Have an Alternative in 2023

New year 2023. The celebration is over. Balloons are punctured and bubbly bottles are rolling in recycling bins but, we are back to the same job, city or relationship because we don’t have an alternative.

Cars have an alternative, the spare wheel. A woman once married to Prince Charles, gave birth to two sons: Prince William, the heir to the British throne in case of emergency and Prince Harry, the spare heir. Their mother was Diana Princess of Wales.

Not having an alternative results in stress. Much as we try, the majority of people do not have the ability to have it. Lack of money makes it difficult to have an alternative. Abused women stay in relationships because of accommodation. They can't go back to their parents and shelters have their own stress. Some married couples love the evening traffic because it delays going to unhappy homes.

We stay in jobs where we are hated because we don’t have an alternative. You know when you are not wanted, but you grin and bear because jobs don’t fall down like spring rain.  

I once resigned from a job because I had an alternative: savings to cover four months’ rent. I had to leave because I didn’t know why I was hated. I had to protect my heart. It's the one and only, no spare.

When I was still on Twitter, I read a report about a man at a sewerage plant who shot his boss dead. We don’t have an alternative because of money and other constraints, but we’ll die trying.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.