It’s day 11 and I am tired of writing a post a post a day already but here I am. I guess in that respect I am already successful in maintaining a daily writing habit up until this point.
If I think about it, to me success is made up of at least 3 parts:
Do what you say you will do.
As Matthew McConaughey reminds us on IG- Don’t half-*ss it!
Leave the world a little better than you found it when you are done even if the outcome is not quite what you intended it to be.
I’m going to keep it short and sweet today. Would you add anything further to those 3 parts? Looking forward to reading everyone else’s definitions.
Those that follow my blog and those that know me, know that books are one of the great loves of my life. Every book that I read impacts my life in one way or another. It doesn’t matter if it is fiction or non-fiction. Every book counts.
If I have to choose 4 that stand out for me it would be:
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho- It was the first time I had read about the Universe conspiring to help me achieve my dreams. It is also my favourite quote from the book. It planted the seed that I was still allowed to dream (I was in my early thirties when I read it) and that it’s okay if I have to go on a journey to achieve it. In a nutshell, it gave me hope when I didn’t realise I needed it.
The Jewel of Abundance by Ellen Grace O’Brian – I read this book not long after my mum died. I was searching for meaning for my life and I also wanted to activate abundance in all its forms. I was in such a bad space by the end of 2018. It was a year of many losses. This book was recommended by Paulo Coelho on Twitter so I hoped onto amazon and bought the kindle version. It helped me understand what abundance is and it helped me bring spirituality into my life. I found a level of peace through this book. I think I need to go back to it because I need some guidance again.
The Game of Life and How to Play It by Florence Scovel Shinn – This book is a metaphysical book but it made me look at the bible differently and help me understand it and grow my faith in God. I am not very good at reading the bible and there were certain perceptions that I had about it. I had many, sometimes heated, discussions with our priest when I was a teen and in my 20’s, about my perceptions. This book helped me see what he had been trying to tell me all along.
The Surrender Experiment – Micheal Singer. This book helped me trust my instincts more and follow the path that it leads me on as well as to let go of the outcome. I have since figured out at that I still have a lot to learn about surrendering but this book opened my eyes to what it is and that it is ok if things don’t work out as I had planned them.
Have you read any of these books? Did you have similar takealots? Let me know in the comments.
Bloganuary day 9 (Holy macaroni we are almost through the first 3rd of January!)
Today’s Prompt: What is the most memorable gift you have received?
Sjoe it is hard to pin this down to just one thing. There are a few that stand out in my mind for various reasons.
A carved wooden bangle that my aunt had sent for me while she was still in exile. She was my favourite aunt, especially when I was a kid. She used used to give us the bag of sweets when we left the farm. You can read about it here. They had to leave in the dead of night without saying goodbye and without telling anyone in the family where they were going back in 1980 or so. We were devastated and for a long time we, the kids, were never told where in the world she and her son’s were for their safety. In approximately 1988, her daughter and her family were able to visit her in Botswana although she was largely based in Tanzania while she was in exile. Her daughter brought back gifts, one of which was this bangle that she gave me. I was so thrilled. I had missed my aunt so and it blew me away that she thought of me while she was away. I still treasure that bangle.
The pottery roses that my son created for me in his preschool class when he was 4 years old. They are so beautiful and he was so proud of them. He made them for Mother’s day. They stay on a shelf above my bed where I look at them every day. They were clearly made with love.
A card that my son made for mother’s day in primary school. He coloured it in in the brightest, most beautiful colours. It just looked perfect. The thing is that he hated colouring anything in from the time he could hold a crayon. His teachers would get so frustrated with him. For whatever reason, that year, he put his heart and soul into colouring that card so I really treasure it. I often remind him how much grateful I am for it and how much I appreciate how he put aside his hatred for colouring in to create such a beautiful card for me. He beems every time I tell him.
My younger sister had once bought me a beautiful wooden wardrobe jewellery box for Christmas. I loved it so much. It reminded me of how thoughtful her gifts always were. Unfortunately I don’t have it anymore as a few termites discovered it so I had to get rid of it but I loved that jewellery box and all that it signified about her.
Those are just a few of the very memorable gifts that I received.
Some of my most treasured gifts
My bangle from Tanzania
That’s it for today. Thanks for stopping by. Bye for now.
Grounded African 