The Evolving Woman Spring 2022 Edition

THE EVOLVING WOMAN

Written by: Anessa Theron

My childhood memories are mostly not pleasant; however, every experience was training ground and preparation to craft a new life journey for myself. My world was centred around survival. I lived with guardian parents in an environment often referred to as previously disadvantaged. I chose to later modify this description to express it as previously differently advantaged, as I acquired invaluable life skills to become buoyant & self-sufficient.

God’s light upon my life was powerfully evident, albeit I never knew or understood this initially. There were many times I questioned God. WHY ME? What have I done to deserve this life and being raised in these terrible and traumatic living conditions?

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On the other hand, I believe my strong belief and faith in the Almighty is how I was able to remain centred regardless of the chaos. I was in middle school when I found solace in my faith, practising multiple pillars of my religion. My unwavering faith also prompted me to enrol myself in afternoon classes to better understand the fundamentals of my religion.

I was a bright student, a curious learner and this held me in good stead. My teachers took a keen interest in me, as I excelled with my schoolwork. They were not oblivious to my challenges, as this was evident with the minimal school friends I played with. It was also apparent with my poor looking school uniform, lack of stationery supplies and often minimal lunch snacks for the day. There was no support at home with school projects or homework, which is where I discovered the library. Reading books became my escape which gave me the freedom to imagine a new world with each magical story I immersed myself into. My love for words and language was born, and I started keeping a diary to reflect my feelings, emotions, my dreams and aspirations.

I instinctively believed without a shadow of a doubt there was more to life, thus this belief became a stepping stone for me to escape my adverse situation to venture on my own. I knew the toxicity of my surroundings and being harshly labelled on what my future would become, I had no choice to leave. I had to overcome severe criticism being a young Muslim lady, as it was frowned upon living alone before marriage let alone at 16 years old. This all occurred in my final school year, resulting in me not successfully completing grade 12, which devastated me– leaving me feeling like a failure. I was however able to take care of myself, as I gained valuable work experience throughout high school which allowed me to sustain living by myself.

I feared making mistakes and felt bound to become the perfect opposite of what my identity was attached to. I desired abundance and prosperity, yet my energy was not in alignment. I was feeling constrained by my thoughts, and the internal script that I am not good enough played on repeat. I was switching roles between victim to perfect princess, one who would

always need to do the right thing. Even though I was in a delightful new home environment, my internal state was empty, still seeking love and acceptance. I am often described as magnanimous, enthusiastic, optimistic, compassionate with an unravelled resilience to endure. Friends frequently expressed how I resemble the attributes of the mythical Phoenix bird, rising from the ashes overcoming endless pain and challenging encounters in my life. Whilst these endearing narratives were amazing to hear, I continued to feel like an imposter! My energy field was clouded with negative influences, attachments and blockages.

I knew I had to cleanse and purify my thoughts and sabotaging behaviours, so I opted to fill these deep voids with outside gratifications. Education was vital to me; so, I ensured that I completed my grade 12 equivalent, although only several years later. I continued to enrich my learning throughout my adult life, and finally formalised my school of life achieving an honours degree at 40.

My resume is a testament to the milestones and infinite successes realised in my career, with monthly income and earnings in the top 1%. My academic accomplishments growing annually with diverse short courses yet still never sufficed, as I yearned to acquire a formal qualification. To me this would be the most pivotal accolade granting me the prestige, respect and credibility I desired.

From adversity to advancement in a world clouded by darkness, I venture towards a new life to elevate myself from being a victim to becoming victorious! We have a choice, to remain in the shadows or advance towards the light. I now know that darkness represents a hidden beauty and there’s purpose in pain from our wounded journeys!

Defining life experiences can leave us feeling elated or in sorrow, crippling our evolution. How we respond is directly correlated to the relationship we have with ourselves.” It requires radical resilience to go deep within yet honouring all of YOU! Fear, imposter syndrome, past beliefs and conditioning are weeds of our internal gardens.

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We hold onto limiting beliefs, pain, suffering, which become breeding ground to continue growing weeds. When we nurture the soil, appreciating the role of our internal ecosystem and shadows by embracing its purpose, it creates space for illumination. Enchanting gardens emulating a paradise on earth, all withstand the harshest conditions to bloom to its blissful splendour. It flows with life’s duality of light and dark. We therefore glow into our divinity, through surrender, trust and unwavering acceptance. This was where my quest for self-love began, and I slowly unravelled my need to belong, or to be selfless, instead focused on self-acceptance and self-respect.

Today I continue to flow with the lightness and darkness, to discover joy and wonder of this new exciting life, in a profound way with appreciation. I am privileged to have exposure across diverse roles during my professional career, enhancing my body of knowledge across various industries. My endeavour is to become an innovative professional serving others who are working towards self-leadership and mastery. I am passionately inspired to help leaders cultivate authentic meaningful relationships, connecting value to people and business, for greater good and social impact.

My brand promise as a Coach & Conscious Change Catalyst, is to inspire bravery to accomplish your purpose with clarity, conviction, resilience, and tenacity, always leading with humility and heart. I am an ambassador of inclusive, equitable learning cultures that fosters positive employee experiences, engagement, and curiosity, to execute business strategy and deliver exceptional shareholder value.

Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aneesa-theron-b7765718/

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