Sadi Ranson in Cyrano - musings on life, loss, love and the everyday banality of human emotional grief. What is it, why do we feel it, how is it expressed and why can't we just get over it already? Simple/complex musings
A Powerpoint Show featuring Beautiful Quotes in carefully chosen slides that are considered breathtaking and original. Music by Enrique Chia. Enjoy!!!!
Sadi Ranson in Cyrano - musings on life, loss, love and the everyday banality of human emotional grief. What is it, why do we feel it, how is it expressed and why can't we just get over it already? Simple/complex musings
A Powerpoint Show featuring Beautiful Quotes in carefully chosen slides that are considered breathtaking and original. Music by Enrique Chia. Enjoy!!!!
I’m sitting in a white, dome-shaped room at a large table. The sound of water falling in the background is soothing. But I’m feeling anxious anyway and am unable to sit still.
The man in front of me carefully studies charts spread out across the table, amused by my impatience. Slowly he looks up and smiles. “You can do this,” he says softly. “It’s a big path, a strong mission. You’re ready.”
Last night I attended an enchanting book talk with Piers Cruickshanks, author of Confluence: Beyond the River with Siseko Ntondini.
It’s a story of how Piers and Siseko, who against all odds, won a gold medal at the Dusi Canoe Marathon. (Finishing 7th).
But it’s really a story of the challenges of being human and triumphs of the human spirit when two cultures confluence.
Piers shares a vignette where he was irritated that Siseko pitched up late for practice. For Piers it was easy to get to the dam. For Siseko – not so much – because of the transport challenges that he and countless thousands face every day.
I can’t speak for Piers, but if it were me I would’ve been humbled and maybe slightly embarrassed at my ‘white privilege’ … him, then a 39 year old English teacher with a young family and the ‘perfect life’ and 18 year old Siseko clawing his way up from the streets of Soweto.
Rachel
I had a similar incident around 10 years ago. Rachel, my domestic assistant of 15 years was late again. I reprimanded her for being tardy. Her words to me made an indelible impression, “I get up every morning at 4 am and have to catch two taxis to get to you. I’m sorry, sometimes the taxis run late.”
In those days I was paying her R150 per day including transport. I realised that she was spending half her wages on transport. So that meant that she had R75 left over for food, toiletries and paraffin for her and her children. I don’t know about you … even in those days I could drop R150 in a heartbeat on something frivolous and not even think about it.
We don’t know what is happening with the human working for us, sitting next to us on the bus, at our work or in our schools. We don’t know what drama is playing out in their lives. Are they hungry? Are they sick? Have they lost a loved one? Are they going through marital strife? Are they depressed? Are they destitute?
I try and walk in the other’s shoes. I try and feel what the other is feeling. Sometimes I get it right … mostly I get it wrong.
Choice
All I know is that I’m where I am by the grace of the Creator. I could’ve been born to different parents, in a different country and under different circumstances. My life would have been totally different – it could have been better or worse (whatever that means).
So, I’m here now, in this moment. I can only control how I feel and how I react to my situation now. Other than that, I have little control of the outcome of this human experience.
I choose gratitude. I choose awe. I choose to withhold judgment. I choose curiosity. I choose to see every human as the same. And, I know that every human hides a secret pain and untold hope. This humbles me because I hold the heart of everyone I come into contact with in my hand. It’s in my power to break that heart or grow that heart. It’s in your power too.
Never lose hope and Courage in life. Don't get your life struck with despair and anxiety.
Think Positive. Be Positive.
One day you will definitely going to be successful in your life.
Sample of a book of poems sampling what I've squeezed out of life that past years. Please support self publishing by picking up a copy at Lulu. Thanks, enjoy.
http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/electric-chair-for-the-sun/12305241
I wish I could be as articulate as Vivienne Westwood, the iconic British fashion designer.
She put into words how at odds I am with general opinion. “My diary is a way of trying to communicate the world through my experiences. My point of view is heretical. My enemy is the status quo.”
Being a heretic is not a comfortable place to be.
One is always at odds with the world.
It’s exhausting to swim upstream and challenge the status quo.
One is also at odds with oneself.
I find it hard to stay the course.
It’s a constant battle between disruption or settling.
Sometimes it’s easier to dumb down my work for a dumbed down world so that my life will be smoother.
it is a book of sayings
it is a book of thoughts
it is a book
i sometimes wish
had never been born
www.smashwords.com/william andrews/follow the road behind my eyes
Form Vs Intent
Many students are of the view that they just need to pass their exams with the bare minimum allowed marks.
If they pass, they'll get that high school certificate or their university degree. The idea being that a high school certificate will get them into university and that a university degree will get them a job.
They miss the point of the exercise. It is not about the result but the process. The trick to learning is to master a subject, not to aim for the bare minimum.
So that when entering the job market, you're actually useful and don't have to be retrained from scratch.
Also, going for the bare minimum is the genesis of the mediocrity virus that proliferates our world. The less we expect of ourselves, the less we do and the less we expect of others.
We don't strive to stand out and make our mark in this world. We strive to fit in so that we are never challenged in any way.
The same is true for our lives and our search to connect with our creator.
We do the bare minimum. We go to church once a week. We say our five daily prayers. We practice Shabbat every Friday.
We do all these things as we're taught. And, we're taught to do them with perfect form. But that's all it is, is form. What's missing is the intention. Doing form to connect with our creator is the bare minimum.
The trick is to master this existence and put everything into doing so. The trick is to practice every day for the moment of our death. Every moment gives us that chance.
Just going through rituals by rote and doing it under the cover of a mosque, synagogue or church is not going to help 'buy our way into heaven'. The couple of minutes we spend on our rituals won't cut it.
The only point of rituals are to focus our attention on the moment so that we are aware of the presence of the creator. So that we can be in awe and gratitude and humility that we have been so blessed.
Our true self comes out in the way we relate to the world and the rest of humanity in it. Every moment gives us a chance to be graceful, grateful and use the muscle of the heart to be useful, kind and beautiful to others. Every opportunity to be kind gets us closer to our creator.
Don't look to the heavens to find your creator. Look to every human being you touch and you'll see the divine in them. You'll meet the creator.
Our intention defines us, not our form. Follow your rituals but most of all be human, be kind, be in awe and be grateful. This is the only chance you and I have of touching the creator.
This is a motivational piece of text on how to create your magnum opus or masterpiece. But, you don't just have one masterpiece in you. The trick is to discover that you have unlimited magna opera in you ...
Our galaxy is called the Milky Way … home to 100 billion stars. Multiply that by 10 trillion galaxies and that’s an incomprehensible number of stars out there. A gazillionith of a fraction of a fraction of a fraction are on a playground called Earth.
You’ll find more than 2 600 of them embedded in sidewalks across an 18 block radius in a place you and I know as the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
This is where people famous in the world of entertainment go to be immortalised in terrazzo and brass.
Like all stars, they wane. If you walk along some of the sidewalks, you won’t see shiny stars. What you’ll see is grit and grime encrusting them. You’ll see buskers and homeless people sitting on or around them.
These stars have been trodden on by billions of shoes since 1960 when the first star was laid for Joanne Woodward. These shoes carry the weary feet, broken hearts and shattered dreams of countless people.
People who wish they too can have a star on Hollywood Boulevard. A star that too can be stepped on.
When I was a young boy in the Karoo, one of my tasks was to prime the water pump. I had to push a lever down several times to prime the pump with water so that it would function properly.
In essence, I was kickstarting the pump so that it could produce water all day long.
Humans are like water pumps. We need to prime ourselves so that we can be effective throughout the day. This is where morning rituals and habits become invaluable. The only time when I'm selfish is the first two hours after waking. This is when I spend time on myself only. I've realised that spending time on myself is not selfish but rather, self-preserving. That time alone centres me so that I can tackle each day with vim and vigour.
Here's a snapshot of my ideal morning routine. I said 'ideal' because in many instances I miss it by a mile. I know when I miss my rituals my day's off-kilter and I'm not as sharp as I could be.
05h00: Salat prayer (before sunrise)
05h10: Meditate for 20 minutes
05h30: Coffee and a rusk (catch up with news and social media on mobile device)
06h00: Run for 1 hour
07h10: Jump into swimming pool for 6 minutes (supposedly helps with weight loss)
07h20: Shower and dress
07h30: Morning pages - type 750 words (based on Julia Cameron's, The Artist's Way)
07h55: Five Minute Journal
08h05: Breakfast
I ask myself why some people are the architects of genocide and acts against humanity.
Why do they unleash untold terror, destruction and misery onto the human race?
How can someone be so cruel?
Do they have a soul?
These are all questions that plague and frustrate me because there's no simple answer.
Is it because we allow them to thrive because of our indolence and ignorance. On 12 March 1938, the German Wehrmacht entered Austria and marched into Vienna. The German writer, Frederick Rech wrote: It was a day on which 'the criminal has been let go unpunished and made to appear more powerful than he is'.
This notion plays out in South Africa and Africa. As citizens we have become victims of our own indolence, greed and fear. We've created and allowed Frankenstein's monsters to dictate our lives.
Mugabe, Amin, Zuma, Motseneng, al-Assad,Taylor, Gupta, al-Bashir, Bell Pottinger and its attack dog, Georghegan.
On the international stage, there are the usual suspects: Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Tse-Sung, Bush, Blair and more recently, Putin and Trump.
Is it because they're homicidal maniacs, megalomaniacs, narcissists or psychopaths? That this may be a part of their nature that they cannot fight. My grandfather who bred mules and horses, would look a humans the same way as he looked at horseflesh. Sometimes he'd look at someone and say "Die saad is sleg gegooi." (The seed is badly thrown). These poor creatures are lost to themselves and to us because their genetic makeup has destined them to act out in this way. They find it almost impossible to fight their true nature.
They're all around us, of course. They're CEOs, managers, mothers and fathers and everything in-between.
Or is it as simple as that they don't have a boss to guide them? We all need a boss to protect us and guide us. Most of us have that boss. Be it a parent, a prefect at school, a supervisor, a manager, a managing director and a chairman. Even the Pope has a boss ... God. Unfortunately, because our bosses are as fractured as we are, we don't always get it right. But, at least there is someone that gives us a moment to pause before we act only in our interest.
I have a notion, that the individuals I've mentioned don't have a boss. They don't have someone to guide them. They believe their own PR and they think they can do no wrong. They have nobody to put them straight, chastise them or build them up. They have no compass because they think they are the compass. They're spiritually bereft because if they had an inkling that they're far from perfect, that they make mistakes and that they need guidance, they'd turn to their ultimate boss ... their creator. But they don't, because they think they're omnipotent.
Of course, now I wonder ... does God have a boss?
Last week I attended a running clinic by Norrie Williamson. He said something to the effect that running doesn’t cause injuries.
Running reveals bad habits that we havepicked up over time. Like sitting at a computer all day long. Sitting at the wrong angle facing the computer. Driving everywhere and not walking. Poor sleeping patterns. Incorrect running technique.
Wrong shoes. And, so on.
Essentially, running reveals our flaws.
Welcome to the Program Your Destiny course. In this course, we will be learning the technology of personal transformation, neuroassociative conditioning (NAC) as pioneered by Tony Robbins. NAC is used to deprogram negative neuroassociations that are causing approach avoidance and instead reprogram yourself with positive neuroassociations that lead to being approach automatic. In doing so, you change your destiny, moving towards unlocking the hypersocial self within, the true self free from fear and operating from a place of personal power and love.
1. Volksrust Recorder - Column / Rubrieke8 Recorder 21 April 2017
Why I write long articlesOne of the criticisms I hear the most when it
comes to my writing is that my articles are
too long and convoluted. That’s about right.
When I reread them later it is clear that they’re
not an easy read. They’re gritty, dark and
stark of candy floss. It’s clear that I struggle
to be articulate. It’s clear that I struggle with
concepts and my own place in the world. It’s
clear that I struggle to figure things out. It’s
clear that I struggle. A lot of my writing is a
reflection of my own struggle to make sense
of this uncertain life. My themes are darker -
loss, fear, death, redemption, surrender, regret
and wrong turns. If I really think about it,
my take is that both good and the bad happen
to us to shape us into the beings we are today
and the beings we are to become. If I really
interrogate my view of the world, it is
frightening in one sense and liberating in
another. There’s a dim realisation deep in me
that says, “You’re not in control of your
destiny ... something bigger than you is
pulling the strings.” I have a feeling that my
journey has been mapped out already. The
only ‘control’ I have is how I use the cards
that I’m dealt. That’s where I get to use my
greatest gift ... choice. The only time I’m ever
in control is when I choose how I’m going to
respond to anything that’s dished up to me.
When something bad happened to me and
someone said, “Everything happens for a
reason,” I used to get angry. Seriously, what
a patronising response to my misfortune. I
don’t get angry anymore when someone
uses the ‘everything happens for a reason’
refrain. I’m starting to believe that it’s true.
The author, DouglasAdams put it better than
I ever could, “I may not have gone where I
intended to go, but I know I ended up where
I needed to be.” I attempt to end every article
on a positive and uplifting note. It’s clear
that my ‘happy endings’ are not bright,
revelatory sunrises. They’re more like
morning mist over a muddy moor ... enough
light to see but not enough light to totally
trust the treacherous path. I know that
‘success’ is tainted by shades of grey. I
would imagine for every ‘success’ there was
some collateral damage along the way. Maybe
you become financially successful but lose
your health and family along the way. Maybe
you win the girl/guy and shatter your
competitor’s heart in the process. Maybe you
get to run a country but sell your soul to the
devil for the privilege. Maybe you get to
worship your God at the expense of someone
else’s God. Maybe you get to live in the lap
of luxury off the sweat of slaves. Maybe that
diamond on your finger is a ‘blood diamond’
and tens of thousands of people died for
that privilege. So, pretty much all success is
tainted in one form or another. I believe that
we’ve been sold a lie that life is easy and
that there’s always a light at the end of the
tunnel. Are we really all so naive to believe
that we will experience the perfect life - a
forever adoring wife/husband. Kids that love
us unconditionally. The house with the white
picket fence. Two cars and two dogs. And,
when we meet our maker, it will be at age 80
from a heart attack at 3 am in our sleep.
Painless and quick. How’s that working out
for you? You see, my articles are long,
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by die CMR kantoor vir komberse en
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dan net weer opwarm. As jy dalk
vanaand kook en daar bly ekstra oor, is
u welkom om dit na die CMR kantoor te
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YourStory
With Jacques de Villiers
Pain, Pain, Pain
Mr John Oscar Kubeka - Motivational
Speaker. For bookings call: 072 0796
796. Facebook: JOK Inspirational (Pty)
Ltd. Fax:086 544 7844
Email: jokubeka@yahoo.com
JOK Inspirational
Through pain comes tears, sorrow and
misery. You can’t fight pain alone, you
need someone to ease your pain to live
again. No matter how big it is, when you
have a truthful friend or family on your
side nothing will stand in your way to
stop the pain in your life. Pain prepares
you for another planet of happiness and
glory flowing your way and pain will not
find any place to hide. Once you
overcome pain it does not mean that it
automatically erases itself in your mind.
What I believe is that pain exist but once
you accept it, your life and mind will
communicate effectively with one
another. Don’t make a mistake to show the
world that you are in deep pain rather say
all is well. Sometimes pain makes you feel
insane, inferior and discouraged. The Lord
is the only holy one who fulfils his promises.
Call Him in times of hardship and He will be
with you to comfort, love and care for you
to triumph against the pain. It knock hards
on your DOOR of success, joy and courage
so that you may be hopeless.
Rent-It
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tortuous and uncertain because I know that
I don’t have easy answers for those that read
my work. In fact, I’m just a bit of a poser. I
pose more questions than give answers. I’d
rather die than come off the mountain with
10 commandments of how to live your life.
The ink from my pen will dry up before I ever
give you “The 5 Steps to Happiness; The 7
Habits of Highly Effective People; The 3
Rules To Enlightenment and 50 Ways To
Fight Your Fears. I’ll never be so arrogant as
to think I can walk in your shoes and feel
what you feel. I’ll never be so crass as to say,
“Everything happens for a reason” when you
have lost your job, your child, your health or
your relationship. I can’t ever feel what it’s
like to be inside your skin. I can’t ever really
feel your pain. I can just struggle with you
and try an make sense of this journey. That’s
all I can do. And, that’s why I write long
articles.
~Jacques de Villiers~