4 life lessons learned in Africa

JUST got back from two delicious weeks of African therapy at home in Namibia where the clean air is thick and sweet and smells of damp earth...and the unspoilt nature wraps itself around you all ways, whether you'd like it to or not. 

I'm back with ample inspiration to share with ya'll, starting with these here 4 wisdoms of the wild: 

1.     Slow gets more done

“Nature never hurries, yet everything is accomplished.” Lao Tzu knew the bizniz.

Despite us all knowing by heart the story of the slow-poke Torotoise and the hyper-active Hare, somehow it’s still considered cool to be in a caffeinated multi-tasking frenzy all day.  Nature shows us that everything has its inevitable place and time and there is nothing you can do about it. So calm down, go through all the ropes with undivided awareness and maybe you too will achieve something impressive like an anthill. 

2.     Animals are smarter than us

Birds have brains the size of a lentil. But they fly many miles towards the nearest water without google maps and build nests that Frank Lloyd Wright himself couldn't design. With their BEAKS! We're stupid man. What if we can achieve all kinds of cool shit if we let go of all this "intellect" and trust whatever it is that helps ants be so awesome.

3.     All you need is less

In big cities like New York we’re constantly bombarded form all angles with messages that we don’t have or do enough. You NEED those f*cking trainers if you want that butt and the boyfriend with the white teeth to run with you. You need 6 different kinds of seasoned himalayan salts,  7 varieties of scented candles, and 8 colours of that PURRRFECT cotton tank top and YOU MUST try the new organic smoked walnut butter at Wholefoods if you care about your health and want to live.

Nature says, “That’s bullshit bambis”.

Things don’t ever get us all the way there. Ad agencies do a super job of scaring us into thinking we need to part with our hard-earned monies to get more and more stuff that will finally make us happy and healthy.  Consumption is grossly overrated. On this visit home I took things back a gear: I sat outside on the lawn with the sun on my skin, laughed with friends and family, picked and prepared whatever veg was in the garden, and was surprised at how satisfied my mind and body was with so much “less”.

4. Your tribe matters 

In the age of information overload and endless possibilities (merci internets), there is little excuse not to be awesome and achieve great things with great success in every area of our lives. ASAP.

But I bet my bum that my final reflections before kicking the bucket one day won’t be delight that I owned and sometimes wore that overpriced Miu Miu anything, or that I got my ass into a size 2 after having kids or that I took that selfie on the f*cking crowded Arc de Triomph that earned me all that approval on “social” media. 

Apparently Love is everything. Anyone over 60 who's done some living says it : Time with your tribe is priceless.

That's it.  

Fin. 

7 URBAN HEALTH HACKS: How to live clean in the dirty city

An idiot's survival guide for staying mostly whole in the concrete jungle.

Everyone want's a piece of the Big Apple but the (tamed) elephant in the room is that gotham city ain't exactly your latest pristine-aired blue zone.  

If slow-paced living off the land in a secluded alpine forrest is your jam, then don't get off at this stop. Research suggests that urbanites are more likely to develop asthma, allergies, and mood- or sleep disorders than their rural counterparts.  The neon-lit brighter side, however is that compared to the country kids, us city dwellers are at a lower risk of becoming obese, committing suicide, or dying of a car accident (wait what?!)  and we're likely to have a better quality of life when we're old. Bingo!

Until then, we're happy to take our kale-juice-to-go with a side of smog.

If you, like me, are valcro-strapped to the beating pulse of world's best ever city but also give a shit about your health, then namastay-right here, I've got your back.

7 anti-urban health hacks to bullet-proof your knackered body and overstimulated mind:

1. Go ape-shit on antioxidants. 

It's hardly a newsflash that the city air on our skin and lungs is densely polluted, and our food and water supply is laden with hidden toxins.

Your allies against these grossly harmful chemicals are free-radical busting antioxidants, found most abundantly in: fresh berries, green tea, black coffee, red wine, walnuts, pecans, dark chocolate, dried apples/plums/apricots, curly kale, chillies, prunes, herbs and spices especially dried ground clove, dried mint leaves, garlic and thyme. (I know what you're thinking and the answer is No,  getting drunk on Petite Sirah and binge-eating Lindt 80% cacao is not the solution to your toxic environment)

2. Spring clean your sleep hygiene. 

Let's be real, we SUCK at sleep.  Between uninterrupted noise pollution, lack of black-out darkness and consequent insufficient melatonin, LED exposure from our smart devices, late nights out, over-consumption of coffee and booze, and the never-ending anxiety dialogue going on in our heads, proper sleep don't stand a chance!  The latest research on the harmful effects of sleep shortage on our physical and mental health is alarming ;)  It's time to wake-up and get disciplined about bedtime. For real.

3. Forage for your gut flora.

There are 10 times more bacteria in your intestines than there are cells in your entire body!  And you can't live without them. But stress, sugar and drugs (Aspirin, Advil, Antibiotics) are crowding them out.  These friendly germs you host do everything from food break-down, vitamin synthesis, toxin elimination to immune system regulation. So if you want fewer allergies and infections, clearer skin, better digestion, and apparently even a leaner bod then feed your flora already.

Their favourites are fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, tempeh, miso, kefir, kombucha. Also increase soluble fibre (ever heard of inulin or butyrate?) in foods like Jerusalem artichoke, butter (opt for grass-fed or ghee), garlic, lentils. And consider speaking to your health practitioner about a good quality, high-strain probiotic supplement.

4. Drop it like it's hot. 

Back in the day we used to dance around fires to the sick beat of a hyde-drum every night. Now we binge-watch Broad City alone on the couch. Go dancing. Often. Shake your tail feather like your health depends on it. Because it does.

5. Hunt stillness.  

The flood of emerging research on the far-reaching benefits of mediation is astounding. Mindfulness-based stress reduction is finally going mainstream and if you could do with a little less depression, more creativity, concentration and compassion, a lower risk of heart disease and a better memory, then step on the brakes for just 5 minutes a day and train your mind to shut the f*ck up. Try an App like Headspace to get you stated. Or just shut your eyes and focus your attention on the movement of your stomach as you in- and exhale.

5. Eat leaves. 

Just eat more green leaves. Don't make me tell you again why. They neutralise the acidity and toxicity in our bodies. Add seaweed to the mix - it's an even better detoxifier. Get creative with your greens. Try bok choy and wild egyptian curly kale (that's not a thing but you get my drift. Experiment.) 

6. Get your park on 

A 25-minute walk in a city park is all it takes to recover from urban attention fatigue. Scottish scientists found that when city rat- racers stroll into green leafy parks, their thoughts become attentive, expansive and meditative as their brain waves patterns relax

7. When life gives you lemons from the farmer's market, make lemonade and drink it on the subway and at work.

Get a big glass bottle and chuck 3 slices of lemons and water in it. Drink from it throughout the day. The urban liver is a hard-working, thirsty liver. Give it detoxifying lemon water (the potent stuff is in th peal so chuck it all in there). Your skin will thank you too.

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Advice from BIG ballsy achievers to help us sack up

Unless you're in a staredown with a spitting cobra or about to foot-cross a highway in Mumbai you probably don't need all the fear you're carrying on you like the latest f*cking hipster tote.

Catch yourself when you slip into auto-pilot "no I can't do this"  or "okay fine maybe, but not today" or the ever-popular imagination game of worst-case scenario "but what if..."

STOP! Nooo. WOAH TIGER! What if you CAN? Hush your beak! Disobey your fear! 

Ed Catmull, co- founder of Pixar and author of Creativity, Inc: Overcoming the Unseen Forces that Stand in the Way of True Inspiration. (image source)

“If you aren’t experiencing failure, then you are making a far worse mistake: You are being driven by the desire to avoid it. And...this strategy - trying to avoid failure by out-thinking it - dooms you to fail”

— Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull, Creativity Inc

More quotes from the book. Order it. 

““There’s nothing wrong with fear; the only mistake is to let it stop you in your tracks””

— Twyla Tharp 'The Creative Habit'.

“Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before.”

— Neil Gaiman 's commencemnt address to The University of the Arts Class 2012

““There are so many people in this world that don’t have the leverage and the trust and the promise that we’re lucky enough to be born with. We got this head-start, and to use it just to hide acorns feels to me like a cop-out”

— Seth Godin HOW conference 2014

"All things splendid have been achieved by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstance " - Bruce Barton

"What if you CAN ? But what if you actually can. Seriously"  - me