Life, Lately
Increasing my surface area for luck.
I feel a great sense of happiness lately.
I feel a little embarrassed to write that; as though I am bragging that life has been good to me, when in fact it’s been quite a difficult several weeks.
We woke up to no water and no power one day. An area power outage, coupled with inclement weather conditions meant that our solar batteries took longer to charge and resultantly yielded little power to the house. No power meant our Water storage couldn’t pump water onto the property, and – believe it or not – we later discovered that our water storage was running low as we had been living without a water meter for weeks without realizing. It turns out, Joburg Water erroneously disconnected our home, believing they were disconnecting our next-door neighbour as both boundary walls are white. It has been a nightmare trying to retrieve our water meter since (Oh, Joburg, you really know how to test my love for you at times).
The extended power outage affected our front gate and electric fence. The breakdown of both meant we had to spend unbudgeted money. My car broke down: I need three tyres, new shocks and I highly suspect a new battery too. My car is sitting in the yard, unrepaired, as of course I have no money to fix it right now.
I feel terribly burnt out at work, have a never-ending revolving door of emails and tasks (“Colleagues, this is urgent’ / ‘Colleagues, please respond to the below urgently” / “Colleagues, this is required by the end of the day”). But still, I maintain, I feel quite happy lately.
Despite the hard, the expensive and the exhausting, for the first time in my life, I am leaning into and consolidating all the things that interest me, give me meaning and make me happy. Some time ago, I read a post from one of my favourite Substackers on how important it is to do small things that increase our surface area for luck. Luck, and feeling lucky, it turns out, is a great recipe for happiness and contentment. The same Substacker mentioned how, through attending a simple gathering every week, where writers and creatives gather on the stoep of someone who has laid out an urn of coffee and a loaf of fresh bread for all to enjoy, creates a space for you to put yourself out there for luck to find you. She beautifully goes on to write that The more people you meet, the more likely you are to have an exchange that inspires or helps you, in some way.
It got me thinking: I love the community I live in. And most of the time, I love my city. How can I bloom where I’m planted and expand my own surface area for luck? The piece struck me so much that I’d love to share some of the small and simple things I’m doing everyday to consolidate my passions, lean into my interests, create a meaningful life and ultimately breed a life I am happy with. Here are a few ways:
Launched my Book & Literary Events Pop-Up
Do you know how much bravery and release of fear it took to take myself out of the shell I’ve lived in since shutting my former creative pursuits down and burying them after 5 or so years of secret depression? ‘You’ve done this before’ a friend told me when I told her about launching Masa’s Corner – what she didn’t realise is how much scarier it feels this time around, how lame I thought the idea might be, how petrified I was of people’s opinions. And yet, once I finally started and made the decision to unearth the talents that I kept blighting all these years, I made space to feel joy again. And I cannot wait to see how Masa’s Corner unfolds.
Partaking in active Citizenship
From working together with my neighbours in an attempt to bolster the relevant Minister to attend to a heritage property that’s been allowed to deteriorate in my area, engaging civic movements such as JoburgCAN and running the pavement project on my street (a project whereby we clean, propagate succulents, and maintain the walkability and beauty of the pavements on our street), I cannot describe the meaning and fulfillment it gives me to take such an active role in my community and my city.
Making the most of School Drop off
I’m a chatter box so it should come as no surprise that I tend to linger longer in the drop-off zone of my sons’ school. I’m a Girls’ Girl and women will always energise me. But what is most beautiful about these drop-offs is the friendships and connections I’ve made; the same connections that are buying tickets to Book Club, whose same kids will be attending Storybook Saturdays and whose same friends will give Author Talks. It is in connection that we as humans feel our most alive, and I am no different.
I feel happy lately, and although I know that life ebbs and flows, I plan to revisit this piece from time to time and remind myself of what makes me feel my best.
How are you expanding your surface area for luck? Let me know in the comments below.
*Tickets to Book Club sold out within 9 hours (!) and I cannot express my gratitude and appreciation enough for believing in this idea, and what I believe I am creating. I have signed a 6-month venue hire lease with the venue, subject to the overall performance of the events, and its greatly inspired me to ensure that each event is better than the last. Again, thank you. See you soon!
Here are this week’s recommendations:
I mean, of course I’m going to recommend you book a space to attend Book Club or Storybook Saturday. Many more events to come…
Here is the piece from one of my favourite Substackers that inspired today’s post.
I’ve just completed ‘Cape Fever’ by Nadia Davids.
I cannot tell you how fascinating I am finding this SA Banking Race taking place between all these currently non-banking companies.
Love,
Masa.