How do you capture nostalgia? A photo can illicit nostalgia, a familiar setting or a song in the distance. The human being is such a beautiful and complex creature. Growing up I used to rush home from school, I’d throw my school shirt on my bed and head out with my singlet on. My bike and my brother’s bike would lay behind a green wooden fence leading to our backyard. That would be my vehicle of joy for the next few hours until the sun came down and my mother lost her patience with asking us to come back inside the house. We would ride up and down the street, through the hills, talking to strangers and neighbours and just live. Times were simpler back then; I can describe that feeling to you with words, but I don’t know how I can capture it. Something brought that memory back into my mind as I walked home from work, and I wrote a little note down on my phone to remember.

These days I am finding joy in the little things, I am so grateful for life in general. A new day is God giving me another chance to go again. A chance for my body and my mind to reset and do all the fun little things again. A cup of coffee, a trip to the gym, reading, good food, and conversations with friends and family. I feel like life is our reflection and when I shifted my mindset from that of scarcity and realised the abundance that exists around me, I can’t help but be grateful every second of every day. I am a big believer in being the shapers of our own destiny, it doesn’t make sense for God to create us with free will and us not being able to shape our destiny. And usually, the little things compound and grow as time goes on.

That is why I am grateful for the little things; we find passion not in that which is most exuberant and obvious. Sometimes as you chip away at the rock that is your soul, things come to light. It is in our darkest times that we become disinterested in the external and obsessed with the internal. And that’s where I’ve found myself weaving in and out of the last few years. From a ruthless degree coupled with a tough job search and career life, multiple heartbreaks and failures, to the life I live now, I am grateful for every breath I take. You need to suffer in this life to forge an iron mind, and in the dark times our soul is the most malleable. Even though my road is still bumpy, I have never felt more equipped as a man.

Biggest realisation out of it all was how my empathy which I always considered my greatest trait over the years, was actually my biggest enemy. And I have learnt to channel my selfishness now and pick who I let use my energy and time. I feel bad for the last few years and the people I dragged through the confusion with me, the confusion of my dreams and the confusion of who I am. But it is what it is and my mistakes are my own. I own my mistakes and I am grateful for them, and they are mine alone and cannot be used against me. We are human and that is the beauty of being human, it is the messiness, the open environments, the non-answers and the stumbling and tumbling of the uphill battle that is ourselves.

Key takeaway is live now, enjoy the little things, and don’t let your past imprison you. Embrace yourself. The good, the bad and the ugly and be grateful for every day you have the blessing to see.

All the Best

H