January 28th, 2009
‘Enjoy yourself. It’s later than you think.’ (Chinese proverb)
Is it just me, or is 2009 already running away with you too? It’s hard to believe that the Christmas hols are over, the New Years Eve party is all but a distant memory (for more reasons than one) and January is pretty much done and dusted. Hmmmm… Do you think it’s an age thing or is time really flying by at a faster pace lately? Personally I think it is an age thing, which freaks me out because let’s face it: none of us are getting any younger. (’Not much a girl can do about that.) Anyway, I’m usually very much against making ‘New Years Resolutions’ as they can be rather soul-destroying when they fall to the side a couple of weeks in. (Or maybe that’s just me;) However, I do like to kick off the new year with a (relatively) positive outlook and some goals in mind. There’s always the usual list of suspects … visit the gym more (fail!); drink less red wine (fail!); lose weight (fail!); save money (ha, ha, ha… fail!)… Good grief, the list seems endless. Though one change I’m determined to make is to slow down this rollercoaster ride that is my life. I’m tired of falling into the routine of a fairly mundane existence. Off to work… live for the weekends… count the minutes (and pennies) ’til payday… complain about my weight / lack of money / the traffic / the recession / dot dot dot. That’s no way to live. Nope. No way. No how. So from now on, I’m going to start making the most of day to day existence, and here’s how. I’m going to live like a tourist in my own town. Luckily for me, I’m fortunate to live in Cape Town which, as some of you may know, is a pretty great place to be. (Yeah we have inane politicians who say and do the most ridiculous things. And sure, the rising crime rate is enough to scare off Chuck Norris, but essentially there’s a lot of good stuff on offer that we [and by ‘we’ I mean ‘me’] take for granted.) For one, we have a spectacular natural environment. You can take your pick of a multitude of beaches, either flanked by the Indian Ocean (warmish-water) or the Atlantic (freeze-your-butt-off-water). From now on, I’m going to make an effort to go to the beach more often. I’ll never be a beach babe – I burn far too easily for that, plus there’s that bikini factor, which is scary (for both me and for anyone unfortunate enough to catch a glimpse of my oh-so-not-ready-for-the-beach bod!). But seriously, there’s nothing nicer than starting the day off with a brisk walk on the beach with a friend and their pooches. And there’s the mountain – a beautiful one at that. I’m waiting for a less windy day to take a cable car to the top for a sundowner picnic with friends and the dassies. Yup, ‘can’t wait. And of course, nothing beats doing these things with your favourite people. In my mind, 2009 is about making more time for family and friends, more time for happiness and more time for me.
This decision to ‘live like a tourist’ isn’t about slacking off or living lavishly. Instead, it’s about making the most of what’s around. It’s about finding the balance between what needs to be done (earning a living and all that boring stuff) and what can be done (all the good stuff). Carpe diem, and all that. Because like it or not, time flies by and that’s not likely to change. But it doesn’t mean we can’t stop to smell the roses along the way.
