A fresh pair of eyes, please

I have friend over from the UK visiting us on his first trip to South Africa. He has heard so many stories about South Africa, how beautiful it is, how friendly the people are and what a wonderful place it is to live in. He obviously also heard the negative things. So when the opportunity presented itself I guess he couldn't let it go by. I have been living in South Africa for most of my live and been in Cape Town for over 10 years now. I really appreciate the beauty and I always try never to forget it. In a way it is easy for me, I travel al lot in Africa. Some of the places there really helps me appreciate what I have here even more. Even traveling to places like Europe made me realize how fortunate we are in many ways to be living in such a beautiful country.

Even though I get reminded a lot, I still tend to stop seeing the things that really makes this place exceptional. I've been on Table Mountain a couple of times, but usually only when we have friends visiting. This week was the same. With the most pleasant weather in weeks we decided to take my friend up Table Mountain. He was totally in awe with what he saw. He can't stop talking about the beauty of this magnificent flat mountain in the middle of nowhere. And the fantastic views from there that is just amazing. So I don't want to try now and describe the magnificence of Table Mountain. I don't know enough English words to describe it. But what I did notice was that we sometimes need a pair of fresh eyes to see the beauty of where we live. His eyes were "my pair of fresh eyes". Something I see everyday turned into an experience I never thought I would ever experience again. It was like seeing the mountain for the first time... I hope that you can all find a fresh pair of eyes every now and then and appreciate the beautiful things around you like it is for the first time.