Pursuit of Happiness

1.     Remember, you only have one life

You have one chance to create a beautiful and fulfilling life. Don't waste all the precious time you have been given. Instead, use it to make a difference, not just your own life, but others' lives as well.



2.     Love and accept yourself as you are

Take care of yourself and do things for you and not to impress other people. Remember, you are unique. We all have flaws but it's what makes you special! Pay more attention to the good things about you, use your talents and be true to yourself.



3.     Always look on the bright side

Think positive! It's easy to be negative, I know, but the effort you make now to become a more positive person will pay off dividends and make a huge difference in your life experience.



4.     Don't be jealous, be inspired!

Stop comparing yourself to others. Remember it's all relative - you don't know their journey, so why feel the need to be controlled by it? Celebrate others' happiness, it's way better to feel happy for someone than to be bitter about it. The energy and brain space it takes to be jealous is simply not worth it.



5.     Don't take yourself so seriously

Just go with the flow. Take it easy. Let things be. The Universe has plans for all of us and it's up to us to trust that it will unfold as it is meant to. Remember to laugh at yourself every now and then. 



If you feel offended by something someone said, remind yourself that offence cannot be given, only taken. So don't take offence, don't take it so seriously - after all, it's just one person's opinion. Let it go and move on.



6.     Fake it till you make it!

When it comes to positivity, it's okay to fake a smile until you are really smiling from the inside! No one likes a "Betty Bad luck" - keep smiling and you will attract more happiness into your life. 



It takes less muscles to smile than to frown, and haven't you noticed the people who smile a lot look a lot younger than they actually are?



7.     Find a hobby or dream - do something you love

Working towards your future, and pursuing your dreams and goals is a powerful way to keep you going in the present. It's a great way to become your own person and merely take a time out for yourself!



Don't be too concerned about your achievements right now, just keep your eye on your goal. Remember, it's all about consistent persistence, taking baby steps in the right direction.



8.     Be grateful

This is a sure-fire way to remind yourself how lucky you are. Count your blessings and you will receive more! When something good happens in your life, no matter how small - always remember to say “Thank You”.



9.     Stop worrying so much

Everything will be okay. Everything is okay right now, isn't it? Why worry about things that haven't happened yet, or things that have already happened? All that matters is what's happening right now. Know that you have the power to change how you feel and deal with situations in your life.



10.  Find true friends

Find the ones you don't need to impress all the time. It can be very tiring to keep up with friends you don't like. Find ones who love you and accept you for who you are, not what you have or what you do.



11.  Take time out – me-time

Sometimes it's okay to be selfish. After all, it starts with you, doesn't it? If you are not happy, how can you expect to make others happy? Do something you love - take time out. When you're in a relationship, don't ever be afraid to ask for me-time.



12.  Don't be afraid to take responsibility

When you take responsibility for things - even the things that go wrong, it can be a real relief, a weight off your shoulders. Not only that, but people will respect you, and even trust you, more. 



There's something endearing about someone who can admit when they are wrong. So go on, swallow your pride and be the bigger person.



13.  Be kind

The fastest way to feel better about yourself is to be kind to others, to nature, to all creatures! Be of service, help others in need and trust me, it's the greatest reward you could give yourself. There is no greater feeling than helping another being. It's the most self-less "selfish" act you can do.



14.  Don't lose your inner child

Reflect and remember what you loved doing as a child and find a way to incorporate it into your life. When you look at a child, notice how they perform those activities and play with their 100%. Give your 100% in everything you do too!

The Ego, the Mind and You

We often see our reality through the lens of our own perception. This leads to confusion and we often confuse ourselves with our ego. The ego is a deceptive entity which takes over the mind and poisons us from within. It should be observed without prejudice, without judgement and should ultimately not dictate your response to your life situation on any basis. 

New Beginnings

A recent blog post I read inspired me to resume work on my own blog. Although it might be long overdue – it truly never is too late!

Prologue

Lately, I have been neglecting work on my novel - I suppose "the real world" is keeping me far too busy these days. Nonetheless, I managed to start work on the prologue, and will release a sample of it for your pleasure.

The year is 1652. The Drommedaris powers her way through the violently thrashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean beating against her wooden hull. Soaked in the spew of salt water hurling over her withered deck, she persistently pushes forward, creaking and groaning under Mother Nature’s livid onslaught. Icy gale force winds cut through the ragged sails like frosty knives, thrashing cloth and cord to shards and twine, with rain pummeling the deck in a flood of hammers. In the drenched cacophony, silhouettes of sailors are frantically clambering up ladder and rope in a hopeless attempt to somehow maintain a measure of control amid the chaos. Trailing in her wake, her sister ships the Reijger and Goede Hoop obediently followed suit, locked in a battle against the elements for survival...

Keep following for more snippets. 

We have to start somewhere

"Cryptology expert, Professor Robert Meyer, uncovers a sinister secret lurking within the heart of a rainbow nation - which threatens to change both himself and South-African society forever."

It took me long enough, but I finally constructed a semi-condensed sentence wide summary of the story. This will have to suffice for now - luckily it is still malleable enough to head into a different direction should the plot evolve. Next step is to expand on the basic idea. Although I have a pretty firm grasp of the plot, I continue to lack character depth at this point. Granted, the characters are still confined to infancy at this stage, which indicates a potentially interesting month ahead.

I am looking forward to meeting the people inhabiting this narrative!

The Snowflake Method

Part and parcel of developing a Novel is committing to an outlandish amount of research on all things vaguely related to what you are writing (at least that is this author's preferred approach). My research led me to discover the Snowflake Method , which provides a structured approach to creative writing. I started with step one, which requires a single sentence summary describing the entire Novel. This turned out to be extremely difficult to achieve in practice!

Attempting to condense an entire work of fiction, which is largely in its infancy, into a single sentence is near impossible from my current point of reference. Nevertheless, the process did encourage intense work on my part concerning plot development, and it even sparked moderate character development along the way! At the moment I am very close to discovering the elusive sentence, which will eventually lead to the paragraph appearing on the back of the Novel in question. As exciting as it is, it is extremely hard work, but this story really needs to reach the public.

Beginning of something special

Finally, I stumbled upon the perfect plot! The story line is largely under construction, and there are no characters yet, but the plot is revealing itself satisfyingly enough for me not to be overly concerned about its construction. This is almost a story that wants to venture from its imaginative confines to the "real world", and somehow it picked me as its vessel.

I am truly looking forward to the next couple of months.