Close

January 21, 2024

Our Side

Philosopher, Jacques de Villiers writes about UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis victory.

Article 12/365 of Jacques’s Writing Quest

As Dricus du Plessis was crowned UFC Middleweight Champion of the World today, tears of joy streamed down my face. I wasn’t the only one crying at the Molly Malones restaurant in Fourways. Everyone was jumping up and down with joy. I’m sure this was the case throughout South Africa.

I reflected on all the times I’ve cried and jumped with joy over the years. When Joel Stransky kicked the winning drop goal for the Springboks to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup. All of our Springbok’s World Cup victories so far. I was even overjoyed when Siphiwe Tshabalala scored that amazing goal against Mexico in the 2010 Soccer World Cup. 

It occurred to me, no matter the creed, no matter the country, we all love it when ‘our side’ wins.

What does ‘our side’ mean in our journey? The entire humanity would be ‘our side’, I would imagine. 

Think about it. When we read about someone overcoming adversity, we applaud. We applaud when our child accomplishes something. When we set a plan in motion, and it gets the result we want, we applaud. I can go on, you get the point. We love it when others win.

I recall when I went on a plant medicine journey (psilocybin) a year back. In one hallucination I’m convinced that I saw the trees opening up to hug me and the plants applauding me.

That sat with me for months afterwards. I reflected that everything and everyone is built do help ‘our side’ win. We’re all on the same side. The entire ecosystem that we co-exist in can only work optimally if everything sets everything and everyone up to win.

I suppose that’s why our existence is out of balance because we haven’t differentiated between ‘our side’ and OUR SIDE. One is expedient, short-sighted and selfish. One is appropriate, long-sighted and selfless. If we fail to recognise that we are all on the same team, we will “win the battle, but ultimately lose the war.” (Pyhrrus of Epirus said). It’s known as a pyrrhic victory. The cost is too high, so you win, but you lose.

Let’s go team. Let’s win for OUR SIDE.

Article 11/365 of Jacques’s Writing Quest.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *