Lockdown: Day 115

I am delighted today, for two reasons - I am alive and secondly, my brand turns one.

Last night I went to bed excited to the core, almost like my intestines were playing hockey. I haven’t felt like that since I was small. I’ve always had a massive appreciation and love for Diwali, and the night before was euphoric in our home, excitement heightened by last minute additions to sikkund and the mountain of parcels my brother and I would have to deliver to neighbours in the morning. It was my absolute favourite day of the year.

I also didn’t have to work in our shop, I got to see all my family for lunch, my father would be there sometimes and best of all – there would be top class desserts. Treats everywhere. Burfee, jelebi, coconut ice, peppermint crisp tart, ice-cream and jelly, cakes, prawns, crab curry, chicken curry, mutton curry, lapsi, siroh, sikkund… the works. The Chibba’s Diwali lunches are amazing.

Today, I feel small again and am full of joy and gratitude.

That’s despite all the negatives.

Since I’ve last blogged about lockdown, I’ve lost a dear colleague to this damn virus. I’ve also developed a horrible flu and have been forced to stay indoors for longer than a week now. I’m slowly starting to feel energized and instead of focusing on all the bleak aspects of my life, and this Covid-19 situation in general, I want to share with you some positives.

A year ago, I was house-hunting. I’m always on the prowl to be honest but I’m a very fussy woman with a very particular taste in homes, and I almost always find something about places within my budget that are a dealbreaker.

I was driving along William Nicol from work, on my way to meet an agent in Fourways, when a kind man named Alec from domains.co.za called me to tell me that my website was active. ‘Active?’ I asked him curiously.

‘Alive,’ he replied. ‘Your website is on the internet.’

I remember squealing with joy in my car and shouting thanks to God for my talent. Anyone driving past me would have thought I lost all my marbles. But thanks to technology in the twenty-first century, me talking to myself and praising God out loud in the car, redeems me from looking a tad bit nuts.

I wasn’t ready that day for my blog to go live. I remember wanting to come home and tinker with my site and some of the borders a little bit more. I wasn’t particularly happy with the size of my logo and it’s positioning on my homepage. I had a list of things to still do but reflecting now, I wouldn’t have changed a thing about how I shared my website with the world. I did change a few things and then I typed a tiny note on Facebook and shared my passion.

I am not unique in that I love to cook. There are millions of fabulous home cooks out there. I know many and my mother is one of them. My family and friends have also played a big role in the way that I cook for myself. Just yesterday I attempted cabbage pockets for the first time, which is a Greek-inspired dish. I saw it on my friend’s Instafeed and decided to research and add my own spices to the dish. It turned out fantastic.

For the longest time, I thought being a journalist and a producer was all that I’m good at. But that’s not true. In the past decade, I’ve learned how to paint with palette knives, sketch, scrapbook, build extremely large puzzles, bake, sew, cook like a true Hindi woman (this is thanks to my ex-husband and his family), drive long-distance, change a tyre, grow fruits and vegetables, make lotion and facial products from scratch…  

In the past 5 years, I’ve learned how to love and appreciate the small things. I say no more often than I say yes these days. I can run, cycle and swim for a long time without feeling shattered or depleted. I can edit short video’s and type as fast as I think. I’ve also become a full time member of the Rivers Church. I was given the delightful responsibility of taking care of my Connect group’s catering – that duty has now paused because of the ro-ro.

Just this past year, I have studied theology and business, and have researched nutrition and the art of bread making. I’ve read 68 books and counting, have blogged 160 recipes, and written over 40 lockdown opinion pieces. My baby brand has made its first TV debut, formed part of an anthology and has been featured on more than one prominent online platform. OnTheBoard last year also employed staff to sustain and maintain a business arm that keeps hearts warm through meals delivered weekly. And even though I’m challenged because of the lockdown regulations, I hold tightly to hope that this business will expand in all the right directions eventually.

My Pastor Andre Olivier really made me think when he revealed the church’s ‘Create’ theme last year. He kicked off the year with a four-part series: ‘Create a new year through new thinking’. I felt like he was talking to me privately during his first sermon.

He said, “2019 doesn’t need to be a mystery. Let’s think about thinking. Everything starts with thought and thoughts create trouble, relationships, revenue, happiness or unhappiness.

“Each morning when you get up, think about what you’re going to do. Don’t just go through the day aimlessly.

“Don’t allow things to make you happy, allow yourself to make you happy. You are responsible for your own happiness. Not God and not Rivers.

“Get around people who stretch your thinking. Get away from negative thinkers. Train yourself to learn to think… what’s going on the outside of  you is a reflection of what’s inside you.”

I lapped up every word of this series and am living proof that you can live what you think. I never in a million years thought people would ever be interested in what and how I cook and think. Or that I could ever feel so happy. I am constantly working on myself to be the best version of me, and I realise that this is only possible if you choose to believe in yourself and your dreams.

Life is about people, but that doesn’t mean stumping your creativity to feed a narrative that dictates you must be a creative in one field only to live a fulfilled and successful life. Success is undefined in my eyes and frankly speaking, you can never be truly successful without reinventing yourself on the regular. Success is defined as an accomplishment of an aim or purpose. So really, no one is successful. Because our purpose is fluid and ever-evolving and it will stay that way until we die.

So, dream big, imagine the impossible, plan and then just do it. Live your life, dancing to the beat of your own soundtrack.

The more you move, the more you will create and the more you create, the more lives you will impact.

Ps. Thank you for taking the time to read my work, support my business and bring value to my brand by clicking on this article. You are cherished.