Serendipity
Written by: Bwalya Penza, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
I’m a very private person, so the thought of sharing the innermost happenings of my mind unnerves me. I love writing, letters, cards, my thoughts, my plans, my dreams, journaling. I used it as an escape when I was younger and started to find it therapeutic. I’ve had this urge to share my experiences through writing for some time, but there’s always been a ‘but’. I think about it, but never get around to doing it. This year, I promised myself that I would start to share my writing more. I coach children and I’m always encouraging them to practice stretching out of their comfort zones, and yet I’m not practicing what I preach. I took the leap a couple of months ago, when I shared my first piece with this magazine. I was really surprised by the feedback I received from both friends and strangers alike. A lot shared on how the piece resonated with them and how they were ready to start embracing the many stories that shape who they are. Like my previous article, I wrote what follows some years ago, and never shared it. It’s a series of serendipitous events I experienced leading up to and after the Christmas period.
1. Carpe Vinum
I’m a lover of wine, so of course my first story is wine-related. I have a small collection of wine gadgets and accessories that a wine enthusiast naturally has: the corkscrew, the aerators, bottle stoppers, pourers, coolers; and I’m always shopping for more ‘tools’. Well, imagine my enthusiasm when I walked into a store in Johannesburg and found all these gadgets nicely packaged in wait for it… a wine shaped bottle! I think I actually screamed with exhilaration; but in that moment as I gleefully picked up the latest addition to my wine gadget collection, a little voice told me to put it back (well it was actually my cousin standing right next to me, who made some grunting sound that I translated to ‘B, really? You literally have everything in this apart from the package’). So, I put it back on the shelf, and was surprisingly content, I didn’t give it a second thought, which was odd because I’m normally at one end of the spectrum, either buyer’s remorse or complete regret about not making the purchase, but this time I simply just let it go.
Two weeks later, I was back at home in Lusaka, and a childhood friend was visiting, and casually handed me a gift bag; and surprise, surprise there was my wine-bottle shaped wine gadget set. I screamed with such delight, but what she didn’t understand was the meaning behind that gleeful cry. I was overcome by so much gratitude.
2. Namaste
A few days after this incident I had been saying to myself how I need to get back into my yoga practice. For a couple of months before this, I had not attended any yoga classes, nor really followed my practice at home. It bothered me, and I made a commitment to myself that I would take unlimited yoga classes, so that I could get back on track, so that even during the Christmas break, I would carry on with my practice as the classes are also on break during this period. As I got home from work that day to change into my yoga gear and head out to class, another close friend arrived and handed me a certificate for a month’s worth of unlimited yoga classes. Yes, you guessed it, I squealed in delight! She too didn’t understand the meaning behind that ecstatic cry, until I explained it to her. Again, overwhelmed with so much gratitude!
3. Ganesh Ganesh
The third story is a little different, I had been promising my daughter a holiday over the Christmas period, but the finances are somewhat tricky in ‘ke Dezember’ and ‘Januworry’. Plus, it seems like most of my friends and their children, have birthdays during this period, so the planning sometimes gets overtaken by events. In this case though, there was no planning, and before I knew it January was fast approaching and I had no holiday booked for us. I wanted to do something local, but I had been in a car accident before, and my car was still in the garage. My daughter and I had been invited to a small get together at an old friend’s house and I almost didn’t make it there. Just as we were about to set out for the party, another old friend arrived (yes, I have many of them). She had a trying day and needed to unwind, so naturally we had some wine – with all my cool gadgets– and I had 90% decided that I wouldn’t be going to the get together, but my daughter coaxed me into going. At the soiree, I was talking to an old family friend (yes, another one) and the topic of local holidays came up. I mentioned my dilemma and he just happened to know the manager at one of the lodges in the game parks, and le voila! Holiday sorted! Again, gratitude, gratitude gratitude! The game park was amazing, the lodge, out of this world, and my favourite part had to be my first morning there. I sat in lotus position on the wooded balcony of my chalet, meditating over how seeming obstacles were now a distant past, and as I opened my eyes, I was greeted by the site of a herd of elephant walking across the dry riverbed that the chalet overlooked. Ganesh, the remover of obstacles was right there in front of me, with his whole family; and of course, once again, the gratitude flowed. I proceeded to do my sun salutation and basked in the beauty of it all.
Do you ever have seeming coincidences pop up when you least expect them to? I have learned that when I want something but don’t put too much attachment to how I’m going to get it, it appears in an unexpected way. Dr Michael Bernard Beckwith calls this the ‘let go’. The great thing about this is, it works every time, the key is not to take it so seriously. Just relax and have fun with it. With everything that has been going on in the world these past few years, the ‘let go’ has become a tool that I regularly rely on. I would love to hear your experiences with this. Get in touch with me on my socials and let’s carry on this conversation.
Bwalya Penza, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Bwalya is a certified Adventures in Wisdom Coach and author. She helps children to overcome their fears and be true to themselves through coaching and story, so that they can feel more confident and thrive. Children’s potential and ability to learn has been underestimated. Using story-based coaching, Bwalya gives them the tools to show them their own power by helping them trust and be guided by their inner compass, find direction and create a life they are really excited about. She founded Inner Safari Quest to help children to rediscover their true selves, and just be. "KASUBA'S INNER SAFARI QUEST: A Journey of Self-Discovery & Overcoming Your Fears by Being True to Yourself" is her first book, which she plans to turn into a series. Her mission: Just Be, because being who you are is all that really matters.
