Ayanda makes being kind fashionable. She has on numerous occasions helped me rise, both personally and professionally. My many conversations with her are always about finding ways to move forward, rise and to redefine success on our own terms.
A great lover of Barry White’s music, and a huge book enthusiast, her note below is a powerful reminder to remain true to what makes us thrive.
Rise.
For most people, including myself, the drag that is everyday life makes it difficult to live a life without some form of anxiety. Oftentimes, everything feels like a constant roller coaster of problem-solving and firefighting. Ok, life is difficult, but it sure is beautiful if you focus on the stuff that matters.
It took a long time and a lot of work to understand and to truly embrace these truths. Part of getting here included, reading and re-reading many times over a book by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, called The Invitation.
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living, I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow, if you have been opened up by life’s betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty, even when it’s not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know I you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the sliver of the moon: “Yes!”
It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after a night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me who you know and how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me where or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
Ayanda Mbanga is an award-winning, Johannesburg-based, black female entrepreneur. She is passionate about inspiring people concerning their careers; helping them to redefine success and bring about meaningful changes.
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My name is Nokubonga Mbanga and I am committed to making an impact.
I work with talented, driven & productive individuals and organisations that want to make a difference in the world while honouring their values & inner wisdom.
