I met Caron in London through another friend, Tracy, but it turns out that my mother was actually her art teacher in high school. South Africans don't all know each other, this was a co-incidence. Caron is Managing Director at Starfish, studied Philosophy, and is into basically everything life has to offer posting beautiful evidence on Instagram. She is funny, witty and creative and has a wonderful perspective on what makes life tick. She writes magically and I am super chuffed to introduce hopefully the first many guest posts.
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Sugar and Spice
by Caron Angelbauer
Happiness is a butterfly flapping its beautiful paper thin wings - free, wild and uplifting. And then it's gone. So let's attempt to pin this beautiful butterfly in a photograph album.
Happiness is intrinsically subjective and unique for us all, with common flecks that overlap allowing funny bones to be tickled during comedy or cartoons. For me, happiness has morphed over my many years. I remember past lives of it being about learning how to swim, or Italian ice-cream on a hot day, stealing my brothers brand new bike/skateboard/radio controlled car and making them (and myself) do things they really shouldn't have done, success in sports- winning races, being part of a team working together to get that ball in a hoop or knock the hockey ball into the back of the net through to catching fish, the funfair or just standing on the coastline watching my feet sink deeper into the sand as waves crashed around my legs and pulled back out again.
Later it was about getting lost in the music I loved at a number of clubs whilst pouring tequila down my throat until I was very wobbly afoot, learning how to drive and the independence of exiting school and starting university or just spending time with my wonderful and vastly eccentric friends and family... It was all about new experiences, jumping off a cliff into the sea, surfing, a first kiss with a guy I'd been eyeing for some time or spending time with my friends around a bonfire on a beach stoned out of my tiny little mind... through moving overseas to the UK and professional reward - throwing myself in the deep end and learning (fighting) to find success. Achievement = happiness.
Many years later with many lessons under my belt, I find myself looking for similar kinds of sugar but the volume of spice has definitely been turned up. 2014 has been one hell of a year. Its moved from being incredibly happy at the end of 2013 through to putting my house on the market, discovering my boyfriend had been cheating on me in every imaginable 21st century level of deception (and then some), falling completely out of love with my job, finding out I was pregnant and miscarrying within 6 weeks, discarding the dead weights in my world and finding a new world to live and work within. Sometimes we have all the puzzle pieces thrown in the air and need to see where they land. For me, the pieces are spelling happiness of a new order. Right now my happiness consists of discovering who I am again after such utter turmoil. Virtually every day provides a new revelation.... almost like learning to walk again. Rushing down a gorgeous slippery forest terrain on my bike with an ice cold crisp morning kissing my cheeks whilst my spaniel gallops beside me provides happiness. Working within a dynamic design industry surrounded by super intelligent people is a vast inspiration. Rediscovering international foods, music, design, art, sculpture, people and languages is the best medicine... but still, for me, my happiest place is tucking into bed at night with my cocker spaniel slipping in behind my knees with a contented sigh, and starting every day with that very same cocker spaniel flopping a fluffy paw on my shoulder and wagging her spritely tail. There is no need to rush for thrills anymore... it's the simple things in life that lifts the heart and spreads a joyous contented smile.
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In writing a blog about several topics in which I admit to being a complete beginner, I am going to have to rely heavily on the people I am writing for who cumulatively know most of what I am likely to learn already. I would love it if some of you found the time to write a guest post on the subject of happiness or learning. The framework I use for thinking about these things is what I call the '5 + 2 points' which includes proper (1) exercise, (2) breathing, (3) diet, (4) relaxation, (5) positive thinking & meditation, (+1) relationships, (+2) flow. Naturally if you would like to write about something that you think I have missed, I would love to include that too. If you are up to doing something more practical, it would be awesome if you did a 100 hour project and I am happy to do the writing based on our chats if that is how you roll. Email me at trevorjohnblack@gmail.com
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