Something to blog about.
I must be honest.. there is nothing worse in life’s goals than losing momentum.
Let’s start here:

My book:
I went guns a blazing and got to chapter 4 and then I decided to take a holiday in Brussels and then in New York.. and then and then and then.. when one loses momentum, it is SO hard to get it back right away.
I read through the chapter that I had written and for some obscure reason, I can’t remember where I was going with this character. So that is a little frustrating at the moment.
However – so much has happened and work has been busy – I feel as if I haven’t really connected with the outside world as much as I used to.. I have been absorbed in.. a little self pity and a little busy enjoying being indoors and watching my new programs on TV! Sounds a little sad hey.
Why self- pity? For reasons stated above!

My physical goals
In March I had lost a comfortable amount of weight but it wasn’t really true weight because I wasn’t eating – I was just picking on things to keep me from falling over!
Before Belgium I had gained a little – maybe 4 pounds and I started exercising – the pounds did not come off – but I was feeling great – alive, healthy and looked SOOO much better – toned and slim… well then.. after a holiday(s) like that (those) – I fell off that train and how bloody hard it is to get back on again!
“Just do it” – I can hear you all scream.. Here is the thing about lost momentum.. it is not as simple as “just get off your *** and do it” – you have to reconnect the parts, reassemble the motivation and then kick yourself in the butt and discipline yourself.

However..
There is newness on the horizon for me and I am anticipating good things to come. Some of my friends from South Africa are coming to the USA in December – it is truly something to look forward to. And in the meantime work has been very busy.. I also felt like the corporate momentum was lost – “what do I do again?” – I found myself asking almost every day.. Does a holiday really rot your brain, body and ambition to a standstill?
Yesterday I read a piece in a blog which I LOVED! It was about the strength, flexibility and resilience of palm trees.. and I thought to myself.. That is ME – I am a palm tree – I can get trapped in the hurricanes of life (I know – I am being a little over dramatic) – but “Just like that palm tree I want to find
that I run deeper than I ever thought and somewhere inside myself I have the ability to keep bouncing back.”

The same man posted:
“I’d be the first to admit that life is a balancing act. I believe in working hard… and I mean very hard! But I also believe in taking naps… taking walks… spending time with great people.
When you slow down to the speed of life, it will be amazing how good it feels because this world truly has rhythm. So find its tempo and go with the flow, set sail and live your finest life.”

Isn’t that true?? I am guilty of getting SO caught up in extremes.. my first extreme is that if I don’t have an exciting amazing, ambitious plan on the horizon, my life is dull.
The second extreme is that I can spend days doing absolutely nothing and then get down on myself for not being productive.

So what I really need to realize is: In life I am going to do amazing things. I am going to do dull things. I am going to have a completely ordinary routine and I am going to break unbelievable ground. I am going to be insanely happy and I am going to be sad and miserable and its all GOOD- when I know that nothing lasts forever and never to hold on and plant myself in any one experience, but move with the pace, go through every process and experience it all. And never forget my goals and dreams but never be taken so far out of THIS moment that all I do is live in tomorrow…

Go Palm Tree!

1300 days in the USA…..

I had a lovely weekend in Denver. We had our first snow fall. It was pretty mild; the chill in the air was nice and refreshing. I am not looking forward to the temperatures dropping even more though – but winter.. must.. come…

Yesterday I went to the wild life sanctuary – it was such an emotional and amazing experience. Emotional because I love and appreciate nature and animals. It is very sad how people abuse and torture animals and it was so awesome to see 150 plus animals rescued from zoos, circuses etc where they have been terribly abused.. They get to live in the closest environment to the wild – since they cannot be re-introduced –they have a nice new home where they are cared for and have plenty of space and friends. You can hear the huge Tigers growling, walking around playing in the huge wide open spaces – the land is so vast you need binoculars to see the lions. It was just an uplifting experience for me.

http://www.wildanimalsanctuary.org/

All this inspiration had me thinking about all the things in my life that I am so grateful and humbled to have experienced:

Pieces of me...
From sitting at a race track in Singapore under the majestic city lights watching the F1 cars go by and absorbing myself in the sport I love so much - to staying in a hostel in New York City with my brother trying not to snore. From walking the 7 star luxury lobby of the Burj Al Arab in Dubai to holding the hand of someone dying of AIDS in South Africa. From giving a homeless person a subway meal on the city streets of Denver to speaking Afrikaans to Charlize Theron at the Democratic National Convention. From walking the streets of Paris staring in awe at the Eiffel tower to driving in 5 Super cars on winding roads in Beaver creek.

From dancing in a nightclub in Las Vegas to walking in a Wild life Sanctuary. From modeling in a beauty pageant in Johannesburg to writing a motivational book and having a publisher recognize it. From celebrating my 30th birthday on the canals in Venice to having an AHA! moment walking on the beach in San Diego watching dolphins. From sitting in my tiny cubicle doing budget reports to racing a snow mobile in the mountains of Vail. From driving celebrities around doing their shopping sprees to learning to shoot firearms at a firing range and racing cars on the streets. From sending a child to school and seeing him graduate who would never otherwise have done so, to taking my last R10 and going to watch a cool movie! From having SO much of everything to having next to nothing! Sleeping in a train station in Rome to sleeping in a 5 star resort in Florida.

I can just go on and on. And my life is not just about travelling and having fun, it’s about purpose and making a difference. I have been blessed with so much privilege and so much opportunity and also been given the desire to do so much more with what I have.
Life truly is wonderful! What an adventure. What an opportunity for me to enrich myself, change the world – touch people, help people, improve the environment, help the animals, heal the broken hearted and make someone happy and be happy myself – full of who I am – explore all of who I am and give everything I have in every moment that I am blessed with that I can sigh my last, not with regret but with exhaustion and saying.. Wow!! I truly LIVED my life – Now it’s time to rest!

Until then – I have no desire to “rest” – I want to live and be and feel and do..…
It’s not just my desire – but my obligation – and I am happy to oblige!

Another week draws to a close. I have been at work now for two full weeks after an amazing vacation – and guess what? I survived! LOL.

So winter is starting to set in.. the mornings are darker and the sun hides herself away much earlier. The ski resorts are starting to get ready for their season.
“Somewhere beneath the surface of our wants and needs lies a deeper longing - a yearning that connects us to who and what we are in our essential being”
I am so happy at the moment. As my life progresses forward and I see my goals unfold and start reaching accomplishment, I have come to realize that success, love, happiness is not just in reaching something that you want in the future – the absence of it, the process of getting to it – therein lies life’s ultimate challenge.

Happiness is now. This moment.

I often ask people: “Are you happy” – it seems like a very difficult question for people to answer. The answers I often get are: “I am content”, “I am getting there”, “for what it is right now, I am”. And all those answers are ok – it tells me that people want more. Not simply in a dissatisfactory way – but in a “my soul craves greater things” way.
But even so – happiness is now. Here. This moment. It is the only reality you know. The present.

So I start another relaxing weekend, I have a few things planned, nothing hectic. I just plan to exercise, get some good fresh air, take in a movie and maybe some sleep.. sounds good doesnt it?? :)