Helping you to better navigate life's changes. #LoveChange

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Cheers to the ‘can of the best’ that saved my daughter’s life

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Bound by blood, I give freely of mine in thanks.

Jonathan Ancer

How I discovered the deep, healing joy of a cold-water sunrise swim

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In the icy embrace of the waves, you can feel the turning of the tide.

Janine Dunlop

At 41, I’m wildly grateful for my precious, high-risk pregnancy

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Two weeks away from my c-section date, my baby boy is moving around in my belly.I feel like I’m being stretched in multiple directions as he shifts to find a comfortable position.That position seems to be horizontal, like he’s casually tanning on a beach. My pelvis aches.I ate a reasonable portion of dinner, and now

Sharon Paine

Every day, I count the blessings of being middle-aged me

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The older I get, the more I forgive myself for who I was and what I did.

Sean O'Connor

Molly, the beloved dog who bridged the generation gap

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She was a gift to our grandfather, and in time, she became a gift to us all.

Pamela Madonsela

Oh, how I yearn for the life of a tradwife!

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I’ve got the chickens and the toddlers. Now where do I get the apron?

Samantha Steele

My little-brained Lola, the dog who loves every human equally

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She may not be the smartest creature, but as a canine therapist, she is top class.

Tamsin Oxford

Raising Rico, the bundle of dandelion fluff who is destined to guide

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He’s got a hardworking life ahead of him, but for now, he’s my bounding companion.

Roshina Ratnam

Goodbye Cutie, the Khayelitsha stray who stole my heart

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She was squint and looked like Gollum, but she became a huntress of the forest.

Brian Bergman

Zardoz, the brave pup who saved me from myself

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He became my shadow and my light when I needed it most.

Jonathan Ancer

When alcohol left me adrift, yoga became my lifeline

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I traded the bottle for the mat, and I’ve never felt more alive.

Capo Cassidy

In the heartache of a beloved teacher gone too soon, I see a lesson for myself

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Do we take enough time, while caring for others, to care for ourselves?

Jocelyn Newmarch

Here’s to the moments of everyday wonder that tingle my senses

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Open your eyes, and your heart and mind will follow.

Cathy Park Kelly

The house that haunts my dreams of starting over

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In a labyrinth in the heart of a garden, I found a new purpose.

Cheryl Damon

How a little act of rebellion made me wake up and smell the onions

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My senses came alive anew when I chose to put my phone aside.

Mandy Collins

7 little sparks of joy that make my day

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From birdsong to forest-bathing to the Beatles, a checklist of happy moments.

Jonathan Ancer

The stranger who shocked me into thinking twice about the meaning of love

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I thought I knew what it meant to love and be loved. Was I wrong?

Sarah Rice

The greatest lesson I learned about the meaning of life from a grumpy old man

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He carried a stick and wore a scowl, but he knew the true secret of happiness.

Jonathan Ancer

What I learned about love from my season of self-preservation

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It was a Christmas epiphany that changed my life.

Nonkululeko Britton

At 55, I’m fabulously single and happy for those I have loved

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I now know that the secret of love is learning to let go of love.

Sean O'Connor

The bittersweet freedom of the day when your child leaves home

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Finding themselves means leaving you behind.

Tamsin Oxford

How I learned to make peace with my mother’s secret shame

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Healing begins when we shine a light on the hidden shadows.

Jocelyn Newmarch

Why I’ve decided to kick my loyalty habit for good

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But not until I get the free frozen yoghurt I deserve.

Jonathan Ancer

This year, I’m going to be the gardener of my dreams

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It’s time to put what I’ve learned about Ikigai into practice.

Nonkululeko Britton

I’m finally getting rid of the guilt I feel for being a golden child

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Before I can help my family, I need to help myself.

Liziwe Ndalana

Put down that phone, and step back slowly!

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Yes, I’m ready at last for my great digital detox.

Capo Cassidy

The seven ways I’m detoxing my brain in 2025

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It’s time to make the big changes I need to be the real me.

Mandy Collins

Here’s to 2025, the Year of Staying Alive

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A new year begins with the lessons of the old

Pamela Mkhize

How I found the recipe for the perfect family Christmas

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At this special time of year, a hearty meal is the symbol of families brought together in love and celebration.

Liziwe Ndalana

How to give yourself the gift of a cheap and cheerful Christmas

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The best way to spend the festive season is not to spend too much.

Cath Jenkin

The four ways I’m changing my mood this festive season

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There are ways to make the holiday season the best time of the year.

Sean O'Connor

In my now-or-never year, I’m finally ready to be a mom

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Life is a great adventure when a new life is on the way.

Sharon Paine

The weird things the songs in my head keep telling me about life and love

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You can learn a lot by listening to your inner music.

Sarah Rice

The hit song that opened my soul to the power of being a woman

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I was in my teens when I first heard it, and it changed me forever.

Cheryl Damon

House is where the heartbeat is

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My love affair with the mesmerising beat of South African House music.

Molebogeng Mangoale

Cracking the secret code of Hallelujah, Leonard Cohen’s hymn for the broken-hearted

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It’s the song that makes the world go round, but what does it really mean?

Gus Silber

Here’s to the gender-bending heroes who set me free to be me

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It wasn’t just their music that changed my life.

Capo Cassidy

I don’t want to Bragg, but I got a “hi” from Billy!

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His music spoke to me, so all I wanted to do was speak to him.

Jonathan Ancer

How the old Holy Man of rock ‘n roll wrote my back pages

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Reliving the memory of seeing Dylan for the first time still brings a tear to my eye.

Sean O'Connor

The life lessons you learn when your layer cake flops

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Yes, you can have your cake and eat it too, but first you’ve got to bake it.

Jocelyn Newmarch

Making it stick

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Making a change is one thing. Making it stick is a different ball game.

Ruda Landman

Elton, my bed’s too big without you

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The loneliness is achingly real, but life must go on.

Rochelle Barrish

I jumped off 11 cliffs to cure my fear of heights

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Did it work? I’m not sure, but it was a birthday present I’ll never forget.

Capo Cassidy

Between the mountain and the sea, I’ve finally found my comfort zone

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Leaving Joburg wasn’t easy, but it was a step I had to be brave enough to take.

Cathy Park Kelly

Can “manifesting” make your dreams come true?

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No, but it can help you visualise the goals you need to work towards.

Tamsin Mackay

The deep dive that fixed the puzzle pieces of my life

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Imagination, wisely used, can be a superpower.

Nonkululeko Britton

Sharlotte Wilson, the Arty Angel of Heidedal

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Through helping others find beauty, she makes herself feel whole again.

Gus Silber

Why choose a life of boredom, when you can live a life of magic?

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It’s not quite as stable, but just think of the stories you’ll be able to tell.

Sarah Rice

How I learned that sometimes every cloud has a solar lining

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It seemed like a good idea, but it turned into a narrow escape.

Capo Cassidy

The future I see when I look back at yester-me

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Can we dream ourselves into who we have always wanted to be?

Jonathan Ancer

Kroonstad, the town that rolled up its sleeves and won back its crown

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The true pride of this Free State town is the people who joined forces to fix it.

Gus Silber

I was a little girl in a flour-sack dress, but in my dreams, I soared

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Sometimes, imagination can be the best escape.

Cheryl Damon

Lené du Toit, the DIY Queen of Koffiefontein

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Stop at the old coffee fountain, and find the time to take the Free State to heart.

Gus Silber

How I finally nailed the art of taking care of myself

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I learned to be the being in charge of my own well-being.

Poppy Louw

My long, cold quest to get total strangers to say the world’s most magical word

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It isn’t an easy task, but it pays off, eventually.

Sean O'Connor

Jacobus Silwer, the art-and-soul renaissance man of Fauresmith

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With pen or guitar in hand, he sings the praises of his beloved Free State dorp.

Gus Silber

The vows we made by the light of the solstice moon

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In the ebb and flow of the tide, a pledge to change for the better.

Nonkululeko Britton

The icky, sticky lesson of babyhood that stuck with me

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The key substance of parenting is a balancing of needs.

Jocelyn Newmarch

Paddy Gordon, Guardian of the Golden Gate’s world of beauty, history, and legend

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Every day, as manager of the park, he learns something new about the wild.

Gus Silber

The life-changing joys of never admiring quietly

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Why paying a compliment can have dividends for both parties.

Molebogeng Mangoale

Nkosana, the Free State “Farmboi” who turned a birthday gift into a thriving boerdery

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For the love of the land, he loves his job.

Gus Silber

The maddening cryptic clue that taught me how to go with the flow

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Sometimes, the best way to solve a problem is to take yourself for a ride.

Jonathan Ancer

How Teacher Kyla’s gumboot dancers rattled their way to the top

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A lesson in letting learners learn to make their dreams come true.

Gus Silber

How my bossy-booted friends taught me to say “yes” to life again

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They were there for me when I needed and valued them most.

Rochelle Barrish

Yes, we’re a mixed couple, but don’t take us at face value

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Diversity isn’t black and white, it’s in the little details that define us.

Capo Cassidy

The ice-cold dip that opened my eyes to the life I really wanted

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Sometimes you have to swim against the tide to find yourself.

Sharon Paine

From Skottelgoed to Captain Hollywood, the dream journey of a Free State Saddlebred champion

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Horses are more clever than humans, says Otto Bekkers, but they can be unbeatable to-gether.

Gus Silber

In the great big puzzle of life, which piece are you?

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The secret to getting ahead is finding the puzzle piece that completes you.

Noah Evans

How I survived one wild and crazy day of saying “Yes!” to everything

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It was a tough challenge, but how could I possibly say “no”?

Jonathan Ancer

From sourdough to singing, my journey to the brand-new me

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What does it take to find the path you need to follow in life?

Mandy Collins

A toast to the childhood dream that made me a teacher

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In sharing what we know with others, we learn more about ourselves.

Cathy Park Kelly

Thabo, the enigmatic earth angel who brought magic into my life

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He was my best friend, but I wonder whether he knew how much I loved him.

Aurelia Mbokazi

When it comes to friendship, I’d rather be a tree than a squirrel

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Being a stranger in a crowd has taught me the power of small, quiet spaces.

Elzé van Achterbergh

The things I wish I’d known about parenting my neurodiverse child

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Looking back, I wish I’d known that it’s okay to throw away the rulebook.

Jess van Wyk

Here’s to the awkward, awesome dance of the atypical mind

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Why be “normal” when you can be joyfully different?

Tamsin Mackay

The 3 little overheard words that changed my view of masculinity forever

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My eyes and ears were opened anew when my son said I love you to a friend.

Liz Marshall

Thank you Rihanna, for setting me free to be myself

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Reliving the memory of a wild night, I’m dancing to a different tune.

Nonkululeko Britton

Life in a women’s shelter taught me the meaning of hope and grace

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In seeking refuge from the world outside, we found a way to be ourselves.

Cheryl Damon

How I learned to love the pressure that turns a flower into steel

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Working in a busy newsroom humbled and empowered me.

Capo Cassidy

What I learned about life from five nightmare weeks in a neonatal ICU

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My baby’s birth was traumatic, but it strengthened both of us for life.

Samantha Steele

How I found a new me on the day I got hopelessly lost in Spain

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It was a day of panic and pain, but it led me in the right direction.

Jonathan Ancer

How I became a gentle parenting revolutionary

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Set your children free to be themselves, and you’ll set yourself free too.

Poppy Louw

Life lessons from a leaky tent

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Abundance is the art of making the most of every moment.

Cathy Park Kelly

You should have seen my son’s face when I gave him a dictionary for his birthday

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He was speechless, but he soon learned the true meaning of words.

Jonathan Ancer

Never be afraid to ask for help in times of pain and trouble

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A lesson about gratitude and the art of paying it forward.

Aurelia Mbokazi

Here’s to the good, ordinary people who bring such joy to my life

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Who needs to win the Lotto when you have good friends in abundance?

Mandy Collins

The stories I tell to weave a magic cocoon of safety around us

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How we find strength and comfort in words whispered and written.

Cheryl Damon

On a moonlit swim, I dreamt of my new home

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Life is all about learning to make the right moves.

Sean O'Connor

Why living with daily dread makes me appreciate life more

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The secret is learning to take life one day at a time.

Liziwe Ndalana

A sensible dreamer’s guide to investing for life

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When it comes to saving, uncertainty pays off in the long run.

Capo Cassidy

How I learned to stop worrying, and fall in love with uncertainty

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If it’s true that anything can and will go wrong, then it’s equally true that it won’t.

Janine Dunlop

Why I’ve embraced the surprising, invigorating power of insecurity

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It’s helped me understand who I really am.

Tamsin Mackay

I wasn’t at all prepared for the gruelling hike that changed my life

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Sometimes it’s best not to know what lies on the rocky path ahead.

Sarah Rice

Life is like a couple of slices of just-baked banana bread

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What the pandemic taught me about uncertainty and possibility

Jonathan Ancer

When your gut feeling is trying to tell you something, listen!

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Why you shouldn’t be afraid to let intuition be your guide.

Sharon Paine

The midnight ride that made me change my mind about the job I loved

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There’s something to be said for a 9-to-5.

Kutlwano Olifant

I finally found the life coach of my dreams. Me!

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Life can change for the better when you stop worrying about the what-ifs.

Mandy Collins

Even in the darkness, my feet will find somewhere to land

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What I’ve learned about daring to take leaps into the great unknown.

Sean O'Connor

Why I’ve chosen to make sweet music from the lemons life has thrown at me

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It’s never too late to start a new overture.

Noah Evans

It took a baby kangaroo to make me say “yes” to the Aussie in the yak hat

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Sometimes, love is a leap and bound of faith.

Cathy Park Kelly

The Change Programme

Are you thinking about making a change? Or trying to make a change? Or dealing with some change that’s happened? Whether you’re getting married or having a baby, moving house or jobs, starting a diet or stopping smoking… the Change Programme is for you.

Start the programme now!

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