I’m a freelance writer based in Johannesburg, South Africa.
I started writing when I was 9. I wrote a story about a tiger and proudly handed it in to be graded. When it came back, the first thing I noticed was a big red line drawn across the page. According to my teacher, there was no way I could have written it. She reckoned it was too good to be true and gave me zero.
That moment sparked something in me. Instead of shrinking in shame, my tummy fizzed. Perhaps I do have magic in me, I thought. So I wrote some more and sure enough, the more I leaned in to what I was good at, the better I became and the more the magic flowed. And the more my tummy fizzed.
I now run a business writing for a living!
Photo by Leah Kelley
I also teach people about that magic and nothing gives me bigger pleasure than watching people and brands come alive when they find the right WORDS to use strategically in order to achieve their unique objectives.
Because let’s face it, we are ALL creative beings at heart. We ALL have a story that only we can tell and deep within we ALL have a desire to leave our unique creative imprint on this world.
I lucked out with that zero. Without it, who knows where I would have been.
If you’d like to buy my book, read my blogs or connect with me regarding one of your creative writing projects, my website is the best place to start. www.leemayimele.com
I encourage you to make your creative mark on the world. I’m looking out for it.
Psychology says that it is easier for us to feel thankful when we surround ourselves with symbols of abundance.
* A bowl filled with fresh fruit (Freng Shui says oranges for the win!)
* A vase of fresh flowers (You don’t even have to buy the fancy stuff. I sometimes use whatever I can pick along my morning walks and pop them into an ordinary drinking glass!)
* A display of your finest wine/preserves/choccies
* Pictures of holidays, family celebrations and paintings of sunflowers/corn fields…things in full bloom. Use magazine cut-outs if you don’t have your own pics.
* A spritz of something that smells luxurious in the air or on your neck
Photo by Any Lane
Every time you SEE/TOUCH/FEEL/SMELL those things you will tune into a HIGHER FREQUENCY.
The idea is to re-programme your sub-conscious. Very soon you will start believing:
There is always enough!
The world is rich and full of prosperity
There is more than enough!
There is bounty all around me
I am worthy of it all!
Join me this week, please. This is especially important when you don’t feel like you have enough. I know this feeling well.
2023 is just around the corner and I have one last story to share before we say goodbye to 2022:-)
I’m not really one to make “resolutions” but every year at Summer Solstice (21 December), I spend time on retreat.
In 2021 I decided to do something slightly different and I hosted a beautiful Solstice Circle of Light for about 100 people in Johannesburg, together with Namaskar Wellness Hub. The evening was magnificent and everything was going according to plan as I guided everyone through the delicate writing process. We wrote about our Hero/Heroine’s Journey (yes, including the Covid shit show). Very gently around a bon-fire under the stars, we took turns to burn the words that poured from the losses, disappointments and fears. It was intense.
The second part of the ceremony was “dreaming-in” the new but right before we were about to start part 2, I felt a bit faint and had to sit down.
That’s when I received the most special gift. I received a very clear message from my Guides :“First Give Thanks!”
It was incredible! But, I I had been so high on adrenaline and eager to get to the fun part where we made our wish lists for 2022, that I missed out on the one magical ingredient that always precedes great manifestation: GRATITUDE.
I stood up and quickly changed gear. “Right everyone,” I said, “The next part of our exercise is to make a list of every little thing that made you smile this year. And thennnn……then we can get right on to drawing up our wish lists for 2022!”
This year I wasted no time. I did my 2022 Stocktake in a little cove on the beach.
I wrote about what I had set out to achieve in 2022, how I slipped up along the way but kept my eye on the prize, the many allies/enemies/frenemies/traps/red herrings I encountered as well as the angels/heroines/superheroes and signposts that got me to the finish line. And my Gratitude List for 2022 was long!
I was guided to share this story with you, just in case you aren’t really into making resolutions either but have been wanting to do something special to mark the end of the year. If so, perhaps you want to try my THREE part method?:-) I offer no guarantees of winning Lotto numbers but plenty assurance that the more you focus on giving thanks for what you already have, the better your chances of manifesting like a boss in 2023!
One of the first things people say to me when they hear that I’m a writer is “Oohhhh, I want to write a book too!”
My response “You should!”
Followed promptly by, “…and you totally can!”
The sad thing is that 99% of those people never write anything and I know why. It goes back to the lie that’s been told to us for generations: YOU’RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
And everyone has a right to tell their unique story.
I’ve been working on helping other people find the courage to tell the story that only they can tell. To date, I’ve helped hundreds of authors get their stories out of the heads, into their hearts, onto their computer screens and then out into the world.
The courage lies in the ability to go beyond the lies. That lies that say: Your story? Ha ha! Who are YOU to be interesting? What makes YOU think that YOU have anything to offer to the world?Give it up while you still have some dignity.
As a writing coach, I make it my business to take my clients beyond that self-talk. Take my dad, for example who has been creative all his life. He sang his stories as an Elvis impersonator in his early years, sketched his way through many a childhood trauma, created poetry through his woodwork and told of his heartache with his guitar. He would laugh if I were to tell him that his stories are still in draft because he is yet to WRITE them. I guess I would laugh too. But only because I know I am write..I mean right.
I intend to win this one. And get him to write his memoir, Insha’Allah, as my muslim friends so beautifully say, “If God so wills it”.
Lee
If you would like to work with me, submissions are open now until the end of January 2023. Please get in touch for submission guidelines.
This is exactly what our creator had in mind when they finalised my factory settings!
Few things make me happier than going to bed early + waking up early. It has definitely made me healthier and since good health is our true wealth, I’ll be the first to say thank you for being able to check the “wealth” box too (while I wait for the billions in the bank).
As for being “wise”, I guess being able to recognise what I have in this moment is the real measure of wisdom for me.
Am I wise enough to know that I don’t know?
Am I wise enough to know that every breath is a gift, every second in this body precious?
Am I wise enough to ask for help, change course, learn, stretch, surrender to both pleasure & pain?
Am I wise enough to never call myself wise
And, most importantly,
Am I wise enough to know when a carefully timed double shot of Espresso is required because life is not linear and mine is no boarding school?
I’m learning.
I encourage you to be you, to share you, to celebrate you. Imagine how dull life would be if we all loved our orange juice with salt?
Lee
I just love this little doodle my 8 year old did of me! He sure knows how much his mom loves her some Ed Sheeran “Bad Habits” in those mom jeans. As for the cute eyes, well…what can I say?
Yogananda said: “Don’t wait for reversals to make you grateful for what you had.”
Shoo, that one hit me in the chest guys because let’s face it, this is our nature as human beings. We stare our healthy bodies/happy kids/safety/relationships/security/financial security/good fortune in the face and it’s only when we lose one of those things that we realize what we had going. Right?
I’ve cultivated the habit of making a daily Gratitude List. In fact, I make several a day (on paper/on my phone) and I have done this for 15+ years. Every.Single.Day.
It’s a bit like brushing my teeth or going out for my daily walk sometimes. It’s a slog! I can come up with a million reasons I should postpone starting it or not doing it at all, but once it’s done, I’m like … “Girl!?”
My lists are often simple and things like my housekeeper Mavis, my children’s teachers and food top my list, but just yesterday, I had over 30 items on my Gratitude list. They just flowed.
It was a simple, shitty Monday of chores, no-Mavis and dreary weather but I had things like:
1. Old McDonald had a farm (on the piano by an 8 year old!)
2. Spinach from the garden
3. Take away coffee from the hubs
4. My Dishwasher
5. Fireplace
6. Bookclub stash
8. Walk with Celeste
9. Home Office
10. Birds galore
11. Chats with school moms
12. Found my keys!
13. Boy scored goal in hockey (hates hockey)
14. Girl happy to perform in school concert (eek)
15. Great meeting with editor
16. Prawn rissole from heaven
….okay, I’ll stop there but you get my drift.
I didn’t have to wait until my body was too sick to walk or my garden too barren to give me spinach to appreciate the glory of these little moments. I saw them and I winked in absolute gratitude for all the many blessings.
And I tell you, the more I do this, the more I want to. Always.
In all the spaces where you cry alone, smile alone and think of all the dreams that slipped away
Forgive yourself for all you wish you had shared when you had plenty
All the sunsets you didn’t lift your head to notice
All those days when you tried but fell flat on your face
And buried your tears under tons of fake smiles, makeup, noise and wine
Forgive yourself for the jealous moments
The ugly sessions of gossip and untruths
Forgive yourself for not finishing what you started and not doing what you promised
Forgive yourself for staying
And going
And waiting
And watching days turn into months turn into years of what ifs
Forgive yourself for not taking a chance
And for taking too many chances
On the same old same old people and things that could-have/should-have/would-have but didn’t
Forgive yourself for losing hope
For looking outside for answers
For all the opportunities to grow and stretch and break free that offered you a ride you didn’t take
Forgive yourself for the seasons that went by in a flash
For forgetting where you come from
For comparing yourself to people whose paths appear lighter than your own
Forgive yourself
Forgive yourself
Forgive yourself
Forgive yourself for not forgiving yourself sooner
…and breathe!
xoxo Lee
~Written on a cold, Joburg morning while sitting on my kitchen floor where I saw the perfect sunny spot. I crawled up to it, grabbed a piece of paper, and let the download come in. Just like the sun!
Sharing does not come easy to children. Well actually, sharing does not come easy to human beings I’ve decided.
This is my conclusion after standing on the side of the sports field and using every fibre of self-restraint I own not to run onto the pitch to grab the ball from kids who hog it. Pass the blooming thing, I shout inside my head, Open your eyes, dude…there are 3 free kids waiting in the wings. It’s a team sport!
I’m sure I’ve said that last bit out loud? Never!
Photo by Miguel u00c1. Padriu00f1u00e1n on Pexels.com
Is it that we are all driven by some inner desire to be the hero? Or perhaps we’re just chasing the high that we know comes from scoring/winning? I don’t know what the answer is but I do think that when it comes to any group activity, understanding our role in the team is as key as understanding the overall objective. Imagine if every single soccer game had 8 Ronaldos, I say. Who would be the Ruud Krol (I’m giving away my age) to help the goalie in the back? I think I’ve made my point.
As for adults, we don’t easily master the sharing thing either despite our pretenses. True sharing implies empathy: the ability to get into another’s mind and see things from their viewpoint. How many of us can truly say that we can do that?
I’m working on less of ME and more of WE.
…unless it comes to leftovers in the fridge. Then it’s me, me, me all the way. Junior School-sport style:-)
What could go wrong on a morning when all the traffic lights are out?
Well, I packed some hot dog rolls into a Woolies shopping bag together with some cheese grillers and set off to gym. Stay with me – the hot dogs and gym visual is true.
The plan was to give the food away before it expired without my husband finding out. Long story…
I never quite made it to the gym (no surprises there) but I decided to sit down for some scrambled eggs instead. Just before I picked a spot, I saw someone I could give the food away to. The man sells Homeless Talk, a newspaper that I have seen a million times but never bought.
As I sat down at the cafe for my breakfast, I reached for my wallet to put the parking ticket in the spot where I always put my parking ticket and that’s when I realised that my wallet was in the black hot dog bag! The plan had been to stick the empty shopping bag into my gym bag, that’s how my purse ended up inside. Note to self: forget gym.
When I related the story to my children later that afternoon, sure I added some drama but essentially:
I had no cash to get out of the parking lot and had to make some decisions quickly.
So I asked the parking lady for a free pass. Sure, she said.
The cafe owner said that I come could totally have stayed for a free breakfast.
I opened my banking app to see if there had been any transactions. Cancel Cards/Not? Pause, I decided.
As I drove up the road towards the Homeless Talk seller, I saw him holding out the Mykonos blue purse with a look that said, “………..!”
The kids screamed “Nice hot dog lady!” but the man’s face really screamed “dumb blonde!” I was guilty as charged on both counts.
But here’s what this story is really about: people people, people.
We are all just people who need people. And that’s how we all get by. By needing people and by allowing people to need us. Barbara Streisand was right.
Lee
P.S. I couldn’t find much info online re Homeless Talk but the lovely guy selling his is at the garage near St Davids in Inanda close to Summer place:-) Didn’t catch his name. Don’t tell him you know me.
Yesterday was 21/12/2021 – the longest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere; the day celebrated as The Summer Solstice.
I was barefoot in the garden at sunset at a beautiful venue in JoBurg to host a writing workshop and Solstice Ceremony for 50 people. I was eager to get into my role.
Stories connect humanity. Without stories, we are empty.
We listen to stories, so we can connect with others. We tell our stories, so we can heal.
Every day, you are telling yourself a story from the moment you wake up until you fall asleep.
We tell ourselves stories so we can unpack and process what we have been through.
Everyone is a storyteller and I stand by my previous sentiments that everyone has a story that only they can tell.
So we wrote with abandon.
We worked with the classic theme The Hero/Heroine’s Journey because let’s face it, us Heroes have been weighed down by stuff (God, we are living through a pandemic and trying to keep our shit together!)
Our hearts have been heavy
We have become well acquainted with fear, control, anxiety, jealousy, feelings of deep darkness
We have lost people
Seen suffering on a level that we have not seen in our lifetime
And we have been walking with a constant threat…Is this nightmare over yet?
…And yet, there is the part of all our stories that will tell of crossing the threshold (as the Hero/ine does in the theory) and entering a brand new chapter of our lives where we truly are victorious.
That’s really what we all want and there’s really where the energy of the Solstice was guiding us.
Always towards the Light!
After our writing, we moved on to the Fire Ceremony where we burnt the words that poured from our darkness. I said, “Watch your letter burn. Watch the paper become ashes. Watch the smoke rise from the paper. Know that the materials of the ink and the paper have returned to the basic elements and you are free!”
And so it is,
Lee
If you would like to book me for your own Write & Burn Ceremony or any other Writing Workshops, my calendar for 2022 is now open!
Lee Mayimele - Writer 