#everydayinspiration – Grounded African

Everything is Going to be Alright

A few years ago, I was in a bit of a panic. I couldn’t get hold of my cousin, who was going through a bit of a challenging time. I was concerned that something had happened to her. I called my uncle as I knew he had been in contact with her recently. He is known to be a wise old soul, and he told me not to expect that something bad had happened. Everything will be alright. It turned out she was ok, and had just had an issue with her phone. There really was no need to worry. My uncle had planted a seed.

The past two months have been quite challenging for me. Our department at work went through another restructure 10 months after the last one. I, once again, received a section 189 letter informing me that my role had changed significantly and I would therefore need to reapply for it. There was a possibility that I could be retrenched. I was once again anxious, but this time it only lasted for a week or two. I got anxious because I have been a terrible interviewee in the past and dreaded going through it all over again. I called a friend who is known to be the best interviewee in the team and asked for her help. I felt a lot calmer after sitting with her and focused on what was in my control. Certain events happened in the company that resulted in me not having to reapply for the job. I believe that was God working in my favour and in the favour of a few other colleagues who had also faced losing their jobs and were now safe. In fact, the outcome was better than I could have predicted.

Another source of anxiety for me was my son’s eighteenth birthday. For whatever reason, I was desperate for him to have a really good day. Once again, I focused on what was in my control, and everything else just fell into place. He had a fantastic day! I had focused on getting one event right that day, but God had bigger plans, and he ensured that my son’s entire day was amazing. I was so happy for him and so very grateful to God for making it happen.

Since then, I have noticed a few other occasions or situations where everything has just fallen into place, especially when I just focus on what’s in my control. There is really nothing to worry about, whether we want to believe it or not, everything will be alright. It often turns out to be better than you had envisioned. My wise old uncle was right.

Are you a bit of a worrywart, or have you learned to trust that everything will be okay? What made you start believing that things will always work out? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading. Bye for now.

Getting back to me – Day 4 2025

A few months ago, I think I was listening to a podcast. One of the topics was about getting back to being yourself to de-stress. At the time I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with my job and new team. I took a moment to remember those times in my life when I was most relaxed. What did I do every day or most often?

I used to journal often. I have never really being a daily journal writer but I have used to write in my journal a few times a week. I also used to read a lot. So started to journal more often. I had become so lackadaisical about it that my entries were months apart. (Much like my blogging 🤪) I am back to journaling a few times a week. It really helps to clear my head.

Photo by Jess Bailey Designs on Pexels.com

I have always read but I had gotten into the habit of only reading non-fiction. I still enjoy them, but I didn’t realise how much I missed fiction until I decided to tackle the many unread books on my bookshelf. I have gotten back to enjoying Michael Connelly and Jonathan Kellerman. I have finally started reading Stephen Leather novels. I do find them a little slower than Connelly and Kellerman. It also drives me insane that his books do not have chapters. There are just paragraph breaks. Dan Shepard has grown on me though so I will continue to read Stephen Leather’s books. I also like the fact that his stories are set in the UK. I love just about everything British. The slowest books though are Robert Galbraith’s (aka J.K. Rowling). They seem to follow a similar story arc as the Harry Potter books. The bit in the middle can be quite convoluted but it always comes together pretty well. I do like Robyn and Comoran Strike so i will continue to persevere through all the convoluted middles.😁. I am really enjoying reading again and am grateful that I can read.

I am always on the lookout for new authors, so do share any murder mystery or spy authors you enjoy.

I have to say that both reading and journaling have helped me get back to feeling like my old self again and this has helped lower my stress levels, and helped me gain perspective and clarity on certain things.

What have you done differently to relive stress this year? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for popping by.

Don’t forget to be amazing!

A Month of Gratitude – Day 2 2025

Hi there! So I was just scrolling through my photos and it was a reminder of what a good year it was.

I have had so many great experiences this year. I got to capture the sunrise over Ballito on an autumn morning and watch the moon’s eclipse with my son. I got to watch my son do what he loves best, play soccer. Through my job, I travelled around the country promoting our latest product launch, and we appeared on TV twice. I got to meet and be inspired by the stories of two of our local sporting heroes, Dricus du Plessis, our ex UFC champ, and Andile Dlamini, who is our South African Women’s Soccer Team’s (Banyana Banyana) goalkeeper. I also got to give back through the Dove Self-Esteem project. We visited a school to remind grade 8 girls that they are beautiful as they are.