Simplicity and Self-Reliance

I grew up in the Methodist Church which emphasised, among other things, two key values – avoiding conspicuous consumption, and self-reliance. There were regular debates over any money spent on renovations to the church buildings. The focus was on functionality. The founding stories were based in a break away from flashiness. A foundation of simplicity. I was in the English bubble of Apartheid South Africa, but the self-reliance stories of the missionaries, criminals, impoverished, refugees, and fortune seekers resonated with those of the Afrikaans bubble (and I had Romeo and Juliet style crossing of family stars). Protestants protesting. Fleeing the European religious wars. Hard tales and hard heroes from frontiers, like Wolraad Woltemade and Racheltjie De Beer. It didn’t surprise me when I discovered that the first stories of Racheltjie appeared a few months after those of American heroine Hazel Miner, who saved her brother in the Spring blizzard of 1920. Legal Apartheid ended and I left the church, but history and founding stories soak deep. Even if they pick up flavours that resonate from elsewhere.    

Self-Sacrifice