Make time to play!

We all work so hard that sometimes we forget to play.

You work hard, don’t you?

We value work so much in this society, that many of us feel guilty to get out and spend time on ourselves.

Thankfully, I have the 3 Prinsessies to act as a catalyst for play. But I worry about those of you who do not have children. Do you remember to play.

A little frivolity helps ease the stress and makes us stronger to do the work we must and battle whatever adversity we might face.

So if you work hard, don’t forget to play hard, too.

Happy B’Day, Carénè!!

30 July 1998 was the day I became a Dad for the first time.

My little Prinsessie is 10 years old today.

How do I write about how amazing and cool she is without sounding all boastful and bragging? From that first breath of air she took to fill her lungs and letting out a scream, the makers of any horror movie would want to copy, she occupied my heart.

We struggle, we fight, but we love one another madly and she can make me laugh like nobody else. Her spontaneous hugs she gives to me freely, brighten up any gray day the Ukay might chuck my way!

A free spirit, her mind wanders quickly from one thing to the next, not caring if what she imagines can be true in reality—for her, it is true that moment. She has a special bond with her Lavender Fairy.

She is sensitive and has a capacity for caring that reaches humanity’s potential. She is always thinking of others, loves to find ways to give to others and make them smile.

Her humor is advanced, has been for some time, as she has a remarkable talent for hearing sentences said by adults in life, in movies, on TV, and then integrating them correctly into her own sentences.

Her feelings are hurt easily, but she recovers quickly. She loves me, her Mom and two sisters, in spite of all our faults. Vici, her younger sister is her bestest friend and she won’t swop Clarize for anything in the whole wide world, even if the 4 year old annoy her sometimes!

She loves to learn, to express what she has learned for all to hear, and she is not afraid of trying. Last year she started playing the Saxophone and is the only one in the school, a fact that does not deter her one bit but rather, inspires her to try harder and motivates her because she feels special.

She brings me joy every single day, even on the days when we fight.

Carénè,
Thanx for being the bestest daughter you can be!

Great motto...

Saw this on a bottle of Stormhoek wine...

Xcellent motto!

Be Passionate
Love
Dream BIG
Be Spontaneous
Celebrate
**Change The World Or Go Home**

Treasure Box...

My Prinsessies each have their own treasure chests. They put in all sorts of valuables – photos, drawings, mementos of a tea party, feathers, a shiny stone.

These are the things they value.

Every now and then, they pull down their boxes and go through them. Who knows what thoughts, feelings, memories or associations go through their heads when viewing and handling these objects, but it is part of their grounding to what is important to them.

What’s in your treasure box?

What makes you, You?

How do you know you are not someone else, or even several other people. Each of us is different, but our identity is how we see ourselves.

It is a unique combination of values and characteristics that is very similar to many other people, but not the same. For instance, I am a Dad, a nature/sea lover, I guess a citizen of the world, a blogger, stubborn and positive!

There might be several others out there who share all these attributes, but my unique identity also includes hundreds or thousands of other attributes, and in most cases those attributes are not identical anyway. For instance, I love the sea and I like the mountains, but another nature lover might prefer bird-watching.

Our identity is not just in what characteristics we have but also in how we value each one. Our self-identity involves what we see as important and as key to who we are. For instance, my self-identity does not include being stubborn. I know I am, but that’s just not part of my vision of who I am and who I want to be.

What is your self-identity. If you are challenged with self-esteem issues, it is important to define your self-image and self-identity so that you can revisit that identity in moments of weakness.

Be who you are and know who you are. Take another look at yourself... You might be surprised by what you see.

Speed?

On the highway there is a speed limit, usually a maximum and sometimes a minimum.

In life, there are no such laws. We progress at speeds without anyone to tell us to speed up or slow down. But there is such thing as going too fast, so fast that in reaching our goals we miss the voyage there.

And life is more than just a destination; it is also the path we take to get there.

And there is such a thing as going too slow, so slow that we don’t ever reach our goals and remain unfulfilled. It is hard to advise another person on the right speed for him. You have to do that yourself. But you can’t do that if you are not aware of the speed at which you are moving.

Picture your goals. Visualize your path to those goals and see yourself moving along that path. Are you going too slow? Are you moving too fast?

Wisdom...

"I do not try to dance better than anyone else.
I only try to dance better than myself."

Failure...

Today’s topic is a sad one. The fact is, some people fail. But they don’t fail for missing their goals. A missed goal is just deferred success. There is always next time. Even if there is not an exact replica situation next time, there is a next time.

No, people fail when they give up. When they give up, that is deferred success aborted. People fail when they blame themselves instead of motivate themselves. People fail when they blame others instead of taking responsibility for succeeding. People fail when they choose to fail.

As long as you persevere, you have not failed – you are squarely on the road to success.

Energy...

Get up and dance. Or jump. Or do something, anything that really moves. Get energized!

Y?

Because everybody feels happier when they have energy, when their blood is pumping through their veins. Yes, fitness is good for your body and it is also good for your mind.

You want to feel great, don't you?

Wisdom...

"Everything lost can be found,
except time wasted."
~{Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)}~

Try it...

Okay, don't stick out your tongue and say "Sies, Yuckk!!" when I tell you this, but I tried something new a few days ago. It is important to try new things, as it keeps our mind and our senses open, alert and most importantly adaptable. But some things are more, how can I say? Uhm "different".

It was my middle Prinsessie, WeirdGirl's idea, so I tried it. Now, just to put things in perspective, one of WeirdGirl's (She picked the name, by the way...) favourite snacks is Chocolate spread or peanut-butter-dipped jalapeños. But thankfully, that was not what she wanted me to try. She offered me a Vanilla ice cream filled Peppadew.

Yeah, I know - the things we do for love.

But, hey would you believe, it tasted good, in fact, it tasted so good, that I tried another. And another.

Don't knock it if you haven't tried it...

And that's the same with most things in life. We are quick to say we don't like something or some-one, without first trying it out or getting to know some-one...

You just never know what you might like if you don't just try it.

Go ahead try it!

Word...

"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don't, and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said that it'd be easy, they just promised it would be worth it."
~{Bob Marley}~

Working together...

Consider the scissors. There are two blades and they must work together to function. Each one, individually must be sharp, but both must move in tandem for the sharpness to work.

So much in our lives is based on the principle. So many things have to function smoothly both on their own and in tandem with others. In fact, a family is like that. We each need to be ourselves, individuals with our own thoughts, words and deeds. But the family also needs us to work together, something that is not easy if even one of the family has a rebellious spirit.

If things are not working in your family, there is only one thing you can do. Get everybody together to fix it. You can’t fix it on your own, because everybody has to buy in. Time for a family meeting!

Wisdom...

The best things in life are not just free, they are also hard to define. Wisdom is one of those things. Some people have seen wisdom in fools and foolishness in very smart people.

Wisdom is having gained knowledge, understanding, experience and discretion, along with a capacity to apply these qualities well.

To me, wisdom means being able to see the big picture and understanding our place in it. Perhaps there are other great definitions, but that’s the one I’m working on right now. When we step back from our little corner of space and time, we can see the bigger picture and act accordingly. We can gain the wisdom to act with a longer term perspective than reacting to every momentary whim.

Wisdom helps us choose the right partner for life. Wisdom helps us stay invested, rather than selling stocks at every turn. Wisdom keeps our values and integrity on track even as day-to-day events change. Wisdom tells us to water our flowers rather than move to another continent during a dry spell.

So back up and look at the big picture for a little wisdom today.

Bastille Day

"Viva la France!"

France in the late 1780s was a country ruled by a corrupt aristocracy. The country was nearing bankruptcy, the poor had little to no food and the growing middle-class (bourgeoisie) felt powerless over the future of their country. Outraged, the a group of Parisians banned together on July 14, 1789, and stormed the Bastille prison, releasing the seven prisoners inside. On July 16, King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette recognized the revolutionaries, prior to fleeing to Versailles for refuge.

This march on the Bastille, a symbol of the hypocrisy and corruption of France's political system, marked the beginning of the French Revolution. The lasting significance of this event was the recognition that power was not held by the King or God, but by the people.

Bastille Day was proclaimed a French national holiday in 1880 and in 1848 the motto "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" was reinstated. An annual celebration of their independence, Bastille Day is generally celebrated with an impressive parade up the Champs Elysées, festivals, parties and fireworks.

Lazy?

Which came first, the fatigue or the laziness?

Hmm. That's hard to say. After all, when we are fatigued, we do get lazy. We cut corners. We skip our exercise. We spiral every downward until we put a brake to the fatigue.

But when we are lazy, we get fatigued. When we stop making efforts, when we forget to exercise, our body let's itself go.

Sure, exercise might make us feel tired in the short term, but it energizes us in the long run. How to break the fatigue-laziness cycle.

Kick your seat and get moving. Go for a fast-paced walk. Do push-ups. Make a commitment to keep doing it for two weeks and you will have the momentum to spin out of orbit and blast through to new levels of energy.

PS: You still need to get enough sleep, or this trick won't work.

Word...

"Life is about choosing to use your life to touch someone else's in a way that could have never been achieved otherwise!"

Roles...

Lavender Field - France
~{Jan Ellen}~

Every one of us has a role that to some degree comes naturally and to some degree we create.

All roles are important, but sometimes we forget this. Our society incorrectly labels people based on “skill” level rather than on value, and pays huge gobs of money to singers, actors and athletes for playing, while paying much less to the farmers, fishers and garbage collectors on whom our very lives depend. No matter.
We can each chose to value everybody else, so let’s just do that.

Chance

“The life of man is like a game with dice; if you don't get the throw you want, you must show your skill in making the best of the throw you get.”

Terence describes life in a way most of us don’t like to view it.

Most people like to think in one of two ways:

1. I am in control and I will make the life I want. Nobody tells me what to do.
2. God is in control and he sets my path. Everything I do and everything done to me happens for a reason, because God planned it that way.
   

In reality, nothing is that simple. For all God’s plans, we have choices that we control. Yet, everybody else has choices that they, too, control. And whatever your philosophical view of how this all comes about, in the end our choices always involve making the best of what we get.

So what will you do today to make the best of what you get?

Motivational messages…

What do you think of those posters and coffee mugs with motivational messages on them? Good tools? Too commercial?

What about little bottles, filled with nothing but air and a small paper with a simple sentiment, such as “You da Man!” or “hang in there”? They are less slick, more down-to-earth and less inspiring perhaps.

I have a better suggestion. The best motivational message is the one you write to yourself. I am not saying you can’t buy motivation - every sports team, every major company knows you can. But outsourcing your motivational messages is not as effective as writing yourself a personal note and placing it where it is most relevant. Depending on the note, that might be in your car, beside your bathroom mirror or even in on your PC.

No need to spend £10-00 + on a slick motivational message laser targeted to just you... and 100,000 people who are obviously exact replicas of you.

Write your own messages and place them where they count.

You?

Your whole life can be seen as a journey to truth and reality and don't expect to arrive before you die.

But never getting in action and proving the results will not push you towards truth and reality.

One thing is for sure... there will never be another "right now".

So live your life to its fullest... make the most of the next five minutes... and the next... and the next...

What would you do different in the next 5 minutes/days?

Self-Esteem

“I’m not a big, fat panda. I’m THE big, fat panda!”

Thus speaks the new icon of summer movies. Whatever people think of you, whatever they say of you, whatever you think they think or say of you, you are special and unique and, most importantly, valuable. It is important to be proud of who you are and of what you are. It is important to hold your head high and help others hold theirs high, too.

And don’t forget to always keep making yourself the very person you can feel most proud about.

Reality

There are some things that are absolutely true, at least in this world. Gravity, for instance. Night. Hunger. The future generation.

Sure you can wish them away, but you can’t get rid of them. You can find ways to temporarily override them – aeroplanes, light bulbs, food – but they remain.

When we can’t override reality, it can be painful, like when we reacquaint ourselves with gravity or hunger. And we can be angry at reality, but it won’t get rid of it. In fact, anger won’t even override it.

Just like Paedophilia can't be wished away. It is a reality.

And as I read on Onrustig, we can even turn our heads and look the other way, like we do when we see a hungry/lonely street child. But in reality they won't disappear just because we try not to focus on them.

Focus your attention on making the best of reality, rather than cursing it or wishing it away. In fact, stop for a moment and imagine what your life would be like if you did wish gravity away.

Reach out and take hold of reality. It is staring you in the face. Do something!

Ice cold...

A friend of mine just send me this stunning photos. It was taken in Ceres in the Western Cape, over the week-end.



Seeing that we have Summer here in the Ukay, this was cool photos.

This must be an ICE'd cherry...

Language...

Languages open doors, and open doors are things of happiness. You can feel the empowerment of being able to travel to places one could not previously go.

To speak the language of the places you visit.

To open a book that you might never before have understood and to be able to read it.

To switch languages on the DVD the third time you watch a film – and understand most of what they are saying.

This feeling of empowerment boosts self-confidence and increases happiness. What language will you learn this year?