If I have to choose a song that reflects on my life, where I have been and who I am, “My Way” by Frank Sinatra is that song.
I came into the world a fervent soul, a passionate and intense being.
Even as a child I dreamt big and I believed that the stars existed so I may know how high my dreams could soar. Through the years I have come to realise that dreams, whether big or small take time, patience, sustained effort and a willingness to take some risks if they are ever to be anything more than just dreams. I trust God has been busy planning my future. He has brought the storms into my life but, all along, He has been preparing a place in the sun for me.
He has placed my rainbow in the clouds.
Looking back at my life I have come to understand that I had to colour outside the lines from time to time if my life was to become a masterpiece. I had to see life not as a problem to be solved but as a reality to be experienced. It has taken a long time to live life in my own way, to reach the goals I have set for myself, to be the “me” I want to be, and as its coming together, I know that I am doing it my way. I trust and believe I have the power to make my life a success.
On LIFE I often ask myself, “What is our place in this world? What is the role of humankind?” I look back at what I have experienced or the experiences of others and I think of how tragic it is that a species with the brain capacity that we have has been able to develop so many instruments of destruction. Not only for ourselves but for the natural world in which we live in.
On the subject of LOVE I ask, “What is love?” To me love is everything. Love is everything in life! Without love in your life you have nothing, no story. Love means being coherent. There must be coherence between what we say, what we live and what we do. “Living with love” means being coherent. As people living together and sharing a life we need this ethical code to guide our lives and to ensure that we keep listening to each other.
On WOMANHOOD, I believe as children we are raised with good intentions by our parents. Our cultures and life circumstances determine our beliefs and perceptions, how we perceive others and the world and how we see ourselves and how women share common denominators. The older generation believed that we were born to serve, love and obey, just as our mothers and their mothers before them. So a woman’s instinctive reaction is still to please.
But today’s modern woman is much more self-assured, she exudes greater confidence and endeavours to maintain a high profile in her career, personal relationships and family life. Still, there always comes a time when we must make the decision to take responsibility for our actions and take ownership of our lives. We have choices and we need to have the freedom to exercise those choices to create more fulfilled and purposeful lives for ourselves.
I celebrate the woman I am. I have my own opinions which may differ from those of my family and peers. I am referred to as wilful and headstrong and I have firm views on what is fair and just. I fight for my rights and for those less fortunate, and I challenge the status quo. Fiercely independent by nature I live life by a code of strong ethics, relentless determination and, at times, brutal honesty, but I remind myself that it’s ok to be who I am. Growing up I was so afraid of being me that I tried to be everybody else. Today I say “emulate” don’t “imitate”. For me the great thing about getting older is that I haven’t lost all the other ages that I’ve been, so embracing my age is not about “fitting in” but believing that I was created to “stand out” because I’d like to be remembered as a woman who lived life on my own terms.
As I get older, I’m fortunate to have a purpose in life and for me “purpose in life” means having something in the world that you care about enough to want to connect with and get involved. I am excited to feel the kind of strength that comes with ageing, getting to the place where I can identify what I want, believe in myself enough to achieve it, and be bold enough to go for it because fear is a great motivator and what I want most is – a good sense of myself, the authentic me.
I believe everyone is born with a life purpose. Identifying, acknowledging and honouring that purpose is a part of our journey. But, we need time to understand what we are here to do – and that, is what we need to pursue with passion and enthusiasm.