Bubbles :)

Effervescent molecular moments -

float up with juicy joy.

 

Breaking, bursting, releasing

irrepressible happiness!

 

Anne-marie

 

 

Time waits for no-one!

I have a real issue when it comes to people being late. This probably started with my (very timeous) parents. We used to be so early, that we would arrive at church before it was even open. Talk about early birds...there were no birds yet! So I grew up, translating the courtesy of being on time with respect.

There is a tendency in Cape Town where people RSVP for an event, only to be a no-show?! And this without a very good excuse, or at least a timeous apology. I know things happen, but keep your hostess informed, pay for your place or seat, even if you didn't show. Is this not about good manners?

In my corporate career, I used to be very firm with people walking late into a meeting, or being habitually callous with their timekeeping - yes, it becomes a habit. It felt as if they assumed that their time was more precious than the employees who made every effort to be on time. And on top of this, I was (of course) also blessed with a partner who thinks that 14h00 means leaving home at that time, only to arrive sometime around 15h00. It just kills me....At least I am learning patience!

We have such a short time on this earth, so many amazing moments to live and only a finite amount of time to experience it....I really don't want to miss the boat :)

It's a rich man's world...or is it?

So many of my friends and clients are trapped in a work-life situation which they hate. It is heartbreaking to see how the life they say they want to live, seems to stay just outside of their reach. Mostly because of choices they make today or have made in the past.

I call it staying in the golden shackles, not being able to answer the "what-is-really-enough" question, just in case the smaller car and house are not good enough for my neighbours or the peer group I find myself in - so I buy something more to make me feel better.

And so we get ourselves into a cycle of showing on the outside that we are OK, trying desperately to fill the void inside. It takes true courage to be OK with me, without the identity of a corporate title or access to a certain amount of money or lifestyle.

 

Trying to answer and convince your family that what you actually want is a simpler life, spending your time on things that fulfill your purpose, may cause huge disruptions. Especially if it is a great departure from what you and your partner have always been planning together (that house by the sea, the dream holiday...) And so it continues. We always find a reason not to make the decisions which will set us free to follow our true life's purpose - the children being the most emotive one. If you only had more time to spend with them in your quest to make a better future for them, the process would have made some sense?

I have been actively pursuing happiness over the last 3 years, trying to re-engineer my previously whirlwind corporate life into something more sustainable, something which feeds my soul.

Some of the reasons why this is possible was because of very difficult choices I made more than a decade ago:

1. To be debt free as soon as possible
2. To keep the car and the house as small as possible - if I am traveling the world most of the time, this shouldn't be an issue!
3. To never buy just for the sake of buying - it either needs to replace something that is broken or make an existing thing way better (this is mostly a space issue...)
4. Surrounding myself with friend who have the same values and are not impressed by the latest fashions and acquisitions, but rather by who I am

It is never too late to change! It is all about planting the tree today to be able to live from the fruit tomorrow, rather that cutting the tree to survive (thanks for the beautiful analogy Marius!). It has been very scary but so very fulfilling, to have all these choices on what you want to do with your life; how you want to spend your time;  and who you want to spend it with!

All I can say is be careful what you wish for, it invariably will come true on you :) The universe is constantly conspiring to support us to live our true purpose. So today I am doing what I love, earning what I need and on top of it all...

Food, food...fabulous food!

“From Blossoms,” by Li-Young Lee, contains this lovely stanza:

“O, to take what we love inside,
to carry within us an orchard, to eat
not only the skin, but the shade,
not only the sugar, but the days, to hold
the fruit in our hands, adore it, then bite into
the round jubilance of peach.”

 

 

....my whole world revolves around food! I cannot find a picture on any place I have traveled to in the world, without the picture showing a plate of food in front of me.

Snoek in Grotto....

Thai noodles & mussels with bubbly....
 

The happiness is because my friend and I found civilisation...and the coffee below...

Need I say more?

I plan family and friend get-togethers around food-themes. We have French evenings: Escargot, fillet with bearnaise sauce, french green beans and creme brule..., we luuurrvvvee Italian evenings with risotto or a new pasta dish. And then there are the Indian dishes: Chickpea korma, basmati and loads of naan....and don't let me get started on my Japanese favorites...sushi, edamami...aaaaahhhh!




And then there was India....



Vegetarian dinners from heaven!

Yes, I do the sweet stuff too :)

Light, healthy and spicy lunches...

Jet-lagged, but ready for a toast...

And breaking bread...

And lunch with friends....

I had to adjust my menu's slightly when I decided to stop eating meat, but I have not missed a step, or a meal as a result. I just became more creative :) So now, the most delicious salad combo's don my table - Rocket, walnuts and nectarines with a gorgonzola dressing; couscous with pine nuts, turkish apricots, mint and yellow pepper; butternut risotto; seafood pasta and beautiful egg dishes feature regularly (my frittata with basil pesto and danish feta is always a winner :)

Cooking and dining with people I love is pure bliss - so I suggested to a few of my girl friends from a past life at Woolies, that we mark our monthly get-togethers with a blog. The Gourmet Goddesses!




http://gourmetgoddesss.blogspot.com/

Check it out...

So after years of therapy and personal exploration, I realise that my language of love is simple....I love through food.

This does not bode well for my dearest, who declared that, after his torn achilles heal incident, he now wants to loose 10kg's....I shudder and lament at the mere thought. At least it is his birthday the weekend and I know what will make his day: My mussels tagliatelle and the buttermilk chocolate cake with ganache.....LOVE!!!

Imagine....

 The latest DSTV song "live in harmony" from Don Carlos just floors me every time I see it ....

 

Sometimes I imagine that I am living in a different world. Not better, or more, or less than the one I am living now...just different. It may have something to do with the fact that I worry about not having enough time to do everything I want to do in this one life. So sometimes, when I sit in my quiet spot, I go to some of my favorite "places".

 

I am always in nature, in perfect harmony with my surroundings. I can "understand" everything and as I am walking through a forest, plants bow to touch me. I may be sitting by a waterfall (sometimes meditating with a friend) or on a beach at sunset with a log fire, while dolphins frolic in front of a setting sun, totally content in an avatar-like world :) 

 

 

There are always animals around me, birds, deer, dogs, butterflies, and I sleep with them draped over me like a blanket. And when the sun comes up, the birds call me to swim in the most beautiful pond....

 

Call it escapism, being a little uhm...well you know - or maybe I'm just lost in my (very vivid) imagination. Still....just imagine?!

 

 

 

Lost

 

Stand still. The trees ahead

and bushes beside you

Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here.

And you must treat it as a powerful stranger.

Must ask permission to know it and be known.

The forest breathes. Listen. It answers.

I have made this place around you.

If you leave it you may come back again.

saying Here.

No two trees are the same to Raven.

No two branches are the same to Wren.

If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you.

You art surely lost. Stand still.

The forest knows

Where you are. You must let it find you.


David Whyte

Adventure Kenya...Part 2

We went to Kenya last month and LOVED it!

I have been struggling to get the pics from JC, who has been running around non-stop since we came back (he is en route to Noupoort as I write, driving through the night again!). I have taken a few with my phone, but they do not come close to showing this country's beauty and contrast. I'll post more later, but before I forget, some of the highlights have to be documented...

Swahili coffee in Mombasa....

 Shopping in Nairobi and the "White Masai" takes a break with his usual phone and spicy coffee!

Eden resort with the Koi pond and parrots and miniature frogs...and the rain :)

Our retreat at Galu :)

The chill space with bottled water...a very nice touch.

We took a small plane from Galu to Nairobi...much better than a taxi.

One of the bike trips called piki-piki...uhm, just don't try it with a dress...

 

...come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away!

 

Some of the things that stood out was:
- The seafood...Lobster, Crap, Fish and Prawns - It is definitely a pescatarian''s haven.
- Also the affordability of things if you go where the locals shop. Our exchange rate is R1=Ks15. Very interesting things like coconut oil (R4 for 250ml); fat vanilla pods (5 for R8) ; the BEST coffee (1kg of medium roast, medium grind in a local shop for R42); kikoy (2 for R80); a bikini (R80) and board shorts (R100).
- Then there is the beach...powder white with turquoise water, warm, protected by a reef...bliss.

Most beautiful soft kikoy's make excellent towels in summer...

I know...a bit small but perfect for Kenya... where less is more!

Fishies, fishies, fishies....

We made our way to the coast over 3 days, as we took the overnight Premier Classe train from Cape Town to Johannesburg (Adventure....Part 1) and then boarded Air Kenya for Nairobi, where we hopped onto the "Iron Snake of Africa" - The train from Nairobi to Mombasa. What then transpired could be compared to either the greatest adventure, or an unreal nightmare. After "missing" dinner, as the communication system is about knocking on doors and then, if you are lucky, being seated at the same table? (Dinner was a rice and veg curry and some very, very old pieces of fruit). Sometime during the night the train (which looks like it an old, rusted, charmless relic of the past) derailed...We were stuck for a very uncomfortable 10 hours, with a loo which almost looked like a nuclear explosion and no food and only Fanta to drink. JC and I settled in with my "emergency snack stash"  and watched James Bond movies, whilst camo-dressed Americans circled the train with their i-pads, giving live commentary on the perils and dangers of traveling in Africa...very entertaining.

We arrived in Mombasa after midnight, (eventually) got to Tamarind Hotel which I can recommend and crashed for the night. The old town of Mombasa is idyllic, almost a Stone Town of Zanzibar. We had amazing coffee and browsed the streets, using taxi's and tuk-tuks. Very cheap and quite adventurous. The most memorable was our dinner on a real Dhow, complete with cocktails, African band and the most amazing food. Very romantic :) Good food, beautiful swimming pool, great weather, we were in our element.

We then crossed the river by ferry and drove to Eden Resort on the North Coast for a couple of days. The best food  - Lobster and Crab and Prawns, all well below R100/dish, with spacious, new beach front apartments, but the location was not what we were looking for...we didn't "feel"it.

So off we went to the South of Mombasa and the only place we could find was Eden Resort. Also well-run and good food, but too much like a tourist trap, so after a couple of days of non-stop rain we booked a taxi without another place to stay. As we waited in the lobby I came across Galu Beach Resort in the yellow pages and JC spoke to Stephani, the owner, who welcomed us like old friends.

And so we found our little paradise...exactly what we were looking for. Rustic villas on the beach, a sand bank 1km across from the lodge, a butler par excellence named Mulai who does everything for you and Doris in the office. We took the canoes out, we snorkeled, we drowned in G&T's, we lounged in the jacuzzi, had our delicious, personally prepared meals anywhere we wanted and took motor bikes into town...sometimes 3 of us on one bike! What can I say, we felt like the locals :)

The trip back home was very difficult, mostly because we were not ready to leave. We made friends and fell in love with a beautiful country. As I write I can still hear Jumbo Bwana, their favorite song
in my head! We only focused on the coast, but Kenya is world renowned for its wildlife and safari's.....till next time, Jumbo Kenya!

It is difficult...until you decide to be thankful :)

 

I have been out of sorts over the last couple of weeks. It is almost as if I am on a see-saw between my thoughts and my body and they cannot function at the same time? I feel uncomfortable in my own skin....tired, irritable....like I'm waiting for something great to happen to steer me in a new direction.

At least my earthly companions are also not themselves, but most of them have not realised it yet :) Last week, a woman walked straight into my car at the stop street, dropped her coffee on her shoes and said sorry to me (?) only to stumble on the side-walk. Everybody has migraine's and are tired...It feels like everything is speeding up and we are speeding towards...whatever.

So, I have decided to slow this day down, to mark it by listing the things I am thankful for:

- That I can take time out to enjoy life
- I luuurrrvvvee Thursday yoga classes - it is even better when I am joined by Veniets and JC
- I am thankful that JC tolerates the half-words and confusing sentences and broken crockery. (No, I am not throwing it around, I am dropping everything!?)
- I am thankful that my one coffee plunger has survived the onslaught
- For beautiful, gentle and loving friendships
- For my handy-man replacing all the light bulbs that also seemed to be making an exit lately
- For all the lovely weekends in Wildernis, Grotto, Paternoster, Kalkbay and Struisbaai...
- For Sunday night healing sessions created by Caroline - they are life changing
- For MJ thinking of me to work with
- For being able to coach very special people
- For financial independence
- For love in my life...lots of it :)

Sjoe, I have only just begun.
This is a great way to change perspective on what is really important...
my new exercise for down-days!

You cannot say you didn't know...

Twinkle, twinkle little star....

Flat on my back, I trace you out against the sky

Every sultry shimmer beckons me to open my heart

The milky way is the labyrinth where we play hide and seek

When I find you next to the morning star, I
 finally know that I believe...

 

Anne-marie

Anybody out here?!

I have always known that we are surrounded by wondrous beings of the most beautiful kind. Every person I have ever asked about this, is convinced about some kind of celestial existence. I am facinated by Angels and Guides and spiritual beings of light, complete with different personalities and gifts....sometimes spritely and whimsical, sometimes assertive and stoic in their presence.

The mention of the existence of these divine beings are older than most of the holy books and have drawn anthropologists and archaeologists to ancient dig sites. I believe that they work on behalf of - and in accordance with God’s will. For skeptics, there is nothing that would mandate a belief in God or Angels or anyhing "supernatural". As for Christians, the mention of Angels in 32 of the 66 books of the Bible, including detail on ranks (Archangel Micheal being the highest), personalities and even emotions (grieve stricken, angry and filled with empathy), makes their appearance part of divine intervention.

I remember encounters from my childhood, but the last couple of years have been filled with many amazing moments, where they surrounded me and joined in when I am doing energy work or healing sessions. The only word I have, which comes close to describing the feeling when I "see" them, is LOVE....The realisation that you have never been, and will never be without this love, is pure bliss. They are a energy force that comes to our aid again and again and again, with only one purpose: To translate God's love into our life's.

As I contemplate these higher thoughts, I cannot help but feel slightly irritated by the interruption of another load of washing and dirty dishes. When there is such beauty and complexity, such wonders which surround us.....and the only thing I have to do, is to believe!