Look up to escape from a world of men waging war

While the world around us had gone mad again as warmongers tried to outdo each other, the sky provided a moment of grace as swifts on Table Mountain took advantage of insects hatching

- By Don Pinnock

In these disquieting times in which men (yes, men) are at war with other men, dealing death to young conscripts, women and children, it's good to be open to moments of grace. For me, grace is what happens when you tug on a random thread and discover it's connected to the web of everything.

Cycling along a track high on the slopes of Devil's Peak on a recent Sunday, I came across a group of about 40 men, women and children in a clearing, conversing in isiXhosa.

Many were kneeling, trickling scooped sand and leaves through their fingers and chanting, others were chatting or eating breakfast from backpacks. It was a happy crowd.

I asked a young man if this was a religious group. He said: "No, this ceremony is much older than your religions. We are in celebration of the old ways."