Saturday, May 24, 2014

The Life of A #Globetrotter

As four ladies, from all different kinds of walks of life banded together this afternoon in the hope of finding a sisterhood, a bond, a connection I guess is what you can say, I could not help and feel both blessed that I could be the answer to something someone has been searching for and honoured for my own little sisterhood of wonderfully powerful, unique and beautiful women. 

I used to crave this need to have that group of friends that grew up together since childhood that would meet every other day to just shoot the shit, watch a movie, have a laugh, a drink and just be that blessed sense of peace. And than I got older and strapped myself to a suit case and a whole set of big dreams and suddenly I realized that I wasn't necessarily the same as those around me and the sisterhood of girls I tended to band myself with, were no different. They all had these visions of life taking them to places far beyond and knew that similar to me, we would just never be that set of friends that could call each other on a Tuesday and just meet at the cinema. So just like that we became a globetrotting bunch that were banded by Skype dates, letter / email / card writing and endless laughs and giggles over holidays when we all flocked home. 

I got used to it. Used to just being on my own and knowing that I could meet and make friends where ever  I went and while the bonds I made along the way may not necessarily last, I always knew that I would have this globetrotting bunch that would be my safeguard when I needed it most, regardless of the time differences between us. 

And so as a result I became more independent than ever, having solace in the time I had with just me whether it was in the comfort of my home or some random trip I chose to take on my own. Alone time, now there is something that I love. But in a city as big as London, alone time can feel a bit like isolation. The city is moving so fast, and people are constantly coming and going from all over the globe that locking yourself in your flat creates this feeling of abnormality. As if wanting to be on your own is as radical of an idea as being a hipster. But how do you just throw yourself into this crazy crowd almost like its a mosh pit of people that you just have to choose to trust, accept and let in? And most of all how do you pick a part the good from the bad and make sure that you don't get stuck making yesterdays mistakes all over again? When do you find the time to just give yourself that little bit of space so that you can take it all in, reflect, recharge and just check in?

I'm not afraid of building the pillars that I need, nor building that group of friends that I can go to watch a movie with any night of the week, no sir. What I am afraid of is diving in to fast, with out thinking. Retreating back to my people pleasing ways and loosing the time I need to self reflect and ensure that I am keeping the promises I made with myself. And so I have taken my time and held back as a result, but today as I sat sipping one of the most lovely Caesars I have ever had, the woman across the table from me spoke:

"Discipline is doing what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, when we don't want to do it"

It was as though she was in my head and knew what argument I had been having as of late with myself and suddenly became that lecture, that self reflection time that I really needed.  That "SNAP THE HELL OUT OF IT" kinda lecture. So with that I gave into these wonderful ladies, let my guard down and just giggled the afternoon away. And it was wonderfully beautiful.

And through all the giggles, in the back of my mind I just thought of my wonderful lady friends all across the globe and realized just how lucky I am. Time, distance and space doesn't do anything but build stronger bonds and make you appreciate what you have and what i have both in my new hometown and all around the world is the most beautiful thing ever #Iamblessed

So alll you's in cyber space, no life lesson for today, just a simple task. CALL, EMAIL, SKYPE, WHATSAPP, FACETIME, OLD SCHOOL LETTER AND CARD WRITE, DO WHATEVER...Just get in touch with anyone that makes your heart and soul smile and laugh a million times over and tell them just how awesome they are to you...

DO IT!!! NOWWWWWWW!!! 

Hugging my way out 
-A

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

#TIME an Ode to #WEOWNTHENIGHT and ALL that Mature type of Stuff


"Life is all about timing…the unreachable becomes reachable, the unavailable becomes available, the unattainable, attainable. Have the patience, wait it out. It’s all about timing.”

I like to pride myself on being active and find a serious amount of solace in the activities I tend to take part in. It is true I am somewhat of an addict to trying new activities and constantly pressing myself to push and try harder at things I never thought were possible to do. Maybe it is the fat kid inside me that haunts me in my older age. Yes that would mean that potentially I am holding onto all the mean things I was called, the insecurities I felt and all that stuff that comes in between. But does it really matter when everything I am doing is really for my betterment and in the mix of it all I am constantly motivating all of those around me to BE AND DO THERE BEST??!? I say not and instead give myself one hell of a jumping high five for it all J
So there is a point to why I have started on this rant. As my friends and family know, I have recently taken my passion for running to a new level, by saying that I will run a half marathon by the end of this year and then perhaps go on to do an actual marathon. Well in training for that, I on a whim signed up to do a 10k this past weekend. Only I should mention that my half marathon training has been severely put on hold as I moved countries and embarked on my 30 day yoga challenge. So when I looked at my calendar and realized I had only 2 weeks to train for this thing you can imagine my maddening pains of anxiety that took over. And likely more so because I HAD NEVER RUN A 10K BEFORE!!!!
But in true me typical style, I poured myself into my training, even tried to stay clear of the Brit’s choices of beverages and just got me 10K ready.
And then #weownthenight happened. Over 10000  women from all over London gathered in Victoria Park, in an effort to all achieve one goal – FINISH THE DAMN 10K and enjoy that blessed glass of victory champagne waiting for us all at the finish line.
I wish I could explain the atmosphere as we all waited in our race bands. It was as though there was a flurry of excitement, adrenaline and emotions. And as the music on my IPod started blaring and the race began I got lost in a sea of women who I could see were no different than me. They all had a goals, dreams, insecurities and emotions that this race was going to make them feel like they could face. And at each point in that race, at every KM marker when I desperately thought I could just stop now and walk a bit, I looked at the women surrounding me, paid attention to the motivation blaring through my headphones and pushed forward full force ahead.
It was an experience like no other, and while I came out with a #personalbest time. I will say the number one take away, lesson, whatever you want to call it that I got out of it, WAS that the finish line, was so illustrative of the things we want in our lives. All of us ladies ran at our own paces, with our own goals and reached the same point when we were ready, when the time was right. There were moments we all had where we had to either slow it down, speed it up or just choose to get lost in the atmosphere around us without really caring about anything but living  in the moment. But no matter what it didn’t matter, we all reached that end goal, that marker, and got to celebrate our victories.

Timing you see played a part.
My biggest challenge has always been slowing things down and understanding that sometimes, timing is really the most important element for success. I see something and I want it yesterday. And so quickly I get lost in the ideas of things, without even really stopping to think if it is truly what I want or if I am just choosing to want something to keep up with the jones so to say.  But this 10k taught me that life isn’t a short sprint, but rather a marathon that requires time, patience and gumshump. And so after crossing that finish line I made a pact with myself to want the things I want whole heartedly, but instead of speeding ahead and pushing for things to happen yesterday, I want to learn to really enjoy the process of riding the wave to the finish line J Which will include smiling through even through the most of annoying of moments - which is way easier said then done. 
So cyber space, universe space and everything that has a wave that gets this blog entry, I make a pact with you today to say – I AM PUTTING ALL MY DREAMS OUT TO YOU, with all the heart I have and am going to walk around smiling like I got it because I know when the TIME is right it will ALLLLLL HAPPPPPEN.
And sooo all you people out there – I challenge you all to slow it down, marvel in the annoying pauses and realize that if we want it to last FOREVER EVER we gotta sometimes let time takes its course.

And with that I leave all up to the clock....
- A