Tag: daily prompt

Why I like my writing

Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

I started my blog over 3 years ago. I had always dreamt of being a writer but was afraid that I sucked at it. I never got passed the first few pages of capturing the stories I had flowing through my mind. I have also always kept a journal since I was a teen. My ex-boyfriend encouraged me to give it a go anyway. So here I am.

People say there are two kinds of learning: experience, which is gained from your own mistakes, and wisdom, which is learned from the mistakes of others.

John C. Maxwell

I love reading and I love learning. There is a lesson in every story ever told. It actually doesn’t matter whether you read fiction or non-fiction. There is something to learn in every book you read. I have learnt about identity theft online from a Jeffery Deaver novel which made me a little more cautious with my personal details online. Dan Brown got me thinking about what I really knew about religion. These are just 2 examples of how fictional works have impacted my life. Non-fiction has had an even bigger pact over the last few years as well. I learned from other’s experiences whether there were real or imagined.

I also make my own mistakes every single day. I am 100% perfectly imperfect just like eveyone else. I also know that every mistake I make and how I react and deal with it, is not only a lesson for me to learn from but it has the potential to help someone else who might be on the verge of making the same mistake or has made it and is not sure how to deal with it. My writing is in no way advice, it’s just a shared experience. At minimum, I hope people read my posts and can breathe a sigh of relief that they are not “the only one” to have made that mistake. For this reason, I write from my heart more than from my head. If I want to make some money from this I should probably add more head to my writing I suspect😜

I know that my posts do achieve my goal of touching at least one person’s life or getting at least one person to stop and think. Readers often message me to tell me how a post impacted them. I am always humbled that they took the time to let me know and I am very grateful for the feedback. It is also why I keep writing and why I like my writing. Making a positive difference in someone’s life no matter how small, gives me energy. My writing fulfils me.

I do dream of touching millions of lives the world over. Perhaps I will do that one life at time over the years through an international platform like WordPress or perhaps I will write a best selling book/a series of books. I will leave that outcome in God’s hands and focus on writing. Until then, I hope we will continue to meet on WordPress and that I will in some way add value to your life at each encounter. Thank you for supporting my blog with your time😊🙏🫂

What makes me laugh…lots!

Oh where should I start! I love to laugh! I have quite a loud distinctive laugh so everyone knows I am around when they hear it. So what brings out this loud distinctive laugh you ask?

  1. Animal antics

My son and I can spend hours on Facebook and IG watching animal videos. We love the cat videos the most as cat’s are real characters. As luck would have it, the neighbourhood stray brought her kittens to our door a few months ago so we have had the pleasure of witnessing all the antics every day. Here is just 1 of the clips that had me in stitches.

Curious George investigates Alex’s sock…
  1. Dry English Humour

I loooove English humour. Programmes like “Allo Allo” and “Absolutely Fabulous” have had me rolling with laughter. My current favourite British programme is the Graham Norton Show. His guests are a real hoot! Which just reminds me that I should probably sign up for Britbox so that the laughter can roll on!

  1. South African Stand-up comedians

Trevor Noah obviously tops the list here. I have been a fan of his for years. Just before he was appointed as the host of The Daily Show, I saw him perform live. I literally cried with laughter. At one point, my friend thought I was having an asthma attack (and I don’t have asthma) because I couldn’t breathe I was laughing so hard. There were about 5 commedians in the line-up and each one was funny in his own right. I also love Marc Lottering, Riaad Moosa, Stuart Taylor and Carvin Goldstone to name but a few. There are so many more. Pre-covid, attending comedy nights was one of my favourite things to do.

As I said at the start of the post, lots makes me laugh. I hope you enjoy the clip and links. According to Lord Byron we should always laugh when we can. Laughter is cheap medicine. So laugh hard and laugh often!

Lights of the World -My Inspiration

There are so many people out there that inspire me that it is not possible to choose only one.

I am inspired by Steves Jobs’ creativity and insightfulness. He understood what the consumer needed before they did and he made it simple to use and beautiful to look at.

I am in awe of Elizabeth Gilbert and Anne Lamott’s writing. When I read their work, it feels as though I am listening to an old friend share pearls of wisdom. I had a similar sense when I read Michelle Obama’s Becoming.

What I love about Oprah is all that she has brought into our homes, our lives and our consciousness through her talk shows. Whether you perceive her topics to be good or bad, that most probably changed the way you viewed the world in some way. That’s powerful. I was listening to a talk the other day that spoke of taking action and having impact. Oprah’s actions have a huge impact the world over.

Tyler Perry. I am fascinated by Tyler the person even though I don’t know him and all he has achieved. To me he is an example of what can be accomplished if you allow God to work through you. (In fact, everyone I mentioned above is if you think about it.)

I have never heard Tyler Perry take credit for any of his achievements and he has many. All credit is given to God. Not only does he not take credit but whenever he speaks he uses the opportunity to share a lesson, or drop a pearl of wisdom for you to walk away with. One of my favourite speeches of his is his BET acceptance speech. There are 3 key messages in this speech that inspire me every time I listen to it:

  1. Help somebody cross

Tyler shares a few examples of how he has been able to ‘help somebody cross’. He has used laughter, physically helped a man cross outside his school and being given the opportunity to provide employment for people. There are so many ways that we can help people get to the other side of a bad experience, fufill a need or move forward in their life. All we need to do is listen and take action in the moment.

  1. Create your own table

As a woman and a person of mixed race living in South Africa, I have often felt the need to work extra hard to earn a seat at the table of the white man or the Indian man and more recently, the black man. The reality is that I am unique and so are my talents and if I focus on using those talents in a productive manner and for the good of society, I will be building my own table. God willing, it will be a round table that many others can sit at as well. The reality is that we do not need to compete with each other. We live in an abundant universe and there is enough for all.

  1. There are people who’s live are tied to my dream

“Every dreamer in this room: there are people whose lives are tied into your dream. Own your stuff, own your business, own your way.” This is the most powerful message in the speech. We are all interlinked. This is also linked to creating your own table to that you can make space for them.

I hope that these wonderful human beings who, I believe, have learnt the art of stepping out the own way in order to let God’s light shine through, will inspire you in some small way too.

“Let your Light shine before men, that they may see your Good Works and Glorify your Father in heaven”

Matthew 5:16