In acknowledgement and appreciation of 2021, the first year of my sixth decade of life.
What a year!
The year started with me being very aware that it is the year that I turn sixty … and … for some reason, the phrase “the sizzling sixties” was very much in my mind.
The term “sizzling sixties” has a twang that felt good in my tongue and beyond the rhythm of the words, I had heard that, the sixtieth decade is when we really get to BE OURSELVES
I was therefore excited and looked forward to what the beginning of this decade had in store for me.
The year started with some “sizzling” all right … as a carry on from 2020 which had some “sizzles” of it’s on. At a global level, the Covid pandemic was still having its way with humanity … and … at an individual level, I was dealing with an existential crisis both professionally and personally.
Articulating my Purpose, Vision, Core Values and Mission Statement
I also had the opportunity to have my life purpose articulated in language and this provided me with a compass that helped me navigate through my various dilemmas. How this unfolded is probably the topic of another blog. For now, I would like to share with you my purpose statement which I publicly declared on 1st January 2021 as I launched my very first public you-tube video.
“My name is Angelina Dawa and my purpose in life is … “to support an environment of Healing and Reconciliation, where others are Granted Being so that they may Wisely Overcome while Being Fully and Joyously Alive”.
This started the year in quite a positive note and this vibration continued throughout the year. I later also publicly declared my vision, my core values and my mission statements.
Beyond the articulation of these personal fundamentals, I am responding to the call to align, and have embarked on a journey of their embodiment and integration into my day to day life, as I seek to realise my vision, by fulfilling my purpose, through the accomplishment of my mission, and guided by my core values.
I have also started a process of conceptualising, and have even attempted to pitch, the structural identity of an entity that I intend to nurture, incubate, launch and grow.
Empty Nesting
A significant event of 2021 is that my last born daughter turned 21 and promptly left home to chart out her own life path in a different continent.
Parenting and how it impacts on how we live our lives is a big topic. As I may have mentioned in one of my previous posts, I have conceived a total of 12 lives and as we speak, I am humbled to be the mother of 3 beautiful daughters who are alive and well. In my adult life, my children have been one of the main reasons why I wake up every morning to work as hard as I have … and … they probably still are a big portion of my extrinsic motivation and inspiration in life. Seeing the last born become an adult herself, pack her bags and leave home to explore her own path, presence me to the realisation that they are there own individuals … and … other than bog them down with having to fulfil my expectations, it is best to allow them to have their own.
Here again, I have found my purpose statement very useful in helping me to “grant my children being” … and … trusting that they have it within themselves (and whatever I may have instilled in them when they were at the moulding stages of childhood), the inherent capacity to “wisely overcome” whatever life challenges they may come across, “while being full and joyously alive“
Retirement … and /or … Re-tyre-ment
Another significant event of this first year of my sizzling sixties is that I was retired from employment. I had a contract that was due to expire in June 2022 … and … I was also willing to adhere to the government policy of “retirement of public servants at the age of 60”
So, on 19th April 2021, when I turned sixty, I officially retired. The staff clinic was my last positing at the hospital and together with the other members of staff who were retiring then, we were showered with much love.
(My other postings were at the Accident and Emergency Unit and the Cancer Treatment Centre. Two exposures that enabled me experience my purpose quite differently and which led to the professional crisis that I had mentioned earlier on in this blog. ) In my thank you speech during the farewell party, I chose to share a portion of my career history and settled for the members of the staff clinic, the questions that they had previously been asking themselves … “How come at this point of retirement she is still a medical officer?” “Where has she been?”
To be honest with you, I sometimes ask myself these very same questions. As I begin my sixtieth decade, I wonder if I have really fulfilled on my life’s purpose ? … mmmmm…
The first few months after retirement were quite a blur. I can’t quite recall if I did anything productive as such.
I slept … a lot … and … travelled upcountry for some reflection, recuperation, restoration and rejuvenation.
Travelling
In mid-September 2021, this “gift” of retirement (the freedom to choose to travel anywhere, anytime, without having to seek permission from an employer) took a new level. A nephew of mine, a young man living in the USA, died from the complications of Covid. Travel bans and other considerations made it unwise to ferry his body home for burial, and so, despite the very short notice, I made the decision to travel to the USA to participate in Eric’s funeral service and spend some time with his family and friends as they grieved their loved one.
I also got to travel across various states in the vast county of the USA and connected and shared with the places (albeit only in the airports) and the people.
As I travelled back to my country, I paused to reflect on the magic of travel and how honoured and privileged I am to have the opportunity to enjoy this gift.
Online Business
Convinced that retirement is an opportunity to repackage to enable one, like a re-tyred vehicle, go back to the market where the rubber meets the road, I decided to fully apply myself in an online business.
Through an education platform that offers self-paced programs as well as intensive campaigns, coaching and mentorship, as the year commenced, I enrolled in a Lift Off Challenge and set myself off to an Incubate and Accelerate set of activities that kept me on my lap-top for several hours every day and into the wee hours of the night.
I am aware that I have just scratched the surface of having an online presence … and … even as I look forward to experiencing the long-term benefits for this investment, I acknowledged the strides I have made in breaking through my fear of technology. I am now getting to enjoy the ability to set up funnels in Convertri and launch YouTube advertising campaigns in google. Acquiring the knowledge and skills to market online is an asset that I am proud of … and … I am happy to advocate for… through my affiliate marketing business.
Exploring Alternative Sources of Passive Income
Having read the book “Rich Dad Poor Dad”, I have always had the desire to have alternative sources of income … and … I have had some little monies scattered in Money Market Funds, Life Insurances, Saccos, Land Purchasing and even Off Shore Investing. In 2021, I set out to actively manage these by surrendering those that were running at a loss and seeing how best to top up the more beneficial investments.
“The Millionaire in Her”, “The Money Miracles” by Dr. Sure Morter et al and “Motivating the Masses” by Lisa Nichols, are some of the Entrepreneur Summits that I have participated in this year and they have indeed given me new insights about money.
I have also given myself permission to explore the newer forms of investments such us Forex Exchange and Cryptocurrencies.
The Learning … and Seeking … Continues
I have always been a seeker … of knowledge, understanding and meaning. Together with the compulsory continuous education that is mandatory for medical board certification, I have continued to consume a lot of the now readily available online education.
Programs that I have successfully enrolled in and finished include “Living form a Place of Surrender” by Michael Singer, “Conscious Manifestation “by Echart Tolle and “Life Visioning” by Michael Benard Beckwith. On going programs in my Mind Valley Platform include “Life by your own rules”, “Life Book Mastery”, “The Silva UltraMind System”, “The Habit of Ferocity”, “Conscious Uncoupling” and the “Power of Boldness”, amongst others. Podcasts that I listen to regularly include “The School of Greatness” by Lewis Howes, “Inspire Nation” by Michael Sandler and I often tend to follow some of their guests too.
The books that I am currently reading include “The 4-Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferriss and I am also reviewing “The Book of Awakening “by Mark Nepo.
As he generously took me to visit one of the African American historic suites in Tennessee, my ex-brother in law purchased for me the book “ROOTS” by Alex Alley … and it is my intention that by reading it, I will get to understand a little bit better, the history of the African people and their experiences in the world. Another book that was purchased for me while in the US, (this time round by my ex-sister in law who had also generously invited me to her home in California,) is “A Course in Miracles” – a book that I have always wanted to explore. Serendipity does come out to play and just yesterday, I was invited to participate in “A Year of Miracles” a program hosted by Dr. Robert Holdon and his wife Holley, where I would get the opportunity to study and apply the principles of this Course in Miracles.
Earlier on in the year, I also got to be part of a Polaris game, which target people who know that there is something more for them in life … and … offers them an opportunity to playfully explore aspects of themselves that are hidden and unexpressed, yet impact on their lives in forms of dragons and secret identities. In this game, I got to design my super identity and chose ways of being that enabled be to be constantly aware of who I was being at any one moment in time.
Through the Pin Point your Purpose Program of the TOLADO community, I also got to re-visit the reason why I love books … and … how one particular book, The Alchemist, has impacted me the way it has. It is also in the same community, through the structuring and growing your entity program, that I got to conceptualise what kind of business I would like to be identified with.
In June 2021, I took my learning to a completely new level. I enrolled onto a PhD Program to study Quantum Medicine! … (lol) … Yes, I did say Phd … and …. Yes I did say Quantum Medicine!
I have also embarked on an interesting “Going Deeper” journey with Michael Neil’s Genius Catalyst Inc. In this inner circle community, I get to have a launching pad, training ground and resting place, while being part of the magnanimous mission of “raising the consciousness of the planet”. How can it get better than this!
Stillness in the Sixties … and … exploring possibilities of … choosing a new street.
As the year comes to an end, I am very aware that this year, 2021, has been “sizzling” … in many ways.
I have been busy … very busy. This I am thankful for … and I am particularly grateful for the gift to continue to be productive even after retirement
Together with all the activities, in this first year of my sizzling sixties, I have also made some foundations of how I want to “be” even as I continue “doing” … and … as I approach 2022, the second year of my sixth decade … I feel beckoned towards, going beyond the superficial layer where the sizzling of activities take place, … to the deeper stillness of my being.
I am aware that I am ready to choose … and … walk down a new street.