Forthcoming Women's Wellness Breakfast & my usual chit-chat

Picture: Inez Woods (life coach, Reiki practitioner, i.a.) outside Eden on the Bay, in Bloubergstrand, close to Cape Town. Read about her exciting event, a Women’s Wellness Breakfast (2 July), in the blog post below.

Friday 24 June 2011

Listening to Nic Rabinowitz on Redi Tlhabi’s show on Cape Talk Radio (567 FM). He does a slot on her show called “The Week That Wasn’t”, and he goes through things that have happened in the country – and around the world - in the previous week. He has a wonderful talent for imitating accents, and he seems to particularly like those of South African politicians. What adds to the funniness of his radio slot, is how Redi responds, laughing like she’s about to fall off her chair! He IS very funny, though: irreverent, takes on anyone, any topic, any religious group, any public figure – I’m sure he’s had to apologise to a few offended people during his career. I’d love to go to a live show of his, sometime. There’s one happening next month, I believe.

Speaking of radio stations, I had a really cool experience this week – I was interviewed on The Taxi, an online radio station (www.thetaxi.co.za), by Eric Alan. What made it even more special was that I was interviewed along with my mom, May Abrahamse, a retired opera singer. We were in the studio for two hours, and beforehand we wondered what on earth we’d talk about for that length of time. Well, not only did we get through it, but it was a lot of fun! Eric Alan, a well-known jazz presenter, showed exactly what makes him the radio legend that he is. He has a style that is understated, laid-back and disarmingly casual, yet when you watch him at work, experience being interviewed by him, and observe how he brings a whole lot of different things together while doing so, you realize what an amazing person he is, thoroughly professional, but also clearly enjoying what he does. He played quite a bit of music during the two-hour show, and I was chuffed that he allowed me to select a couple of tracks by some of my favourite artists, including Jamie Cullum and Rock Art (Hilton Schilder and Alex Van Heerden). One of the ways he keeps the energy flowing is by chatting to his guests during the playing of the tracks – this is, in my opinion, the secret to making the time pass easily and quickly. He obviously enjoys what he does, and I think that, if there’s anything I can take from that experience on Wednesday, it’s exactly that: as the cliché goes, “when you do what you love, you need never work a day in your life”. I’m starting to fully appreciate that, in every field of life, when you do what you do with passion, you can only succeed.

Which brings me to my own journey: my quest to make a living by being true to myself and doing ONLY what I love. As the months have passed (since my retrenchment in September 2010), the definition of “what I love” has undergone its own journey, changing and developing as I grew to understand the range of possibilities. This, in itself, is a fascinating part of this phase of my life, which feels like one of the most significant transitions I’ve lived through.

On Saturday 2 July, I’m taking part in an event organized by Inez Woods, the life coach I’ve had the privilege of working with since February this year. It’s a Women’s Wellness Breakfast, taking place at the picturesque Eden on the Bay, in Bloubergstrand. Starting time is 09:30 for 10:00, and tickets are R150. This includes a yummy breakfast, a morning of feeding your soul on the inputs of the three speakers, and a goody bag filled with one surprise after the other. The venue alone, right next to the ocean, is pure soul food. “Early Bird” and group bookings were R120. At this stage, I believe the event is sold out, but Inez is busy exploring the possibility of adding a few more seats. I will be reviewing the event in this blog, and all I can do at this stage is recommend that you e-mail Inez right away at woods.inez@gmail.com to be part of this event, or to secure your place at the next one, which is already in the planning stages. Make sure you catch the Early Bird or group discount, next time round. On the 2nd of July, I’ll be doing some performing, but am also one of the guest speakers. I’m enjoying working on my presentation, which will deal with some of the lessons I’ve learnt, from personal experience, about living one’s authentic life.

I’m very excited about this event – I’ve always believed that collective positive energy makes a lot possible, and I’m really looking forward to being part of this gathering of about 60 women who believe that life is indeed filled with possibilities. If you’re willing to attend an event with the theme “Women Against the Grain”, then I can only assume you’re an open-minded person, either defining yourself as part of that group, or, at the very least, curious about what it means. It’s exciting to think that I’ll have the opportunity to make some kind of input into the lives of some of those women. I’m also looking forward to the presentations of the other speakers, one of whom is Inez, herself.

Two powerful women from the USA are currently visiting South Africa – First Lady, Michelle Obama, and talk show mogul, Oprah Winfrey. Obama seems to be blazing a trail in the fight against HIV/AIDS and also pricking the consciences of young South Africans, urging them to value and rise to the challenges of the freedom they enjoy, a freedom fought for by their forefathers. Winfrey’s receiving an Honorary Doctorate in Education from the Free State University, for her role in educating young South Africans.

I’ve been without the use of my laptop for about two weeks, owing to my cable having given up the ghost. Last night, a friend lent me a spare, and I’m delighted to be sitting at my favourite writing spot in the house, once again happily typing away. It made me think about how we often only gain a true appreciation of what we have in our lives when we’re suddenly forced to be without it.

The fortnight away from my laptop coincided with some other unfortunate matters, and my energy has been really low, lately. In an emotional slump, new awareness dawns on me, and all I can do to get through the depression is believe that it will pass and that I will emerge on the other side with fresh insight, new coping skills and a readiness to tackle head-on whatever lies ahead.

Yesterday I made my way to my life coaching session reluctantly, wondering if I shouldn’t just have spent the cold, rainy day in bed, recharging my personal batteries, sleeping off the fuzziness. However, by the end of the day, I knew without a doubt that I had entered a new phase – for the first time in almost 9 months, I received a positive response to a job application, and I’m over the moon about the part-time, temporary appointment. It’s in the Education Faculty of the University of the Western Cape (where I studied BA and English Honours, many years ago), and it runs from mid-July to October. What a cool thing to be able to look forward to! “Pregnant with possibility” is the phrase that comes to mind.

So, yesterday was a day that made me feel like the universe was smiling at me again: I got the job, my daughter received her first high school acceptance letter, I was given the laptop cable, I had coffee with my best friend, I taught a guitar lesson to a cool friend who doesn’t seem to know just how musical she is, and a special friend cooked me a very special supper.

And life goes on.