Tag: changes - Mala Naidoo’s Book World

The question asked as the year winds up is where are we now? What have we done?

As we slow pedal to year-end, as opposed to manically motoring towards the shenanigans of the period, take time to reflect.

Lessons from the lockdowns we endured include pondering the way we were.

When freedom is aborted by the rapid onslaught of an unseen enemy, the subsequent mandated exodus from office spaces, a retreating from global, is a new way.

Home is the place to work, play, and rest. If graced with wide open spaces and human company, the retreat might be bearable.

The creative advantage is possible when the shutters are down, streets are emptied, and parks and beaches are deserted.

The creative muse tunes into stillness—if the eye and mind turn more deeply inward, away from the repetitive media message that induced fear and guilt every morning at 11.

When emotions are raw, thoughts tumble out in reaction to the siege on the way we were. Social interactions are prohibited and replaced by a hermit lifestyle, or heaven forbid, succumbing to the doom of extinction.

Global and national disasters, past and present—world wars, financial crises, bushfires, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and pandemics, shake up the world to stir the creative soul.

The documenting of histories during global upheavals through fiction and poetry, painting, or musical compositions captures the heartfelt angst of the moment. Creative works emerge from such a time to reverberate into the future. This has the potential to educate and strengthen the action of future generations.

We can never rewrite history’s truth.

Fiction and poetry fearlessly tell the naked truth. Stories created now, in any medium, hold the key to spreading awareness overtime on the traits, pitfalls, and reactions to disasters.

truth and despair – the creative gateway

Capturing today through visual images is vital. A history through words, however, is the ageless wisdom of the soul of our current human condition—life as we feel it, and breathe it in the now.

As we roll up the year, not a long way off socially and politically to where we were back on day one of 2021, let us reflect.

Reflect on the stories we should tell of this time. A time when the world faced a common threat, an enemy that morphs and attacks just when we hope we might return to the way we were.

Time moves forward, and the past is only a backward, behind-the-shoulder lingering glance at how we were.

Change is grain for an undulating creative harvest…

The way to make sense of the world is to read a good book or write one on the story of the world as you live it. There will never be enough stories told of a torrid era.

As you shed the skin of 2021, brace yourself with hope. Arm yourself with a good book, and share love, truth, and joy.

Go forth today in good cheer, the world’s voices shake and threaten doom, but you, my friend, keep the spring in your step, the light in your heart and a smile upon your lips

~life~

Stay safe this season.

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Thank you for your response. ✨

It’s the summer of December 2017. Eleven months of the year are done and perhaps not quite dusted yet as we tie up loose ends to set us free for the holidays.

Do you take stock of the year in your business of life? Do you tick off all that you have achieved and create another list of goals yet to be achieved?

The final month of a year is time to step back, think over and set the bar further for a host of things that will drive your passion into the next year.

Here are some suggestions to consider although your life plans may differ:

Mark ‘you’ time in your calendar for a balanced life
Make time for those important people in your life
Toss toxic relationships
Avoid pulling down others – ‘live and let live’
Set goals desired for 2018
Address that which was not achieved in 2017
Search for and befriend influencers in your line of work/life experience
Lend a helping hand to those less fortunate – every little bit counts
Clear out the clutter that has not delivered as expected in 2017
Surround yourself with positive energy
Take a holiday once a year, go someplace you’ve never been to before.
Nurture your spirit
Look at yourself in the mirror- what ‘face’ are you presenting to the world? – SMILE!
Keep a gratitude journal, write one affirmation each day no matter how small it may seem to you
Ask yourself, ‘what would I like to change about myself for 2018?’ – again this could be a minor change
Remain authentic and steadfast to your life goals

It may seem like a long list, but all areas are within our grasp. Let’s take stock of what matters to us the most.

My stocktake revealed:

A reconsideration of balance
Time management considerations: to fulfill and extend my writing and reading aims
Making time for relationships that matter
Saying ‘no’ to some demands
To make a difference in what I do and how I do it
To get in more hours of sleep for a healthier me
And then some…always a WIP!

List your dreams for 2018, pin them up on your fridge, above your desk, on the dashboard of your car, your wallpaper on your phone, slip a page with your goals/dreams inside your favourite book. Create a five-year time capsule, bury it in the garden or a pot plant. (This was done in collaboration with a friend and looking back it’s amazing how most of the goals have been realised or are in the process of being realised.

Inking rather than just thinking the dream is closer to claiming it!

Dig up the buried time capsule when the time is right, and you’ll be surprised!

Wishing you an insightful stocktake of the self in this final month of 2017.

Add your tips on how to clear the decks for the New Year with an action plan for an enhanced life in the message box below.

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