Being all that we want to be

Being different 

It is amazing how you can affect other people without speaking a word. People who may carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, people who may have shut out love, trust and friendship.  

In essence everybody has there own set of problems but you and i choose to have them define us or not. We choose whether we rise above or fall below.   

Its only when we let go of the troubles that you start to shine.   

Its only when we are okay with being different, that we can be all that we can be. 

“Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!” 

Anne Frank 

My set of sleepless nights

I hate hospitals and I am not very good at looking after sick people either; so over the last week this inability of mine has been tested to the point of sleeplessness.

All of this invokes to me a sense of just ‘not understanding’ regardless of how many hours of researching I put in; I also have a sense of hopelessness because I am unable to take away their pain and make it my own.

I hate being unable to make it better, being unable to know the outcome.  

There is a sense of urgency because I am reminded of how short this life can really be, reminded to cherish the little moments more and stress less.Yet through all of this there is also a calming sense of hope and faith as I silently pray for someone else's needs more than my own.  

So even though I have had sleepless nights over the last week, I know it’s going to be okay. 


Maybe not today but soon!

Norah Jones - SHE

A little Norah Jones, gotta love her voice!!

To have succeeded

To laugh often and much; 

To win the respect of intelligent people 

and the affection of children; 

To earn the appreciation of honest critics

and endure the betrayal of false friends; 

To leave the world a bit better 

whether by a healthy child, a garden patch

or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed 

easier because you have lived; 

This is to have succeeded. 

- Ralph Waldo Emerson - 

Morning Glory in the midst of my Monday Blues

"Another sunrise over the concrete jungle"
 Picture  by Jan deBeer

Let me start off by saying I am NOT a morning person, especially Monday Mornings but I have decided that this will be my week for great things.

This being said I vow to change the way I see today and the rest of this week , I am  taking the days as they come with a smile.

If anything else a smile is free after all.

I will remain God fearing and give way for Him to do His work in my life, there is no point in rushing Gods plans.

I also pledge to simplify my week; I will not be taking on the weight of the world. If I can’t do it right now then it will have to wait till tomorrow or the day there after ,my  life just isn’t about the hustle.

This week I am not doing any people pleasing however I will try my best to be understanding, compassionate and in all thing practice patience.

So here is to a productive week!!!

A song for the SOUL

Sometimes we all need a reminder that beauty is deeper than skin, flesh or bone. That beauty in essence cannot be bought, borrowed or stolen. 


So let your beauty shine! 

Today's Thought

Sometimes we all get so caught up in what we have or don't have, to an extent that we forget to really live and enjoy the life we are given.  

Like Mark Twain said; "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

So make each day count!  

It may be evident by now that i am a huge advocate in the power of spoken word. 


I harbor a very solid belief that poetry helps capture moments in our lives forever; be it slavery, love or redemption. The words tend to be timeless. I also happen to be a very big fan of Maya Angelou's writing and her sassy attitude that was so before her time. 


I remember reading Still I Rise in high school and years later it still resonates with my core. 

Still I Rise

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.


Maya Angelou

On-Route (Njia): Affirming a Positive Body, Mind and Soul

On-Route (Njia): Affirming a Positive Body, Mind and Soul: This morning while sipping my first coffee for the day, I watched the Espresso Show and a very intense women was speaking about the power of...

Affirming a Positive Body, Mind and Soul

This morning while sipping my first coffee for the day, I watched the Espresso Show and a very intense women was speaking about the power of words on our lives and that got me thinking about the many times we find ourselves speaking negatively without thought.

So this week I am making it my mission to have positive affirmations that will help to change my outlook on life. My affirmation list is a working progress just like life.

My List:

• I accept what I cannot change
• I will make the best of every situation and get through it smiling
• I will practice patience, understanding and compassion with others and myself.
• I am choosing to live in the moment while learning from the past and preparing for the future.
• This week I will smile at complete strangers and where I can I will lend helping hand.
• My days will be good, productive and I will get through them energised.

With all of this in mind I will also remember Gods affirmation that, I am wonderfully and fearfully made and that there is nothing His faith and love cannot carry me through.

Have a good week :-) 

Leaving a Mark on this BIG World

Did you know;

Joan of Arc was only seventeen when she was riding at the head of the army that liberated France?

That Sir Isaac Newton had discovered the working of the law of gravitation when he was twenty three?

That Raphael painted his most important picture between twenty-five and thirty?

That Mozart only lived to thirty-five years?

Even though each of us are cut from a unique pattern and most may never achieve the prominence of these astonishing individuals. We still somehow remain unique.

Many of us feel that we should be leaving more of a mark on the world, that we should do more and be more. As a child I dreamed of making things happen but as the years went by and I got older (and wiser) I realized that I will need to be content with being unable to control the world.

I know now years later that there is a time for everything and that in time all things will bear fine fruit. In these later years of my twenties I am finding my unique place and doing my best work.

I believe in time we all grow into the person we should be, be it quickly or years later.

If you have not yet come into your own, don’t be worried in time you will just continue to tend your work and aspirations with care.

Continue to dream and to live with vigour.

Don’t give up, be patient because growth can be slow.

Sometimes life can be devastating with floods, heartache and tears but these storms can also make you strong. With proper nurturing, you will in time enjoy a full harvest and be the best you can be.

And there is no better time to begin being the new you than now!!

Phenomenal Woman

I think "Phenomenal Woman" by Maya Angelou  is the best way to reflect the way i feel today!! 

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size

But when I start to tell them,

They think I'm telling lies.

I say,

It's in the reach of my arms

The span of my hips,

The stride of my step,

The curl of my lips.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

I walk into a room

Just as cool as you please,

And to a man,

The fellows stand or

Fall down on their knees.

Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.

I say,

It's the fire in my eyes,

And the flash of my teeth,

The swing in my waist,

And the joy in my feet.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Men themselves have wondered

What they see in me.

They try so much

But they can't touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them

They say they still can't see.

I say,

It's in the arch of my back,

The sun of my smile,

The ride of my breasts,

The grace of my style.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Now you understand

Just why my head's not bowed.

I don't shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud.

When you see me passing

It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It's in the click of my heels,

The bend of my hair,

the palm of my hand,

The need of my care,

'Cause I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Maya Angelou

 

A new year, a new leaf

Since its the 11^th day of the new year and I have over indulged to my heart’s desire it’s time to get real  and face the music of 2012.

I have decided that this is my year to cease opportunities and change the world one day and one person at a time. It’s also my year to get back into shape, walk more, laugh more and to take joy in the little things.

I don’t believe in “new year’s resolutions” as they tend to last only as long as the buzz for them is around however I do believe in setting big and small goals to work towards throughout the year.

This year my goals are simple;

• a bit of travel (destination is still undecided),
• spending time with the people I love and that love me back unconditionally,
• a bit of adventure (be it a hike in the Highveld, white river rafting or even bungee jumping a little           closer to home)
•  a new job that motivates me to keep on learning and inspires me to dream BIG.

I am claiming this as my year for learning, for doing and most importantly for living. I know mistakes might come my way but what better way is there to learn!

Defining Times

Just read Mondays newspaper article on Reverend Kemo Waters  racist tweet to Hellen Zille that “all white people should be killed” and i am so disgusted that a man of the Cloth could be such a bigot and blame an entire race for how he is treated in a Cape Town Restaurant.

I don’t know why the restaurant had him waiting 30 minutes at the bar for an available table; maybe they were full, maybe people booked in advance and who knows maybe the restaurant person who helped them was racist but we can’t blame the actions of a few for the eradication of the masses.  

How many of you haven’t waited awhile to be served at a busy restaurant in any given province, i sure have but i haven’t blamed that on the colour of my skin.

Where was Reverend Kemo Waters Christian merit when he wrote that tweet and all the others that followed, where was his God likeliness when he turned to hate speech and dubbed himself the “messiah of truth”.

Interesting times when religious leaders are denied access to our shores and those who preach forgiveness, love and honour within it chooses to teach politics over the Bible.