Mood boosting 101 ;-)

Tired of everyone's moaning and groaning?  These few pointers might help you get through today:

• In less than two months' time we're celebrating Christmas! If life's getting a bit too much at this stage, decorating your Christmas tree might just lift your spirits, getting you in the groove for the season of sharing and kindness.
• It's silly season...which means that we have official permission to be, well, silly!
• If you haven't noticed it - it's full-blown summer! Which means happy hour drinks, sun-filled days, pool parties, thunder storms and a feeling of 'it's actually a lovely day, why not getting up early'? (or am I pushing it a bit too far now?) ;-)
•  It's okay to feel overwhelmed and stressed this time of year - it's the one time when you do fit in with the crowd.  The feeling is mutual.  Let's remind ourselves again that that well-deserved break (for most) is around the corner.
• This week's 'bad and uglies' will probably be long forgotten next week.  Even if this is not the case - remember that there's always someone worse off than you.

None of these 'pointers' are anything new, I know - but hey, I'm looking for the silver lining of the dark cloud today.  Hope you do too!

(Gr)atitude is everything!

Does it ever happen to you that you feel sorry for yourself on a particular day?  Sometimes you know exactly what the reason(s) for this emotion are and other times you can't attribute this feeling to any particular event or cause. This 'sorry state of affairs' can sometimes hang in there for a while.  Until? Until you decide enough is enough already! 

I've been working very hard (as all of us do this time of year) the last couple of weeks, my husband is away for quite some time and things, in general, just went wrong.  More than enough reason for me to be 'sad sally'.  All of us go through phases in our life, some are more pleasant than others, true, but the other truth is that 'this too shall pass' - the bad or the ugly has a tendency to make way for the good again.

Luckily I've realised it today.  My experience is that it is the small things that we usually don't have time to attend to that does make the world's difference! My friend and I took the Gautrein to Sandton on Wednesday to spend some quality time over lunch, nothing spectacular according to anyone else's standards, but spectacular in terms of food for my soul.  Yesterday I had the opportunity to spend a day at a spa, again with two lovely ladies.  This just made me realise that we have to stand still every now and then, take the time that we believe we don't have to enjoy a moment, a conversation, an experience!

Attitude is the make or break factor when it comes to how we view and live our time on earth. Gratitude, to really count our blessings, enjoy the lighter side of life and appreciate the small things - is everything! 

Do you agree?

It's Friday - another reason to smile, dammit! (courtesy of 94.7 Highveld Stereo).

Happy Birthday Honorable Archbishop Desmond Tutu!

"Do your little bit of good where you are; its those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world" -Desmond Tutu.

The rainbow nation wishes 'The Arch' Desmond Tutu a wonderfully blessed birthday and year to come.  He has shown us and the world what it means to truly lead by example.   

Here are some of his inspiring quotes:

• "My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together".
• "We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners. His standards are quite low".
• "Without forgiveness, there's no future".
• "A person is a person because he recognizes others as persons".
• "Children are a wonderful gift. They have an extraordinary capacity to see into the heart of things and to expose sham and humbug for what they are".

Interested to know more about the lives and time of Archbishop Desmond Tutu? Read an abbreviated biography about this South African icon.

P.S. We're keeping our fingers crossed for our boys on Sunday - go Bokke!



 

Have fun chewing gum - it's World Chewing Gum Day!

We don't only have to take note of and commemorate days towards the greater good of our species (I'm thinking International Day of Peace, World Aids Day and the like) - life is, and should be about the smaller bits and pieces as well. 

On that note, put a piece of bubble gum in your mouth and get chewing - we celebrate World Chewing Gum Day today! Chewing gum can actually be good for your health.  Don't believe me? Read this article.

For some Friday fun; facts you didn't know about chewing gum (I know you've wondered about his all your life) ;-)

• The world’s oldest piece of chewing gum is 9000 years old!
• The average person chews over 300 sticks of gum each year!
• In the beginning, chewing gums were made only by hand! Today almost all gum is made by machine.
• Most chewing gum is purchased between Halloween and Christmas.
• Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.
• Humans are the only animals on earth that chew gum.
• Many dentists now widely recommend chewing sugar free gum to their patients.(http://www.chewinggumfacts.com/).

Rethink your plans to braai tomorrow since it is World Vegetarian Day on October 1.

Have a bubbly weekend!

The beauty of happiness...it's all about you!

Do you think that being true to yourself might be the Holy Grail to happiness?
I came across this picnic platter from Mr. Price Home that says: "happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony". Doesn't this imply being true to oneself? I think it might be spot-on to say that being true to and about oneself - true in portraying the authentic you to yourself and others - is one of the contributing factors (the one and only - holy grail - might be a bit of an overstatement) leading to the emotional state that most of us long for - happiness!

We know and (most of us) would agree that money can't buy happiness and that one can have everything your heart desire but not feel content. In our circle of friends we've been talking and joking about the whole 'white picket fence' ideal, which is again, a matter of being honest with oneself. For some people the steady job, secure suburban life style, spouse, a couple of kids and a close circle of friends equals heaven. For others, this picture looks too perfect, too stable even. Some of us enjoy not knowing exactly where we'll be in five years' time. The idea of renting a house for the rest of your life is not a disturbing thought and driving second hand cars are (apart from the Gautrein) the preferable way of moving about.


Different strokes for different folks, they say, and that's exactly how the long walk to happiness is set out. What works for me would most certainly not work for you, it might go against everything you believe and stand for. But that is the beauty behind being happy - as long as I think, say and do the same thing, thereby acknowledging my uniqueness and being happy with who I am, that warm feeling around the heart cannot be too far away.

Ten reasons to love our RSA!

In the light of Heritage Day tomorrow, or should I rather say Braai Day since that is how it's known to most South Africans, there couldn't be a better time to celebrate our Proudly South African heritage!


We are constantly bombarded with negative, depressing stories about our country, which are the news of the day (or a large part thereof) that should be reported on. But, and this is a big but, there are so many people, events and happenings that we should take pride in. What better day to think - and hopefully speak about RSA's pride and joy than on the eve of September 24?


There is probably a thousand and ten reasons to love our RSA, but let's start off with ten - in no particular order:


1. We are the rainbow nation! And what a privilege to be part of such a diverse 'multi-almost-anything-you-can-think-of' society. To be exposed to different cultures, ideas, ideologies and ways of doing mean that our own views and expectations of life are, from a very young age already, shaped to be much more inclusive - relevant especially in terms of the continuous move in the direction of becoming one global community.


2. The Bokke is on a winning streak at the IRB World Cup tournament in New Zealand! Need I say anything more after yesterday's victory over Namibia...we're watching this space!


3. Former president Nelson Mandela has, apart from being the most recognisable icon globally, also been ranked first in a perception assessment of the world's 54 most visible leaders, according to the Reputation Institute.


4. No one can argue that our country is simply beautiful! I can try out my poetry skill (or lack thereof) to describe the beaches, mountains, Karoo landscape and 'green environment' that are part of the city life picture but hey, you know this already! If you don't know what I'm talking about - now is the time to plan that long-awaited road trip.


5. The Big Five calls South Africa 'home'.


6. We've welcomed the world to our doorstep when we've hosted the FIFA World Cup last year. And we've shown the world that not only Afrikaners, but all Africans, are plesierig!


7. South Africa has produced ten Nobel Prize winners - four Peace, three Medicine, two Literature and one Chemistry Nobel Laureate winners.


8. It's lekker to incorporate some of our eleven official languages in one sentence, my broer. Isn't that ayoba!


9. South Africa is the official mother to our species, seeing that the Cradle of Humankind is found on South African soil.


10. We're mostly a kind-hearted, friendly and helpful bunch working towards a sustainable future for all.


I'm sure you'll be able to add loads more reasons - please do so by leaving a comment.


I think now is just the time to light the first fire for the weekend's numerous braais, which brings me to reason 11...enjoy!

It's always show time when you lead by example

I came across this quote by David D'Alessandro: " It's always show time if you're in a leadership position - leading by example whether trying to or not".  'Leadership position' initially proposes a person in a very definite leadership role - be it the president of a country, the CEO of a company or the head of a household. 

I think the definition of 'leadership position' can be expanded to include me and you, which is not necessarily a president or CEO (or manager or team leader, for that matter).  Our names might be Tom, Dick or Harry, fact is, we all have a responsibility to lead!  Many of us might think that our contribution is so miniscule, especially since we are not busy climbing the last three (or ten) steps of the corporate ladder.  We might not hold a high profile 'leadership position' but the truth is that we lead others, those in our immediate environment and context - colleagues, family, friends and people in our community, to speak to and act towards us in a specific way.  Our brand and value system direct others to behave towards us in such a way that we find acceptable.  We are all, therefore, people in leadership positions. 

This means that we have a responsibility to be ready for lights, camera, action moments, since it's always show time.  This might sound a bit far-fetched or over the edge, but do take a minute to think about this notion.  It boils down to the fact that we do make an impact, whether we want to or not.  We do get noticed by what we say or don't say, by what we do or don't do.  We all lead, regardless of our intention to specifically do so - some on a grand, macro scale and others within their micro context of family members.

Let's keep this in mind when we commemorate International Day of Peace tomorrow, September 21. 
"International Day of Peace is a Day of Ceasefire – personal or political. Take this opportunity to make peace in your own relationships as well as impact the larger conflicts of our time. Imagine what a whole Day of Ceasefire would mean to humankind" (http://internationaldayofpeace.org/about/background.html).

Are we ready to take centre stage?  It's show time - bring it on!

John Lennon's song, Imagine is one of the most prolific songs ever created by one of the worlds' great musicians and peace activists .This song is an anthem for International Day of Peace.  Enjoy!