth that image would arrive along with success and status and last forever.

Between rejuvenation technology and entertainment technology, the generation gap grows simultaneously narrower and wider. Both of these pseudo-realities are without substance or roots. Anchored in what is visible, fragile and temporary, hands of faith can never take hold of the greater unseen reality and draw it in until it becomes part of a life where joy in living happens spontaneously, without having to be kicked off by an adrenaline-high every time. Simple tasks like hanging up and taking down the washing, washing the dishes, darning clothes, raking leaves, pulling out weeds and sweeping the stoep all turn themselves into pressure that refines. A functional reality that frees the soul so long as the hands stay busy. A plain, low-adrenaline form of busyness that builds stamina both in age and in youth — time and pressure's investment drawing interest over a lifetime in yields full of character.

Groete Amanda Kreitzer