I’ve Bean down and out before. I’ve gone through things that make me wonder how I overcame them. We all know that life gets hard sometimes. We experience different waves of hardships when the tough gets going, why do we even have to go through this pain? Why is it always so hard to pick yourself up when you’re hurting even when you have people around you telling you that things will work out? Why is it so hard to just believe that these hardships will pass?

I’ve Bean There, down and out. I never believed life will bless me as much as I have bean blessed like now. I’m not rich nor poor. I’m just a healthy guy that’s just on the right trajectory to making his life more meaningful and appreciating that journey of becoming. I don’t have a formula for this just that I know what makes sense to me and what doesn’t. I just know how to make better use of my time – time is something so precious that we all just take for granted. Think about it, how often do you just do things that don’t stimulate you or add any value to your life? Change that and use that time to do things that make you, you. Wake up on Saturday and do a solo breakfast or a walk in the park, perhaps even record shopping. Apply small changes to your life. Family is everything don’t forget that and no family is perfect, so accept that.

I’ve Bean There, had a good Tanzanian cappuccino, inhabited in my thoughts and took time to understand why I thought my life was shit. Life reintroduced me to some amazing people and they reminded me of the importance of the smaller things in life. “You are already great,” said the one friend, “You just need to believe it”. Self-belief is very important, it’s a process and you need to allow that process to take place. I’m enjoying the process and it feels good but I know that the journey does have its own hiccups along the way. Embrace those stumbling blocks because without those you won’t be the person you’re becoming.

I’ve Bean There, all alone, but I now know to trust the process of going through pain, the process of learning to pick yourself up when things are not going according to plan. This process builds that instinctive ability to combat negativity and ensures you’re able to pick yourself up – but you have to be willing and know that it won’t be easy.

Regards,

Marvin

Writer & Photographer: Tshego Mmahlatji