Artwork: Igshaan Adams
Good morning beautiful people,
I truly hope that you are all safe and healthy, wherever you are in the world.
I haven’t written in a while and have missed it, so much. Blame it on the failure to carve out the necessary space to write and welcome inspiration, who knows, but here I am, ready to share some of the wisdom that I have witnessed in the past month.
As we all know, life is precious and everything can indeed change in a day.
I was recently chatting to a sixteen year old Ukrainian refugee who shared that before the war, he was really depressed, and that now, he sees everything differently, awakened by what he witnessed and grateful for what he has.
I met this boy through an inspiring powerhouse of a lady called Nehama. Nehama is an orthodox french jew, based in Brussels, mother of four, who has been working with a Ukrainian priest since the start of the war, enabling refugees to find housing, food, education, medical assistance, community and more. Regardless of their religion, she helps them all.
She shared with me that as soon as she heard about the war, she could not ignore the voice within telling her that she needed to help and sent out an email to her contact list.
She went on to tell me that at any given moment, she exercises a muscle within that gets strengthened knowing that she did her best that day: that she helped as well as she could, that she was authentic, and not driven by her fears or other emotions, resulting in genuine interactions that give energy instead of being draining.
Since the post pandemic era, I hear people complain about how tiring life is again.
And I wonder if that lack of energy comes from taking actions that are not aligned with our genuine true self and needs? We want to please, we want to fit in but at what cost?
On this note, I am going to invite you to take a deep breath in.
Feeling your feet on the ground, and asking yourself, what can I do today, to honour my true self and my needs? What can I do today, to be more genuine, and help anyone in need?
As you breath out, allowing your thoughts to drift away and putting your focus on the air moving through your body, how about taking an action you have been procrastinating because of your fears or lack of time?
Easier said than done, but life does happen when we are busy making other plans.
So lets hold each other hands, understand our own needs first, before automatically blaming others for how we feel.
May we all be healthy,
May we all find joy in the trivialities of life,
May we all be genuine,
May we all do our best on any given day.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you want to share anything or would like to reach out to Nehama and help in your own way.
With love and deep respect,
Vanessa
