A love so beautiful

(Inspired by a painting by Andrea Braun)

His kiss feels like soft sunlight on her face
and an inferno of warmth from their embrace
streams through their fragile bodies.

Both briefly close their eyes
and wish for time to stand still
and for the sun to maintain her spell.

But both know that their love
will be defined by this moment
and holding on is also letting go…

© 2022 Selwyn Milborrow

Allow yourself to be creative

Allow yourself to be creative

It is understandable because all of us are a little bit suspicious of our own talent. And you know what? That could be the beginning or the root cause of procrastination, but that for another day.

I have come to the realisation that my experience of doubting my own talent is not unique; it is something that I share with millions of people. However, in my thirties, I realised that life is too short and how I spend it, is extremely important. It was then that I decided to just write and share my work with the world.

That decision changed my life for the better. I was offered a freelance-journalism job at one of the  country’s top Afrikaans newspapers. And here comes the shocker; I did not even have the academic qualification for the job. Yes, it was just my writing talent and a decision I made to give myself permission to be creative that opened that door.

Allow me to share with you a few facts that will be a practical guide on how to give yourself permission to be creative: nobody can concentrate or focus when there is a lot of noise around them. In that same manner, your creativity will suffocate and suffer if it is plagued with noises from the outside. What noises am I talking about? The noises could be self-doubt, negative inner-dialogue, and excessive self-criticism.

According to brain scientists, that this kind of noise activates the amygdala. The amygdala is often referred to as the fear centre of the brain. When the amygdala is sending that fear signals, it interrupts learning and decision-making, and sabotages the flow of creativity. 

Friends, I hope this piece of advice will help you as you continue your writing journey.

In closing, I would like to encourage you to give yourself permission to be creative. Hey, you have nothing to lose!

Thank you for joining.

Remember to keep your fingers on that keyboard or your pen on that page and reach for the stars!

Gedig vir my vrou op ons spesiale dag

𝐯𝐢𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐯𝐫𝐨𝐮

(𝐨𝐩 𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐠!)

𝐧é𝐭 𝐣𝐲

𝗆𝖾𝗍 𝗇𝖾𝗍 𝖽𝗂𝖾 𝗍𝗋𝖾𝗄

𝗏𝖺𝗇 𝗆𝗒 𝗆𝗈𝗇𝖽 𝗈𝖿 𝗈ë

𝗐𝖾𝖾𝗍 𝗃𝗒 𝗂𝖾𝗍𝗌 𝗉𝗅𝖺

𝖾𝗇 𝖺𝗌 𝗃𝗒 𝗏𝗋𝖺

𝗂𝗌 𝖾𝗄 𝗅𝖺𝖺𝗌𝗍𝖾 𝗈𝗆 𝗍𝖾 𝗀𝗅𝗈

𝗈𝗆 𝗍𝖾 𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗄 𝖽𝗂𝖾 𝗍𝗒𝖽 𝗆𝖺𝖺𝗄

𝖽𝖺𝗍 𝗀𝗂𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗂𝗇 ‘𝗇 𝗐𝖺𝖺𝗌 𝗏𝖾𝗋𝖻𝗒 𝖽𝗋𝗒𝖿

𝖾𝗇 𝗇𝗈𝗎 𝗄𝖺𝗇 𝗇𝖾𝗍 𝗃𝗒 𝗏𝗈𝖾𝗅

𝖺𝗌 ‘𝗇 𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗋𝗆 𝗄𝗈𝗆 𝗐𝗈𝖾𝗅

𝗂𝗇 𝗁𝗂𝖾𝗋𝖽𝗂𝖾 𝗅𝗒𝖿

𝗁𝗈𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌, 𝗅𝗂𝖾𝖿

𝗇é𝗍 𝗃𝗒 𝗄𝖾𝗇 𝗆𝗒

𝗁𝖺𝗋𝗍 𝗌𝖾 𝖽𝗋𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖾

𝖾𝗇 𝖽𝗂𝖾 𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗅𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖾

𝗐𝖺𝗍 𝖽𝖺𝖺𝗋𝗎𝗂𝗍 𝗌𝗉𝗈𝖾𝗅

© 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐰𝐲𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰

𝗠𝘆 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 – 𝟮𝟳 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬

With the COVID-19 pandemic reaching a peak, we have become more impatient because we have not volunteered for this, nor have we asked for it. Alas, it is here. We, however, do not have to accept it, but just be aware of its presence by adhering to social distancing and hygiene practices. It means that we must not conceal the fears and uncertainty brought on by the pandemic.

Have you noticed the increasing number of posts by people calling for the lockdown to end? The government is accused of lies etc. Really? Welcome to the new normal; we are in uncertain times. The whole world (including third world countries) is dealing with a pandemic that nobody understands. All economies are affected, some admittedly more adverse than others.

We do have one certainty, and that is the fact that God is not bound by time. COVID-19 has a ‘shelf life’ like all the other viruses from the previous centuries. So, this too shall pass. To say the pandemic has uprooted our lives is an understatement. Before the lockdown, most of us were used to partitioning our time to strike a balance between work, studies, hobbies, etc. The world is not going back to ‘business as usual’ any time soon. So, what do we do in the meantime?

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we all complained that we had no time or were out of time. Maybe now is the time to take stock. Perhaps we should not go any further until we have accomplished this. How can we achieve this? We can start by uniting in the fight against a common enemy known as COVID-19.

Let us take heart in the fact that according to 2 Chronicles 16:9, "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”

A Man's Got To Have a Code (Poem)

𝗔 𝗺𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲

(𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧-𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚)

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛

𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚠𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐!

𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚘 𝙸 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚗

𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚎 𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐?

𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚘 𝙸 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚗

𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐?

𝙼𝚛 𝚖𝚊𝚗, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚍

𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔,

𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚙𝚞𝚝

𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚔𝚗𝚒𝚏𝚎!

𝙽𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐’𝚜 𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛

𝚊𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔

- 𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚗'𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚍𝚎!

𝚄𝚗𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚍𝚎

𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎,

𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚠 𝚊𝚗 𝚞𝚗𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚐𝚒𝚏𝚝,

𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝

𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚋𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜

- 𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚗'𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚍𝚎!

𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚘𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚔𝚎 𝚖𝚎,

𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚙 𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚕𝚎

𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝’𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚎!

𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚋𝚛𝚞𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚍,

𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞!

𝙸 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜

𝚍𝚛𝚢 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚘𝚠𝚗

- 𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚗'𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚍𝚎!

© 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝘄𝘆𝗻 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄

Gedig vir Ma

𝗴𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗴 𝘃𝗶𝗿 𝗠𝗮

𝙼𝚊, 𝚍𝚒𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚟𝚊𝚗 𝚓𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚍

𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚖𝚢 𝚔𝚕𝚊𝚊𝚜𝚟𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚎

𝚝𝚘𝚎 𝚎𝚔 𝚗𝚒𝚎 𝚔𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚊𝚙 𝚗𝚒𝚎

𝚎𝚗 𝚓𝚘𝚞 𝚘ë 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚔𝚛𝚒𝚔𝚟𝚘ë𝚕𝚜

𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚕 𝚖𝚢 𝚗𝚊𝚐𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜

𝙼𝚊, 𝚠𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚝 𝚓𝚢 𝙷𝚘𝚖 𝚐𝚎𝚟𝚛𝚊

𝚠𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚟𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚐 𝚗𝚘𝚐 𝚍𝚛𝚊?

𝙼𝚊, 𝚎𝚔 𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚓𝚢 𝚖𝚊𝚊𝚔 𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚍

𝚟𝚒𝚛 ‘𝚗 𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚍𝚞𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐

𝚎𝚗 𝚎𝚔 𝚟𝚒𝚛 ‘𝚗 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚜𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚊𝚛 𝚜𝚎 𝚟𝚊𝚕

𝙼𝚊, 𝚠𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚘𝚎𝚝 𝚎𝚔 𝙷𝚘𝚖 𝚟𝚛𝚊

𝚘𝚖 𝚓𝚘𝚞 ‘𝚗 𝚙𝚊𝚊𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚝𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚊𝚛?

𝙼𝚊, 𝚖𝚊𝚐 𝚖𝚢 𝚐𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚐

𝚓𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚢 𝚖𝚢

𝚟𝚒𝚛 𝚎𝚠𝚒𝚐

© 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝘄𝘆𝗻 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄

'n Ma Se Advice (Afrikaaps Poem)

‘𝗻 𝗺𝗮 𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲

𝗆𝗒 𝗄𝗂𝗇𝖽, 𝖾𝗄 𝗄𝖺𝗇𝗇𝗂𝖾 𝗆𝖾𝖾' 𝗌𝗍𝗂𝗅𝖻𝗅𝗒 𝗇𝗂𝖾

𝖾𝗄 𝗅𝗒𝗄 𝖺𝗅 𝗌𝗈𝖾𝗌 '𝗇 𝗆𝗂𝖾𝗃𝖺𝗆𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗄𝗄𝗂𝖾 𝗏𝖺𝗇 𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗂𝖾 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗋𝗒

𝗆𝗒 𝗄𝗂𝗇𝖽, 𝗂𝗌 𝖺𝗅𝗅𝖾𝗌 𝗈𝗋𝖺𝖺𝗂𝗍 𝖻𝗒𝗋𝗂𝖾 𝗁𝗒𝗌

𝗄𝖺𝗇 𝖽𝗃𝗒 𝗇𝗂𝖾 𝗏𝖾’𝗌𝗍𝖺𝖺𝗇 𝗁𝗒 𝗍𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍 𝖽𝗃𝗈𝗎 𝗏𝖾’𝗄𝖾𝖾𝖽 𝗂𝖾

𝗁𝗈𝖾𝗄ô 𝗅𝗈𝗌 𝖽𝗃𝗒 𝗇𝗂𝖾 𝖽𝖺𝗂 𝗌𝗅𝖾𝗀𝗀𝗂𝖾

𝗐𝖺𝗇𝗇𝖾 𝗀𝖺𝗍 𝖽𝗃𝗈𝗎 𝗈ё 𝗈𝖾𝗉𝗀𝖺𝖺𝗇, 𝗁𝗎𝗁

𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗄 ‘𝗇 𝗌𝗅𝖺𝗀 𝗏𝗂’ 𝖽𝗃𝗈𝗎𝗌𝖾𝗅𝖿, 𝗆𝖾𝗂𝗌𝗂𝖾

𝖽𝖺𝖺𝗂 𝗌𝗅𝖾𝗀 𝗆𝖺𝖺𝗄 𝖽𝗃𝗈𝗎 𝗇𝖾𝗍 𝗌ê𝖽

𝖾𝗄 𝗄𝖺𝗇𝗇𝗂𝖾 𝗈𝗇𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗎 𝗐𝖺𝗇𝗇𝖾𝗅𝖺𝖺𝗌

𝖾𝗄 𝖽𝗃𝗈𝗎 𝗀𝖾𝗌𝗂𝖾𝗇 𝗌𝗆𝖺𝖺𝗂𝗅 𝗈𝖿 𝗅𝖺𝗀 𝗁𝖾𝗍𝗍𝗂𝖾

𝖾𝗇𝗇𝗂𝗍 𝗆𝖺𝖺𝗄 𝗆𝗒 𝗀𝖺𝗅 𝖻𝖺𝗂𝖾 𝖻𝖺𝗂𝖾 𝖻𝗂𝗍𝗍𝖾𝗋

𝗐𝖺𝗇 𝖽𝗃𝗒 𝖾𝗇𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗍𝖺𝗂𝗇 𝗁𝖺𝖺𝗂 𝖽𝗈𝗎𝖽𝖺𝖺𝗂

𝗐𝖺𝖺’ 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝗁𝗒 𝗍𝗈𝖾 𝖽𝗃𝗒 𝗂𝗇𝗇𝗂𝖾 ê𝖿 𝗆𝗈𝖾𝗌 𝗐ê𝗄

𝗆𝖾𝗍 𝖼𝖺𝗋𝖽𝖻𝗈𝖺𝗋𝖽𝗌 𝗂𝗇 𝖽𝗃𝗈𝗎 𝗀𝖺𝗍𝖾 𝗌𝗄𝗈𝖾𝗇𝖾

𝖾𝗇 𝗅𝖾𝗌𝗍𝗂𝖾𝗄𝗌 𝗈𝗆 𝖽𝗃𝗈𝗎 𝗌𝗄𝗂𝗋𝗍, 𝗆𝗒 𝗄𝗂𝗇𝖽

𝖽𝗂𝖾 𝗀𝖾 𝗏𝖺𝗍-𝖾𝗇-𝗌𝗂𝗍 𝗆𝗈𝖾𝗍 𝖾𝗇𝖽 𝗄𝗋𝗒

𝗐𝗂𝖾 𝖽𝗋𝖺 𝖽𝗂𝖾 𝖽𝗈𝖾𝗄 𝖾𝗇 𝗐𝗂𝖾 𝖽𝗋𝖺 𝖽𝗂𝖾 𝖻𝗋𝗈𝖾𝗄

𝗄𝗒𝗄 𝗁𝗈𝖾 𝗅𝗒𝗄 𝖽𝗃𝗒 𝖺𝗅

𝖿𝗅𝖾𝖾 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝗈 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗎𝗇𝗌𝖾𝗍, 𝗆𝗒 𝗄𝗂𝗇𝖽

𝖺𝗅 𝗆𝗈𝖾𝗍 𝖽𝗃𝗒 ‘𝗇 𝗎𝖻𝖾𝗋 𝗅𝖺𝖺𝗍 𝗄ô

𝖾𝗇 𝖻𝖾𝗀𝗂𝗇 𝗏𝖺𝗇 𝗏𝗈𝗈𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝖿, 𝖻𝖺𝖻𝗒

𝗇ê𝗍𝗈𝗎 𝗌ê 𝖽𝗃𝗒 𝖽𝖺𝗂 𝖻𝗅𝗈𝗎 𝗈𝗈𝗀 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝗇𝖾𝗍𝗍𝗂𝖾 𝗐𝗂𝗇𝖽

𝗐𝖺𝗍 𝖽𝗃𝗈𝗎 𝗍𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝗂𝖾 𝖽𝖾𝗎𝗋 𝗀𝖾𝗄𝗅𝖺𝗉𝗉𝗂𝗍

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