It has been more than a month since I last wrote a blog post. And the funny reason for it is that lockdown has kept me busier than ever before. In fact, lockdown might turn out to be THE game changer in my life. And talking to various of my friends it seems that I am not the only one with this feeling.
Lockdown made me step aside from the "rat race" and breathe. It made me start this blog and ponder about life. It made me think about who I want to be and what I want to do in the future. And it made me remember what brought a sparkle to my eyes when I was little.
And so I have
- Started to work on my research proposal for my PhD, which will hopefully be accepted by Stellenbosch University by the end of this or the beginning of next year. This is something that has been on my mind for quite some time as I have always loved learning and coming up with new ideas and concepts. And I will work on a topic that I am utterly passionate about: Problem Solving.
- Signed up for a course in Interior Design. I loved, loved, loved my little first building project that I finished just before lockdown - the conversion of my double garage into a beautiful little open plan cottage. I never expected to enjoy it so much that I would want to turn it into a serious hobby. And now I have already successfully passed the first three of twelve modules and just today received all the goodies to start drawing my very first own floor plans. And - on an even more exciting note - I am busy collecting ideas for the renovation of my bedroom and bathroom, which I want to change into a dreamy sanctuary (once I have won the lottery, that is :D)
- Ordered an acrylic painting starter set (yes, you heard right :D) and research art courses in South Africa. I am absolutely crazy about colours! And if I do renovate my house I might as well hang up my own paintings, right? At least I hope that the results will be somewhat presentable. We will see in time :D
- Come up with a list of at least ten other things that I want to try to dig deeper in (I will not say more at this point in time :D)
What is the morale of this story? There is an intense power in slowing down... yes, in stopping... and questioning all and everything to decide whether our path is still leading us into the right direction. Or whether we should rather stray away for a while, maybe even completely change the course. Life is short and fleeting, and there are a million opportunities of fun and interesting things to do. Sometimes it can be the best to try something completely unknown to us. Something completely off the trodden path. And all of the sudden we might realize how much it speaks to our soul and that we do not want to miss it ever again.
There is beauty and a multitude of opportunities that can arise from this rather strange time in our lives. And I have decided to use it wisely.
