Lessons along the way...

To live in this world comes with its sacrifices. We do not choose our path willingly but we still need to walk it. Though many of us are afraid, it matters not. For the promises and contracts were agreed to, during our crossing...we will still be held accountable to them in our lives. 

I have been on a hiatus for a while. Since moving to Japan, my creative juices haven't been flowing well. The change in environment had an impact on my life. The consciousness around me affects me so badly. 

Things I decided to start working on were: myself, things I like and my spirituality. I have been focusing on where I want to go in the future. First, I had to identify what it is I want to see in my life and how to get there as well as the tools I could use. I used this kind of thinking for the different things I wanted to change. 

See...trying to change someone might be easier since it's external. But of course it's all about you. Looking at people's behaviour and identifying what you don't like about them could help you identify what you need to change within yourself.

On my recent trip home I realised that prior to that...it had been easy for me to accept things that were halfway where I wanted them like a zero waste lifestyle or other elements in my lifestyle. During my trip, I realised that halfway was good enough then but now I want it all. 

I realised on that trip how much we take things for granted and don't preserve them aggressively as Africans. The natural spaces we take for granted are shrinking; homes for wildlife are shrinking. We do nothing. Our rivers are dying and we are doing nothing. What this all means is: we are dying and we are doing nothing.

I recently started baking and making my own food from raw produce so I can get back that pride in the food I eat. It's been great. One thing that started from awakening myself spiritually, created a chain reaction. I started choosing the food I eat...I became vegan(after being vegetarian for about . I saw prices of processed food like plant-based milk were expensive so I started making my own milks. I then had to learn how to use all of the nuts or beans I used. Using the whole thing and leaving no waste..so I had to bake more and make new recipes. In turn that added to my composting habits. I had to reduce my waste so I found ways to carry food that is sustainable and would save me money in the future. Because I started composting...I had to think about my garden and getting the most of the small living spaces in Japan. 

I'm now learning to manage my money better as well as making better shopping choices looking at the product and packaging. I usually order food in bulk because I currently live in Japan and there are very few bulk shops in Japan. Meaning a lot of products are in single portions and use a lot of plastic packaging. You can imagine how this contributes to the price and how much plastic rubbish collects in my house. 

This, as you can imagine has changed my space at home as well as my habits around the home. I have also started dabbling in cleaning products. I'm currently testing some of them. Anything I fail to use or goes off, because Japan is hot...goes in my composting barrel.  

I'm so excited about this journey cause it's caused changes in me and my space. It has prevented me from depression and falling into a tomb. 

Dancing to a different beat

I haven't posted in a while. I am sure the two people following this know it.
We all have a lot we do in life. Somethings are senseless. Some we do because of necessity. And others we just factory in cause we are scared to do nothing in life.

I have been doing a lot of things in my life that are not necessary. I have always balanced this with a rigorous bout of something creative. As you can imagine...this leaves me tired and feeling a little overused.

I do confess that all the other things on the side that I have always done have been about keeping me alive. In my earlier posts I have written about how a certain country keeps me alive and others do not. Environments we live in can either help us become better people by creating a bottle effect around us...and we emerge like butterflies taking a breath into new life.
Other environments can stifle you, make you feel flat and worthless in the end.
I personally choose to live in an environment that lets you spread your wings when you have been cocooned for some time. The results are more rewarding.

My cocoon stage began when I came back from Japan the first time and included a greats with  my family. I chose to live with my family when I came back in the hopes of reconnecting with them and building relationships. My reasons were basic: I would probably decide to jet off and live somewhere else for a long while while I build a family and my life's work. I was blessed to find that most of my family was still alive and that I could make connections with family that had even passed away.
My ancestors and current family gave me a stable environment for becoming a more universal being. This really made the phrase "on Earth as it is in Heaven". Celestial bodies are a reflection of who we are...who we have been and reflect those that have passed and still follow us in spirit.

 

When we free ourselves in the grandest ways...grand things happen to us. This is my greatest experiment on Earth. I want to keep growing. I think there is no sense to living if we don't learn and aspire to be the best human beings we can be. This is also a great saying from the Buddha which confirmed that my dreams at 13 to become Buddhist were correct.

I have decided that I need to retire at a young age...meaning I would like to be working on my own functional business at a young age and doing nothing else but finding peace, love and happiness on my downtime.

 

I am almost there.
I also want to be in a place that would allow growth...specifically in my heart chakra. My heart chakra has been open since I was 12(maybe younger) because of how we live in Johannesburg. We try to shield our children from danger and hurt by telling them to love less, to be a little less happy and in general not to shine as much as they should. 

I am sick of that. So I  decided to move locations for now. My beautiful Johannesburg has been my bottle filled with smog. It has served well as a place to find where my spirit belongs....where my wings should be battering away...showed me how much I can dampen my light before I can feel like all life has been sucked away.

I have moved.

Streetlight schools: The life of a beading dancer teacher

So every Saturday, I slowly get myself across town to teach the young, talented minds of South Africa.  I work on a syllabus to teach that includes art, design and movement. Lately we have been doing a lot of art in the hopes of setting up a market.

The more I teach my students the more I see, time is not on our side. Most of my learners head off to the far rural areas of South Africa between November and December. I am really trying to push that we set up a market so that they understand something about making money.

I love teaching at the center even if my students are still learning to behave in art class...imparting art knowledge is priceless.

My students haven't been exposed to a lot of arty activities because of their location and general background. We are moving into a new space soon in our building to accommodate our learners and have enough space to teach and run around. 

If you would like to donate any art material, learning material or even cash to support our teachers' salaries. Contact me or find Streetlight schools on facebook.

Family life

Last December my family went out several times to eat out with the kids.

These are the times that make memories for families and I can say that families are important people in my life.  I have learnt that in African Spirituality, family goes together with your ancestors. It's a simple equation. Ancestors' assistance is directly proportional to how you keep your family. If your family looks after each other and makes sure to look after the family that came before them and the future family...its good karma.

I am an art teacher and whenever the small cousins come..its what we do...and bake ofcourse!