That was my word for 2016.
At the end of 2015, many things were changing. I had been living in Stellenbosch/Western Cape for 4 years, but by this time I was on my way back to Richards Bay. I had just finished with my hairdressing course at Stellenbosch Hair Academy and decided to move back home and stay with my dad for awhile, while he and my mom were going through the motions of divorce (a year later, hardly anything has moved, however it is still happening). I thought that this was what was best for everyone, because I could be there to support both my parents, I had a (what seemed to be great) job secured at a hair salon, so I would be able to save money (I thought) and earn experience.
As the last day of 2015 came to an end, I decided not to make plans to go out, but rather to spend the evening by myself at home. My dad was away for work, so I was excited to be able to meditate right into 2016 - which I did. I wrote about my dreams and my plans and chose a word for 2016 - MAGIC. Now let me just say this, when something is straight up IN YOUR FACE, you are so preoccupied with the tiny little details and faults that you tend to miss the bigger picture. But now that we are at the end of the winding road that was 2016 and I have the opportunity to look back and evaluate the year as a whole, I have to say that yes, the year was indeed more MAGICAL than I had realized.
The first thing that I have to mention happened literally only a few hours into the new year. But to really understand the significance of it, let me fill in the backstory. Half of the people that I call my friends right now, actually don't know that before this year, Hanco and I hadn't seen each other for four years. In fact, out of those four years, we were probably only on speaking terms for a couple of months and had only seen each other twice. In (VERY) short, we had dated in high school and we were convinced that we were meant to be, however, when I moved to Cape Town things didn't go quite as planned and we broke up quite abruptly. It was a confusing and distressing time, to say the least (I don't want to sound overly dramatic, but for two years I was completely distraught, confused and had very little faith in life, because our relationship was rooted in our strong belief in our religion at the time).
Flashback over. Obviously a lot had happened in those four years and both of us eventually moved on. However, on the very first day of January 2016, probably at about 2:00 or 3:00am, Hanco called me out of the blue. He had nothing that he specifically wanted to tell me, he had just had a strong feeling that he wanted to call me. Fast forward 11 months later, both of us had quit our jobs, moved to Durban and are now living and working together. Sounds like magic? Well, if you don't know how it had all happened, it certainly might seem that way!
I won't bore y'all with too many details, but Kylie Jenner was right for sure. 2016 really was the year of realizing stuff.
I realized that things don't need to change overnight for it to be magic and that I really don't want to just skip over my whole life just to get to the "good" parts anyway. I realized that there really are no good moments or bad moments and that it's all a matter of perspective - if I want to feel good then I have to decide to feel good. I can't spend my whole life waiting for the weekend, waiting for the sun to shine or waiting for my to ship come in.
I've realized, once again, that I can't keep everyone happy and that my highest priority should be to take care of me. "I can't pour from an empty cup", meaning that I can't be a good friend, or daughter or girlfriend if I don't make sure that I am filled with a sense of inner peace and joy and I can only be filled if I take care of my needs first. When I am taken care of, I am emotionally stronger and physically able to help and take care of those around me.
I think everyone should spend some time thinking about the past year. No, not stressing about what didn't happen or sulking about something not-so-great that did happen. I mean, take some time to think about what there is to be grateful for in your life and how this past year has contributed to what you have right now - whether it is material things or a sense of inner strength or maturity, make a conscious decision to focus your attention on the good in your life right now. If you REALLY can't think of anything that you're grateful for right now, be thankful for that contrast - because at least you know what you DON'T want your life to be like, so you can direct all your energy in the opposite direction. If you know what don't want, then you automatically are more aware of what you DO want, so if you are able to focus your attention on that... Well then, you are going to have a magical 2017!
Thank you so very, very much to each person that was a part of making 2016 such a memorable year for me. I am so wonderfully excited for 2017, guys, it's UNBELIEVABLE. I am also super eager to share everything that's going to happen with you all, I have so many plans for the new year and even if they don't go exactly as planned, I will be documenting it all along the way so that you can be a part of this thrilling story!
All my love, and don't forget that YOU are The Creator.
XXX
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