We were traveling to Jozi for my creative photography workshop and my GPS had taken us on the totally wrong track. This was the third in a trio of giant mishaps, that happened on that trip, which included my clutch going and nearly running out of petrol after the clutch panic. I was stressed out of my eyeballs. The anxiety pulsed through my veins as I worried that we were going to break down and/or land up in a dodgy area. One minute we were near Fourways and the next we were on a dirt road that was a highway still under construction. It all didn’t seem right! It wasn’t right! The GPS lady had us totally off path. Things felt sketchy! It had been a day of sketchy!

And then there was a moment where I looked over at the sun and my soul recognised how delightfully mad it is to be a human. I saw how my brain had me all stressed and in a total state of worry but just outside of my windscreen was the sun in all its beautiful glory. For just a few seconds my mind totally stopped with its chattering and I took it all in – the irony of the human experience versus the beauty of the world that is always there for us to witness.

We eventually arrived safe and sound at my good friends house and after a large glass of wine I picked up my phone and read that my good friend Kirsty had passed away at sunset. She was literally passing over as I was looking at that giant red orb.

I feel like that moment was a message to me directly from her. She always knew how to live, but her life wasn’t always smooth sailing.

• Lie on the ground and look up at the stars she often said!
• Look at the light through the leaves she reminded me.
• Dance in the kitchen.
• Swim whenever you can and skinny dip in the middle of the day just because.
• Drink champagne in a crystal glass and tea from a china tea cup.
• Look at the beauty around you and invite it into all aspects of your life.

That’s how she lived.

Life is crazy. The human experience can be hard. But looking around is a delight.

Oh and! And don’t forget to watch the sunset.

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