This lockdown I went on lots of walks. Ingrid sleeps well in the pram, so going for a long walk during the day not only tick my box of the daily exercise, also she gets to nap. Thats how I found this podcast on BBC Sounds – World of Wisdom. On this programme, they collect questions from people around the world, they are then answered by spiritual leaders.
So after listening to it one day, I decided to send in my own question about having children in a middle of a pandemic. I want to know how to be strong for my children even though sometime I am terrified by what is happening around us. The day after I sent it, I got an email from the producer and they wanted to have a chat as they thought my question could relate to many people around the world. After two weeks back and forth with emails and video calls, I sat down in front of my laptop and had a chat with Reverend Canon Mpho Tutu van Furth. During the recording session there were some technical issues with my microphone, we were stopped twice to fix some minor issues. However, these little pauses didn’t affect the flow of our conversation, and I really enjoyed the half an hour chat with Mpho.
The final editing version added more depth and clarity to my questions and Mpho’s response. My biggest take was that “Love is an action”. Sometime I can get too caught up from thoughts (hence the name of this blog) and feelings, I forget that action can be the most effective way to empower myself and my children. In Chinese there is a saying “撸起袖子，干就对了！” translated as “Roll up your sleeve, get on with it.” Love is not just about feelings, sometime it’s about despite not feeling like it, still doing the things for our loved ones.
Here is the conversation, it is a bleak question to begin with but the answers are filled with positivity and power. We can all take matter into our own hands, change is up to each one of us. We have the power to make decisions which show our children that life is full of wonders and possibilities. After all, what experience is more miraculous than a birth of a child? To me, none so far.
LIYANG'S THOUGHTS 