How does it feel?

One cannot claim to have unshakeable faith and be realistic at the same time. Choose faith, it is an unrealistic path to others, yet so real to you... Follow the happy feeling and you'll create your own reality.
- Quote by Simone Momplé


What is the point of your life? 
For me, the point is to have fun, to enjoy our lives, to relax and feel the ease of life...to be happy all round.

I've experienced how people on social media and in public are so focussed on 'acquiring' that they forget the feeling.  Grinding is great and I support all those who are working to achieve their success...but don't forget the feeling!  When you reach each goal, don't forget to feel the happiness and simply experience the joy of it. 

Feel your way through life, don't think your way through it.  A statement I am learning to apply daily in my life.  When you get an invite to go somewhere and something doesn't feel fun or good about it, don't go.  If someone recommends a movie for you to watch and you feel you don't want to watch it, don't.  When you are part of a meeting and something doesn't feel right with the plans being presented, leave.  Life is that simple.  Feel your way through your life.

Once you start thinking your way through, you begin to analyse, you overthink, you apply strategies that have failed other with people - to your life and you second and third guess yourself and your intentions! Stop!  Don't beat yourself up about anything, EVER!  You live in a world where you get to choose daily, you get to decide what you like and what you don't. Everyday you have contrasting experiences that help you to realise this, so don't worry.  I believe that nothing bad ever happens to me, only situations which make me aware of a change I need to make or a alternative path I should take.  This excites me!  When I hit a wall, I laugh, and search for the easiest path out...focusing on the feeling.

Goal setting is great, but remember that you can feel the feeling before you achieve the goal.  Imagine we made 'the feeling' the goal...and the actual goal simply occurs.  You get to feel your way to success, feel your way to manifestation.  Most of us wait for the manifestation of that car we really want and delay our happiness until then.  Feel happy now and when you get that car, you get to truly enjoy the physical experience of it.  Because, if you rely on the conditions in your life to bring you happiness, your feelings will fluctuate like the petrol price. 
  Allow yourself to create the feeling...this brings such a great change to your life.  People will want to know what has got you so happy and excited about life, and you can tell them that you chose the feeling above the condition, that you desire to feel greatness before any manifestation you desire. 

Everything you ever want already exists...you simply have to ready yourself to receive it and you cannot receive it if you are not in a good feeling place.

So, how are you feeling?

What if you were only concerned about you?

What if you were only concerned about you? 

What type of world would we live in? You might ask, well...you wouldn't care really!  Some may say that would be completely selfish, how can we only be concerned about ourselves? What about other people?  Well, they would be concerned about themselves too...So what would we have to worry about?

What are you most concerned about?  Remove yourself from the 'wars', politics, economics, tertiary education, all systems such as these. None of those are your concern.  YOU are your only concern. 

You are all you have. Everyone else and everything else in this world should never come before yourself.  Focus on you... Sometimes we get desperate to find someone who we can relate to best.

Why can't I find someone like me who likes the same things I do, or has the same outlook on life as I do?

Why would you want to when you already have YOU! The problem is that we search for someone who is like us or someone who understands us, not trusting ourselves to become the person we wish to meet. The one we wish to spend most of our time with...

Are we scared to be alone? To do things alone? To venture out into the world alone? Who goes out to parties/movies/restaurants alone?! That is crazy...right? 

My freedom came when I was able to be by myself for long periods of time and not feel anxious, lonely or sad.  I have reached a beautiful place where I enjoy the company of others, but also love my own company immensely!  I make jokes and laugh with myself (not at myself...let's clear that up), I compliment myself often (this is not conceited!) and I motivate myself when I have to (even if that requires using a Les Brown accent to do so).  Spending time with yourself allows you to get to know yourself on a deeper level.  You get to understand how you operate in different settings and you get to experience and learn new things about yourself daily.  More importantly, you will automatically be happier if all you did was focus on yourself and making yourself happy.  Being unconditionally happy...this means being happy right now!! This very moment! Not when you achieve success, not when the right partner comes around, not when you get a new car, right now, without conditions!  Can you be unconditionally happy? 

This requires you to be in constant communication with yourself, being honest with yourself and admitting 'mistakes'.  Yet, the beauty I have found is that there are no such things as mistakes or wrong choices...only chances for you to figure out what it is you want.  When you know what you don't want, you know what you do want. 

So I challenge you to spend more time with yourself to really and truly get to a beautiful place of self-awareness.  Michael Jackson knew it.  He knew that in order for this world to operate at it's best, we had to focus on ourselves first, then everything else will fall into place.

Know yourself.  Love yourself.  Take care of yourself.  You...FIRST! 

Reality (Part 2): Is your happiness real?

Happiness is incomplete without you.

Is your happiness real?

What makes you happy?
Is it your job? Your partner? Your friends/family? A hobby?
What makes you truly happy?
I am sure you have been asked this question before. Did you notice the follow up questions all relate to your external reality, therefore I am leading your thinking in a certain direction? Was that purposeful? Maybe...maybe not. It would be great to know what your answers were though.  In Reality Part 1 I addressed what you considered to be your reality, and so you would probably answer these questions based on your perception of reality...External manifestations or an internal feeling (such as happiness linked to purpose).

What determines whether you are happy or not?
Let's begin by addressing what happiness is to you. I have experienced people who place their happiness in a person, an object or an activity. The tricky part with doing that is when that person/object/activity is not in your physical, immediate existence, they are unhappy. And then what? Sometimes we place our happiness in obtaining something:
 "Once I achieve this goal, then I'll be happy."
If this is how your ‘reality’ works, then please tell me, how long did your happiness last once you achieved that goal; or once you obtained that item? Our human existence has us searching for happiness in things and in others. I believe we have it twisted…why should the happiness only come after the 'thing'? Once you have the latest phone, you’ll be happy.  Once you get that job you’ve been waiting for, you’ll be happy.  Once you earn a certain amount every month, you’ll be happy. Once you get married to that special person, you’ll be happy.
What if I told you that you could be happy regardless of your external reality? Would you believe it is possible? Would you believe that you don’t need a single thing on this planet to make you happy (besides you)?

This is how our ‘reality’ works.
Thought > vibration/energy > feeling > manifestation.  We have a thought > it sends out a vibration > we then feel a certain way and then something > manifests. For example, you think about coffee. A vibration is sent out and you feel a desire to have coffee and know that having coffee will make you happy. So you imagine it, breathe deep and smile. A short while later, someone offers you a cup of coffee…it has manifested! Notice how you felt the feeling before you had the coffee?! Imagine applying that to everything in your life? 

But I’m currently going through a rough patch.
So something is currently making you feel bad in your human existence. How does this concept of making 'happiness a reality' fit this situation? Simple, you ignore it. Ignore what is and any aspect in your physical reality that doesn’t please you, because ‘what is’, is old news. NOW, this moment, is all that is real. Whether you think about your past – you are doing it NOW, whether you imagine your future – you are doing it NOW. This very moment is the only thing you can control and it is the only thing that is real! NOW is where it is at, this is the only place that satisfaction can occur. So breathe deep, let go of the feeling holding you hostage and release yourself into the happy feeling place… no matter what your situation or circumstance, you can feel good! No matter what, don’t ever feel bad about feeling good! You have a right to feel good…always. 

Do you set goals for yourself?
Great! Do you allow yourself to be happy before they manifest? Here’s something many are not ready or open to hear:

Everything you’ve ever wanted, do want or will ever want, already exists…all you need to do is call it into your existence.

How? The very first time you think about something and it follows with a feeling…DONE! That is how it is created! All you need to do now is to continue feeling good and it will manifest. Yes, that’s it, feel good FIRST and then everything you want will flow to you in abundance! Our society has made us believe that we must obtain what we want first, and then the happiness will follow. Why wait to be happy, when you can feel it now?

Do you ever feel stuck?
Sometimes I feel stuck at certain points in my life. I am not sure which step I should be taking next. I then ask myself: "What am I doing with my life?!" This leads to frustration. I realise that this happens when I run ahead of myself to obtain happiness found in situations/things/goals. At these times I need to slow down to allow myself to catch up to myself. I do this by doing less and being more. As soon as I do this and I am whole again, I am happy, instantly! I no longer feel stuck, I feel at peace with my life. I. FEEL. HAPPY. 

Society: “What do you want?”
ME: “I want to be happy.”
Society: “What makes you happy?”
ME: “Being happy makes me happy.”
Society: “You must be crazy!.”
ME: “The crazier I am, the happier I am.”

I. AM. HAPPY. Under all conditions, I choose to feel happy. I am unconditionally happy! And no, this does not mean I bounce off the walls with energy all the time because I am filled with so much happiness!
Happiness is peace. Happiness is deep breathing. Happiness is satisfaction. Happiness is gratitude. Happiness is letting all the barricades down and letting yourself radiate who you truly are, because who you truly are IS happy!

Your life is supposed to feel good to you!
Does it?





Reference:
Some of the above concepts have been referenced from Abraham Hicks Teachings.

Women empowerment can disempower.

I have been a part of various women empowerment ventures throughout my life.  It excited me to find these groups of women willing to spend their time and energy and sometimes finances helping other women in various ways. Initially, the 'women only' part would give me mixed feelings.  I wondered why men are given the 'you can't sit with us' card.  On the one hand, I believe women should be given a space to vent, be themselves and to discover themselves as a gender; but then again, men too need a space for empowering and upliftment.  After having been involved in these ventures, one after the other, I started feeling that the inclusion of men is imperative and the exclusion of them, pointless (at times). 

You see, the more we exclude men with the 'you can't sit with us' card, the more imbalanced our society.  As the women become more empowered, they then go back into the apparent 'male driven' society they have been trying to fit into.  This can sometimes cause all efforts to be futile.  I understand the need for building women up to be more confident within society in whatever field they desire to be in and I would agree with that.  But let's not assume men don't have such a need too.  They are just better at masking their confidence with false confidence, until they make it.  So we give women the tools they need to develop more, and the men...we assume are good.

My other perception has left me wondering whether the 'women empowerment' strategies are actually doing more damage to women themselves!  As I work and play within different circles, mixed gender and women only groups and varied age groups, I get to witness various personalities and situations playing out.  Here is a something that has persistently come up across the board for me.  I will illustrate it with an example.  I have found that walking into a room where there are females only (whether you know each other well or not at all) it will take longer for the women to greet me...they would first suss me out and then greet, maybe; mostly I greet first. 
Walking in to a room with males and females, the men would be the first to walk up and greet, the females would first suss you out again, then maybe greet and introduce themselves, or not at all and you end up spending the day with them without knowing their names.  They would then converse with the person you are sitting and talking to without even acknowledging you. Blind to your presence. And it is not because the men are possibly interested in you that they will greet or introduce themselves first, I have seen this happen in all my circles. This has confused me. So it has led me to consistently be the first to greet or introduce myself...this is tiring...so I admit I don't always do it.

This has also made me consider how we are really empowering women here? Do we only empower within women only groups and not in groups of mixed gender? How does this make sense... Ladies we are disempowering other women by putting ourselves above them or even below them.  We are all equal...some might be better than others at some things, but that's normal, we all have our niches.  Be proud of other women for their efforts to learn; be proud of other women for their courage to stand up and make a change in their lives.  You have no idea how much effort it has taken for her to do something...whatever it is...support her, without making her feel less than you in her efforts.

So smile and greet every women, every time...and please don't put yourself down when you meet women you think are better at something than you...praise her, and you will automatically feel empowered.

I would love to hear your thoughts...comment below.

With Love,
Simone...a woman.

Reality (Part1): What is ‘real’ to you?

OR

How do you define reality? What makes something real to you? By something, I mean a moment, a situation, an event - abstract situations, not concrete things.  So once you decide when something is real, does that automatically cancel out any other options or avenues of that situation?  I tend to ask many questions, which in my mind follows a path of sense, but I assume not always to the reader.  So let me explain…

I became more and more aware of people using the term ‘real’, ‘reality’ or my favourite, ‘realistic’.  They would say:

“Look at the reality of it…it is not possible.” (referring to anything really, mostly someone’s ability to make something happen).  Many times people have told me to be realistic when I am passionately expressing myself - talking about an idea that I have or something I would like to pursue. 

“Be realistic Simone…that cannot happen.”  Has anyone ever used that line on you?  Or what about…

“Let’s just be realistic here…” and they attempt to explain why your idea cannot work.

I have since come up with an appropriate response, asking:
“How do you know what is real?” The person will then go on to explain that MY idea cannot work because of what HAS happened (past tense).  I then respond by asking:
“So, because this has happened in the past, you truly believe it will continue to happen in future?”
How can someone prove that MY idea cannot work?  How can they prove that just because a certain result has occurred a number of times before that it will definitely, positively happen again from now on??   How much do you think of yourself that you think you are able to predict the future like that?  Apparently, history has shown the evidence that makes the future predictable!  (Sarcasm) 

Now let’s take a quick look at history.  Nostradamus predicted the future, how many of the people he interacted with back then told him that he should be realistic?  Einstein, Shakespeare, the Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Nelson Mandela, Will Smith, Jim Carrey…I don’t even need to explain the stories behind these names.  Let’s imagine that all of these people listened to the many (and I’m sure there were very many) people telling them to be real, to be realistic, to not try any of their ideas, that their ideas were silly and would never work!  How do you think our society would function today had any one of them said, “you’re right, it won’t work.” Then go work as a call centre operator (e.g.) for the rest of their lives?! 

Dwell on that for a bit…

Now, back to you…what do you consider real?  Are you living realistically (according to society), or are you pushing your ideas?  Are you testing boundaries?  Do you want to pursue something no one has ever touched?  Many people are scared to admit they have a great big passion and many ideas following them…because once they admit to it, they would have to do something about it!  We want a mediocre life with a millionaire’s salary, don’t we?

Jim Carrey once spoke to a group of graduates in 2015.  One story he told plays over and over in my mind.  He explained about how his dad could have been a great comedian, but he never pursued that, so he got a ‘safe job’ as an accountant.  When Jim was about 12 years old, his dad was let go from that ‘safe job’ and his family had to do what was necessary to survive.  Jim said that he learnt many things from his father, the least of which is ‘that you can fail at what you don’t want, so why not take a chance and do what you love!’

That line had me thinking and it also brought this concept of reality into perspective.  You see, the pattern my life has followed is not a conventional one, not one that society would have expected.  And every time I made a move to do something I wanted, someone was always there telling me to be realistic and not do it, because according to them, it didn’t make sense! Of course I had some family and acquaintances telling me I can do anything I set my mind to and that anything is possible.  But we all tend to operate on autopilot, so we might not necessarily believe those who motivate us, but tend to believe those who tell us it is impossible…weird!  I have come to the conclusion that my life will never make sense to you or to anyone else…what I choose to do will never be real to you, it will never be ‘realistic’ to you.  And THAT is none of MY business too. J

Recently I was sought out for a job, where I ended up working for a week before deciding that this job was not for me.  The lady I was working under sent me this message a few weeks after I stopped working there:

“Hi Simon   (She spelt my name wrong…)
Just sharing a bit of experience…in the real world…people do what needs to be done…in short we find jobs to pay our bills and then while we are doing this…we look at other options.  If you wait for the right job to come along…you might find yourself waiting for a long time…”

What do you make of that?!

My first instinct was to tell her what was on my mind, but I did not respond.  However, I really want to thank her for this message because it triggered a very passionate blog post:  http://simonemomple.blogspot.co.za/2016/03/open-letter-to-society.html

Will Smith, also known to defy norms, said this in one of his motivational talks on YouTube:

“Being realistic is the most common road to mediocrity.  It’s unrealistic to walk into a room and flip a switch and lights come on.  That’s unrealistic, but fortunately Edison didn’t think so.  It’s unrealistic to think you’re going to bend a piece of metal and fly people over an ocean.  That’s unrealistic, but fortunately, the Wright Brothers and others didn’t believe that.”

Now I challenge you to redefine your concept of reality…

Blank Slate

14 March 2016 (Monday)

As I spent the best part of Saturday cleaning and scrubbing the walls in my room, I realised how therapeutic it really was.  I cleared out the furniture, got the ladder, got the cleaning materials and had Eminem blasting in the room.  It is usually activities or an experience that makes me think about and reflect on much deeper things in life.

I bought some room décor a while ago and didn’t want to put it up until I cleaned the walls! So I finally decided to do it this past weekend.  It’s amazing how something so small and beautiful, can make you take on a big task such as this one.  As I began scrubbing the dirt off the wall, I realised that this is pretty much like life… We’ve been given these ‘blank slates’ to doodle on it or decorate it how we want. 

When I was a teenager, I really wanted my room blue.  My parents did not really agree with this, plus, why blue? I’m a girl? I loved blue, pink was too cliché, I told them.  So eventually, they bought me the blue paint and I did it myself.  I sanded areas that needed it, but I was too lazy to put primer on, so I just started painting it blue! All the walls and the ceiling too! It was so much fun.  My dad did help me here and there, probably to make sure I didn’t mess it up too much.  This is why I love my parents so much, that even when it is something they do not really want, they will help because it is what we want!  Great support is needed!  The end product was not too bad.  I was proud of myself and bragged about it to all!  As it dried, over the next few days I started noticing that I didn’t really do so well in certain areas.  You could see streaks in some parts and you others were a bit blotchy.  No problem! I’ll just cover it with pictures and posters!  So I did, I put up things that I liked and once again, made my room how I wanted it.

So while I was not living at home, and my dear parents took this opportunity to restore this room they had to bear with for so long!  So they painted it a light cream colour.  First time I saw it, I was a little bit upset because they had covered up my identity! (That’s how I saw it).  But after a while I started to realise that it looked a lot nicer, it made me feel calmer and it really lit up the room!  So I then did what any normal person would do…I put up pictures and posters that identified me…again!  I made the room my own. 

Now, years later, I felt a need to refresh!  Washing down the walls helped me to cleanse my thoughts too.  I started thinking about how much dirt we allow to gather in our minds and lives; how much dirt we allow others to put there.  We must find the will to get rid of this dirt.  We are reluctant to deal with the dirt in our lives because we are afraid it will hurt more.  Relate this to having a thorn stuck in your foot… It hurt when you stood on the thorn and will continue to hurt with every step, until you remove it.  Yes, removing it will hurt too, but what is better?  To feel hurt once or to continue feeling it for days, months or even years!  Let’s work through this together.  I would like for everyone to experience the cleansing process and then, once again, be given a blank slate to decorate all from over. 

Give me the reasons you are unable to address the hurt in your life…

Tell me what is holding you back… 

So will you keep the thorn in your foot, or will you remove it?  The choice is yours…

The finished product:

Open letter to society

Dear Society,

*Quote: “Because in my experience, it is better to take any job when you’re unemployed than to wait for that ‘perfect’ job.”

I am currently unemployed.  I have a part job that brings in some money.  I have a few bills I need to pay.  I live with my parents and do not own my own car.  I am not married, neither do I have any children.  I have a BA degree in Tourism and a BA Honours in Psychology.  I have a part-time job as a Zumba Instructor and I do Hip Hop dancing, because I love it.  I am a mentor for a volunteer organisation and am currently on the committee who is running a Youth Alpha Course at my Church.  So what does this make me, society?  

I’ve been applying for jobs online, registered with many online job sites.  I have been offered two jobs…of which both I turned down. Why?  They were not what I wanted to do or I felt overqualified for it.  (*The quote above was said to me by both companies I turned down). 

Meeting up with friends, family and acquaintances and being asked the awkward question:
“So, what are you doing with your life now?” …would surely require answers such as…

”I am planning my wedding”

“I’m working for a corporate company as a *insert high profile position*.”

“I just bought my own house and a new car.” 

Then OF COURSE I would get the desired response: 

“Wow that is amazing!  You’ve really made a success of your life.” 

But, here is MY answer:

“I am currently looking for a job.” 

Their response?  “Oh shame.”

Now I stand there with a confused look on my face, like I told them that someone died and needed the sympathy?!  Follow up questions include: “So what did you study and what are you looking for?”  And then they offer advice (of which I did not ask for) on how to apply or where to look. 

Seeing as advice is so freely given in society, allow me to return the favour:

Not having a job is not a bad thing.  I do not see that merely having a job makes you ultimately successful in life.  I think and operate differently from most societal norms…I always have.  So please do not pity those who do not have a job.  In fact, I think you should praise and encourage them as they now have more time and freedom to spend on working on what they really want.  I have many friends and family who are so unhappy in their jobs, but they say:

“At least I have a job…I’d rather have a job I’m unhappy in than not have one and be at home sitting on the couch.” 

Please note that I still have a very confused look on my face…  I have never ever understood why people would do something they are unhappy doing and attribute their reasoning to some or other ‘logical’ or ‘realistic’ reason.  (Look out for my next post on the concept of ‘reality’).  And honestly, if you did not have a job, would you really only be sitting on the couch ALL day??!! 

Maybe next time you meet up with someone…instead of asking what are you doing with their life, ask “Are you happy?” Then you will get a real answer.  Why do we attribute what we do for a living with happiness?  Yes, if you are doing what you love as a job, you are happy.  But do not assume that because we are not where we want to be right then that we are not happy with where we are!  Many people are happy in the process too.  Asking are you happy shows more concern for the person’s well-being.  Now I know you are really interested and care.

As for me, I am happy.  Society, don’t freak out!  Yes, I’m unemployed, and I’m happy!  Stop trying to make me feel bad for not following your set principles!  I lived out my dream job by the age of 21.  I travelled around the world for three years after obtaining a degree.  I came back, did volunteer work for one full year.  I proceeded to study a different degree.  I made one of my passions a part time job.  I am almost thirty and I am happy with where I am and especially with who I am.  At my age, I know myself way better than I would have ever expected to.  I am in-tune with my inner self and how I connect to my higher being.  This type of happiness was not obtained by having a job, having a husband, having children, having my own car, having my own house or even having a retirement fund!

Also, please don’t assume that people who are unemployed are sitting at home on the couch all day.  How does that even make sense?!  No, we are hustling!  We are creating our dream job…that often does not exist in society.  We are sharpening our skills for the type of work we want to do… researching, developing ourselves, focussing on what we want, not what we don’t want.  We have the advantage of taking our time to find out what it is that we truly desire and to pursue that with unlimited energy!  We get to plan our lives better to make sure we are constantly improving. 

No society, you are not all wrong…although we might not be doing nothing all day, we do have the option of sitting on the couch every now and then.

I’m sorry that I am happy society.

Yours in unemployment.

Simone Momplé

4000 Steps

Taking a walk when you’re in a difficult space is not the easiest thing to get up and do, but once you do, you see the situation and life differently.

I took a walk one day when I was in the toughest part of a breakup. I had been crying all morning, was only able to make breakfast. I spoke to my mom who commanded me to get out and enjoy the beautiful day we were having. (We were not in the same city and while I had clear skies, she had gloomy clouds and rain).

Initially when I started walking, I was thinking about the situation that I’m in, the possible routes that I could take. Mostly why this is happening?! Trying to figure it all out. I put my pedometer on, wanted to see how many steps it would take for me to go on this walk. I also set a time limit, I said in 20 minutes I’ll turn around, a 40 minute walk would be sufficient. Without even realising it, I set goals for myself. I chose a path to walk on, there wasn’t really a pavement, so I had to walk on the grass. There was a path walked in already, I’m sure by many people before. I chose not to walk on it, but to walk right next to it. I thought to myself, why don’t we create our own path? Why do we go with what other people have set before? I guess because it’s easier, you can already see how clear that path is, so why not? It took only a few people to create that path, if you think about it. Further down, I had to choose which road I was going to go down, I chose the one on the left. I was walking on the right side of the road, choosing which side of each little tree I’d walk around. I saw some litter on the ground, I didn’t pick it up. Now did I choose not to or did I ignore the fact that I had a choice? People always say you have a choice, but do you? Sometimes we are not aware that there is another option… or we just chose not to think there is.

On this straight road, I found a patch of discarded land, in between these beautiful complexes of modern houses. It had high grass, litter and you never know what else. So I crossed the road, choosing not to go there. We come across patches on a path that seem really dodgy and scary, and we can make the choice to not go there, which I did. I walked on the other side of the road. Avoided it. And in doing so, I found a street to my left that looked interesting, beautiful and very challenging. I decided to take it, it was steep, and I thought it’d be good to use different muscles for a change. Walking up it I saw beautiful houses, nature was lovely too, big trees and cute dogs. I walked to the top and sometimes it was so challenging, I could only look down, at my own steps. Sometimes we have to look down at what we are actually doing and focus on US, to get us up there. We also have to look up and notice our surroundings, look out for danger or beauty. We look around to see who or what can help us get to where we’re going or how we can help others.

When I turned to walk up this road, there was suddenly no wind. On the straight, level road, there was a wind blowing, even though the weather looked clear! Up this road, no wind, but the challenge was different. In life this is the same, when things are going great, we are happy, there is still something going on, be it a wind. But this doesn’t bother us, because we are on a level road, things are going well. Looking up at a different road, we suddenly realise there was a wind because it has now stopped. We see the steep road ahead and suddenly our ‘bothers’ are different. At the top of this road, I get to stop and turn around and look at what I just accomplished. And I got more than what I bargained for, I get the most amazing view, I never thought I would experience! Yet, getting to the top has made me realise there is no other way down, but the same way I came. So I go down, but choose the other side of the road. We think that going downhill is easier, because we can ‘freefall’, but I don’t think so. It’s only different. We have to use different muscles firstly, but we also have to control the fall. We have to stop ourselves from having no control and watch every step we take. It’s not that hard though, because we have already walked this path, just going a different way now. I got to the bottom and looked back up, I saw a dog in the road, cute one. I think to myself, that I missed out on playing with that dog. But sometimes the things we think we missed out on could’ve been a danger to us, otherwise, it cannot have been meant for us, but for someone else to enjoy.

Back on the level road, I feel the wind again, this time more aware of it, but enjoying it more too. Things that bothered us before, can at different times become a joy! 20 minutes later it’s time to turn around. In doing this, I decide to walk on the other side of the road, because I already experienced the other side. Sometimes in life we have to walk the same path again, in a different direction than we did before. It is said that we must not go back in life, we must always move forward. But there are times we go back. Sometimes it’s to find old friends, sometimes it’s to experience something great again, or because we didn’t actually gain what we wanted to the first time. (Like redoing a test to get better results to move on in our studies). So we walk back, we have different insight now because we know this path, we took in all we could the first time, and have more knowledge this time.

I came across the rough patch again and I saw a man walking his dog through this patch. I thought that if he is going through it, it can’t be that bad, so let me try. I started walking through it and heard things moving in the grass – freaky! After 5 steps I said to myself no! I couldn’t do it, it wasn’t nice, but I didn’t enjoy the challenge. So I walked in the road, and although cars were up and down all the time, in this moment, there were no cars on my side and I could walk in the road. Sometimes a challenge isn’t meant for you, you see other people going through it and you think that you can too, that it will be fun. Sometimes their challenge, isn’t your challenge… but a way will be made for you to walk in the road!! While walking in the road I saw a dead white rat just on the edge of that grass, do you see how I avoided that?! A new path will be made when we take a path we think is right, but isn’t!

Getting back to where I started, I realise that it took me a shorter time to come back than to go, because I didn’t need to make the stops I did the first time, I knew what was waiting for me on the way back and could make better decisions then. We sometimes have to take the same path back to the place we started so that we can move on from there. We now have a better understanding of that path and have the capacity to make different, more informed choices!

4000 steps can be all it takes to move on…