Tag: daily prompt

To Complain or Not to Complain…

Bloganuary writing prompt
What do you complain about the most?
View all responses

What a question! I know I shouldn’t complain because it’s such negative energy but I do and I do it for several reasons. Sometimes it is out irritation with someone. Sometimes it is because I am feeling sorry for myself. Sometimes it’s out of irritation with myself and sometimes I just need to vent. I must admit though, while I am complaining, I am either physically rectifying the situation or I am thinking of ways to rectify the situation if possible. 

I try hard not to whine though. I find that most annoying. People seem to do it when they want to behave like victims. I must admit that I have very little patience for the victim mindset. I am a firm believe of accepting what is, picking yourself up, dusting yourself off and moving forward. Swiftly. I don’t see the point of getting stuck in a victim mentality. Not that I can’t empathise with it. We need to wallow in an issue initially to feel the pain so that we can acknowledge it and move on but getting stuck in wallowing helps no-one and that’s when I start losing my patience.

That being said, I did get really stuck in that whining phase after a break up with a boyfriend. I whined so much I irritated myself. Not my proudest moment and hats off to my friends for all sticking around to listen to me. I also have a friend who whined constantly and one day I asked her to take a moment and replay the last few minutes of our conversation in her head. I asked her what she heard. To her credit, she immediately said: “I sound like a victim.” She is a very strong woman and takes pride in that fact so you can imagine her shock and horror to discover that she had allowed herself to be a victim in a particular on-going situation. She has stopped complaining about that topic since then and is a more mindful of how she speaks about the things that upset her. Her energy has changed and she is taking control of her life. It is such a pleasure to witness.

So what is it that I complain about the most? According to my son, the state of our house when it needs to be tidied, not being able to find things in their usual spot (it drives me batty!) and my job (which would have been my first answer🤪)

What do you complain about? 

Thanks for popping by. Be Blessed.

Star light. Star bright.

31 days of writing every day done and dusted. I am pretty chuffed with myself and with everyone else who made it through this month. Of course, the next challenge is to keep the momentum going. I will definitely publish at least once a week but the habit that will remain is to write every day. I hope you have enjoyed responding to the prompts as much as I have. Some were real head scatchers but we did it. (Whoop Whoop!) As much as I have enjoyed writing, I have also enjoyed reading so many blogs over the course of this month. I has really opened my eyes to how different people’s perspectives can be. I have also made some new blogging buddies and I look forward to maintain a good relationship with them at minimum. Thank you to all who have taken the time to read my posts, and like or comment as well as follow.

The final prompt for the month of bloganuary is “How do I feel when I look at the stars?” Hmmm. Usually, I feel in awe of the vastness of the universe. I live in the city so I don’t get to see the true beauty of the night sky very often. When I visit the farm however, I could lie in the grass and stare up at the sky the whole night. That is where the universe really off her beauty.

Sometimes, looking up at the night sky, I am reminded that I am but a speck on this earth. It’s a humbling experience. It is also a reminder not to take life too seriously. A nudge I need more often than not as a serious Capricorn. I also get very excited when I see a shooting star. When I was in my 20’s, I would often see shooting stars in a particular area at night when traveling on the freeway from Pietermaritzburg to Durban. My boyfriend at the time was usually driving. I have never seen shooting stars in that area since. I don’t know if that was the Universe trying to tell me “this is the one” and I was blind to the message or if I only saw them that often because I was a passenger and could focus more on the sky 😂. I suspect it was the latter since I have always been the driver since then.😜😂 Either way, I never missed an opportunity to wish upon those shooting stars. 😊

“When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires will come to you.”

Jiminy Cricket

Well I guess that’s it for January. Thank you once again for your support. Have an awesome 2022!

Jacaranda blooms

Well! Today’s prompt is “describe yourself as a tree”. I am suddenly so glad that there is only one more day to go in bloganuary.😂 Just kidding. I am actually enjoying these prompts. Right, let me give this a bash.

I have alsways equated trees with knowledge and ancient wisdom. When I came up with the name “Grounded African” for my blog I actually did see myself as a tree. I saw myself as being deeply rooted in Mother Earth (grounded) where I could absorb her wisdom and share it with all who came to sit in the cool shade of my branches and read. Perhaps I would drop a fruit or flower on the “head” of a visitor and inspire a new train of thought much like the apple did for Isaac Newton. Who knows. 😉

If I had to choose a particular type of tree, I would probably choose a jacaranda tree. I grew up in a city called Pietermaritzburg, which is the capital of Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa. My grandparents lived in the old residential area of the town where the streets were lined with Jacaranda trees. The park opposite the city hall also has jacaranda trees and I remember how all the birds would congregate in them in the late afternoon in winter and make quite a racket. As noisy as they were, they were awesome to listen to. I loved the purple flowers that lined the streets as well as the fragrance that filled the air. Spring had a colour in Pietermaritzburg and it was purple.

Photo by Luis Ann on Pexels.com

This beautiful tree symbolises wisdom, rebirth, wealth and good luck. Although it is native to South America, it is often found planted around universities in the US, Australia and South Africa. The belief is that if a flower falls on your head, you will pass your exams. I don’t know how true that is but hey, it actually fits with the vision I had when I named my blog.

So there you have it, my roots run deep with the soil and my branches are covered with beautiful and fragrant purple blossoms in spring. I am a jacaranda tree.