Skip to main content

We Live We Learn (Part 2)


The art of frustration! Yeah I’m still trying to understand these undesirable emotions that are present in our lives…okay let me say my life. I’d really like to convince myself until I believe it that I’m the most positive person I know but life has a funny way of testing titles we place on our selves.

The year began and I had beautiful quotes about the “positivity of life” dripping from my tongue.

This was the status quo until it was put to the test; from family to work to friendships…everything. I was hit and probably still hit by a hurricane: rough times of note. My life boat rocked so hard waking up in the morning was damn near impossible. Going to work and performing felt like punishment from the devil himself. Living was hard labour. It’s during these times you notice that you are putting in so much into everything but the returns are not adding up.

But Winston Churchill said it well, “If you are going through hell; keep going”.
I’m not going to give you the ‘Some one has it worse than you’ speech because that irritates me as well. I believe that we should be allowed to live through our frustrations. But as we go through them we must: Wake up, give our best, sleep and wake up to do it all over again.

Something’s got to give. Wake up, get dressed, show up and give your best. I don’t care how angry you are with the world or how frustrated you are – just do it until you are not doing it any more. Something will give, whether it is an idea of how to get your self out of that rut or an opportunity breaks….something’s got to give.

When you give up – that’s when you stop living. Frustration sucks but it’s no excuse to stop trying.  

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Curious Case of Pinky Pinky: The Toilet Tokoloshe

There was once a Tokoloshe, her name was Pinky Pinky – she lived in the girls’ school toilets, sang a song that introduced her and told you about her parents. She’d then end the song by demanding you give her something. Thanks to Pinky Pinky, her choice of location and her singing – I've yet to feel completely comfortable using public toilets. I first heard about Pinky Pinky when I was in Sub A (now known as Grade 1). She terrorized girls my age, demanding money or (as I recently heard) stole their panties. I think she’d also want whatever pink item you had on you. If you couldn't give in to Pinky Pinky’s demands – you were in big trouble. I don’t remember the details of what she’d do to you but what I knew is that it would be painful. Pinky Pinky was so dangerous she even made it into a national newspaper – although they used a blurry picture. There were different stories told about how she looked – none mentioned a beautiful creature. Her looks were things horror mo...

Book Review: London, Cape Town, Joburg

What a miserable ending to a really soul capturing novel! London, Cape Town, Joburg by ZukiswaWanner had me hooked from day one but I must say, I was never really ready for that ending – plot twist of note. To be fair, the story starts with two parents mourning their only son who had committed suicide. From the onset you know that something really bad must have happened for a thirteen-year-old to kill himself but before the author lets us in on the reason, she takes us through one of the best, heart-warming, authentic love stories I have read in a while. Martin O’Malley and Germaine Spencer, are two imperfect people who come together and build what seems like a perfect nest. They understand each other, defend each other, fight, make up, have loads of sex and most importantly love and respect one another. I loved every moment of their love story. From the insecurities, jealous moments, moving from city to city and how they grew into such cool, yet strict parents. Wanner t...

Book Review: Vagabond - Wandering Through Africa on Faith

Lerato Mogoatlhe's memoir, Vagabond - Wandering Through Africa on Faith , on her African travels is really a story of faith, courage and acting on your dreams - regardless of how wild they are. Mogoatlhe goes against everything what we have been socialised to believe about travel, especially as women and even more of our own continent - Africa.  Her solo adventures begin in Dakar and she already sets the scene for what is going to be a series of anecdotes of her showing up in different countries with no money, no solid plans of where she would be hosted and just a dream of wanting to be in the different places. The courage to travel this way allows her to meet so many people who, I believe were extra kind to her out of shock (and curiosity) that this young black woman was in their home town without the usual itinerary constraints.  Vagabond is not written to glamourise her African experience - instead, as a reader - you are given first row experience of her personal discovery ...