Like many people around the world, I spent part of my weekend listening to Beyoncé’s new album, “The Gift” inspired by the 2019 remake of the Disney classic, The Lion King. For the past couple of days, there has been a lot of conversation surrounding the movie, from interviews granted by the performers to social media posts concerning the European premiere. Soon after the premiere in London, multiple photos and videos emerged showing the moment when Meghan Markle and Beyoncé met for the first time. Amidst discussion sparked by these images, a photo of the Duchess of Sussex prior to her life as one of the British Royals resurfaced and the caption was “the closest I will ever come to channeling beyonce.” She probably never imagined that a day would come when Beyoncé would be hugging her while saying the words “my princess”. While on Good Morning America, Billy Eichner, who voices the character Timon, shared that in 2002, he was a struggling actor in New York and worked as a bartender at The Lion King on Broadway. The old photo of Markle and Eichner’s story reminded me of the beauty of the unpredictability of life. The fact that there is no telling what tomorrow holds for us should not make us not fearful or anxious, but rather, excited and hopeful.

I have spent the past few weeks worrying about my career path because I am uncertain about the degree I am currently pursuing, and I wonder how I can create a fulfilling career by doing what I love. I got the perfect message in Whoopi Goldberg’s remark to New York Times journalist, David Marchese. According to Goldberg, “You can’t create a career. It goes where it goes”. I tried applying this to the bigger picture of life and I realised that I just need to relax; life is that road that unfolds as you travel it. I also discovered that I am focusing on my present situation of uncertainty rather than on the endless possibilities of the future. A lot of us fail to see beyond the “now” and we allow what the current situation is, cloud our judgements about the future situation. Sometimes, you have to ignore what your present is telling you and envision better for yourself, better than what your eyes are allowing you to believe is possible.

When thinking about the future, think big. One of my favourite songs off “The Gift” album is “Bigger”. The lyrics “If you feel insignificant, you better think again…Better wake up because you’re part of something bigger” remind us that we are created for a higher purpose. Have you ever heard someone say, “Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen”? Permit your mind to house wild dreams because they can materialise and those can be your words one day. This is not specifically about fame, fortune, career or academic success; it can be applied to any area of your life. A key personal goal of mine is to build a tight-knit family founded on faith expressed through love. Whenever I think about having a family of my own, that is exactly what I envisage. Claim beautiful things for yourself. Be hopeful that the future has good things in store for you. Imagine lines falling in pleasant places for you.

QUOTES
“What is now proved was once only imagined”- William Blake

“Walk on with hope in your heart, and you’’ll never walk alone”- Shah Rukh Khan

“Your imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions”- Einstein

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P.S 1. If you ever read a piece that you like, please repost (on insta/ snapchat stories) so that more people can read! 2. @EverydayLiving readers; I loved reading Galatians last week! I’m reading Ephesians this week; dm me (@mycandleculture) if you want to talk about it xx