Some things throw me to the fire – they challenge me like never before. Then I stand still. I wait for the fire to die. I wait for the challenge to go away and for everything to become easy again. Why do I wait?

I have one of those situations at the moment. I’m in the midst of a fire that is burning hot. It is branding my skin and is raging through my life. I try to deny it. I make it go away … briefly … until I feel the burning again. That burning is the reminder that I have not acknowledged its warmth.

I love people for who they are and what they are capable of being. This can lead to disappointment when they choose not to reach that potential or to be who they truly are. Yet that is beautiful too in that it shows the value of choice and how we all have a side that is powerful, strong and yet…hidden.

I prefer to keep a part of me hidden too. (continue reading…)

We live in a world where everyone is trying to fix something. There is self-help and life coaching to fix people’s broken lives. There is international aid to “fix” the downtrodden. And there are the interventions to “fix” the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

And then there is the view of British scientists that the best thing to do with the oil spill is…nothing. Yes, nothing. Do nothing. According to an article published in the Mail & Guardian (Doing nothing might have been best for BP oil spill), chemical intervention to break up the oil faster does more long-term environmental damage than the oil itself. The drive to mop up is more driven by the politicians’ need to be seen to do something than what is actually best for the environment.

How much of a need is there for us to be seen to be doing something to better ourselves? (continue reading…)

2010 can be fun – it’s our choice.

Sometimes one of the hardest things to do is have fun. We find every possible reason not to.

Next year South Africa hosts the World Cup. The country has been abuzz with talk of “2010” for four years now. For four years we’ve been looking forward to hosting the biggest event on the sporting calendar. Yet we have yet to get excited. We have yet to start enjoying the fact that we will be the centre of the sporting stage in a year’s time. There is still concern that we will not be able to host it; until recently we even believed that there was a chance that FIFA would move the event. Newspaper reports still focus on the reasons why we will not be able to host a successful event even though FIFA is confident.

Last Saturday a journalist pointed out that there are still no good news stories going around on how South Africa has almost completed the stadia, has upgraded transport systems and is successfully hosting the Confederations Cup. No, instead the papers are filled with the news that the Egyptian soccer team’s hotel rooms were robbed, once again highlighting the crime in the country, despite reports on how this has happened across the world at large sporting events.

So when does the fun begin? When do we start enjoying being the centre of attention and hosting such a great event? We should start before we miss it.

How’s the event you’re hosting that you call “life”? No matter what is happening it should be fun. Even the low points hold anticipation of the high. It is so tempting to take life seriously but it is more refreshing to just let all things go and to approach the days with innocence, purity and trust. Choosing fun does not mean then that you have control of the outcome though, which actually makes it more fun because you never know what will happen! Just as we don’t know how the World Cup will go. All we know is that we can choose to enjoy it!

So choose fun today, tomorrow and in 2010. And enjoy not knowing the outcome.

This had to be one of the most difficult newsletters for me to write.  I can’t tell you why. I can’t explain the place I am in. All I know is that there has been a block to writing for a month now.

My life has taken such an unexpected turn – I now understand why one needs to form your own view on the world.  Living your life following the expectations of others is unsatisfying and leaves you filled with resentment. Yet living your own life – experiencing it through your own eyes, formed by your own experiences, is invigorating and inspirational to others.  However, this can lead to a lonely existence because others may struggle to relate to you.  The foreignness of what you are saying may drive them away.  But the intrigue will pull them back. No one can truly resist the truth. We may die trying but it always comes out.

If you had to take this particular slice of time and space and be able to keep it forever, would it be a prize possession? Would it be something that you would be proud of? Would you be able to look at it with immense admiration and boast about it to friends? If not, then what are you doing? Why sit in moments that are not serving you …not taking you towards happiness?  We all want happiness but do not want to do anything about it. We all want peace and quiet. We all want to understand why some children appear to have it easy while others seem to struggle all their lives.  Why is that? Choice.  We can choose to be happy.  We can choose to have writer’s block or we can choose not to. We can choose to live in our truth and be different. Or we can choose to fit into a crowd whom we don’t truly know.

Who are you?  Why are you making life so difficult?  Detach from the drama, have a blast, and remember to ask yourself, “what if this is the one moment that I get to take with me?”. Would you want to take it?