Great women are born out of difficult times

Macilyne Chitepo

THIS year, the celebration of Women’s Month was overshadowed by the coronavirus crisis, which has stolen the thunder of this important month. But it is in these times of challenges that we can fully appreciate the women in our lives and society.

Women are well known for being very innovative and they never run out of ideas, turn your home into an in-home fitness centre together with in-home health diagnostics.

Even as we face the coronavirus crisis, (not taking anything away from men) the women are playing a significant role in the stockpiling of the necessary survival items, the well-being of the children who are out of school and making sure the rules of social distancing and other protective measures are met. It is turning out that this year, March, Women’s Month, is very eventful with the lives of so many turned upside down. And amidst all the chaos there is the recognition that women must be celebrated for all they do and all they represent.
Serendipity
When I started writing, my boss asked me if I have ever heard of the word Serendipity. Yes, I had heard of the word and probably used it the wrong way (grammar grumbler). He further explained that this word came to him in his dream. Serendipity is the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. Yes that is me when I started writing it was by chance.
I have been celebrating women the whole of this month and have just realised that in the middle of this women’s month the Corona Virus escalated and thus before the end of the month we were all forced to stay at home for the next 21 days. So what does this mean to the iron women who are used to spending eight hours a day at work in meetings. This Corona Virus is waking us up and now we have to appreciate our hobbies or talents as women. Now women have a deeper appreciation of doing chores and hobbies at home.
Monetising hobbies
As we wrap up women’s month it is amazing how most women have monetised their hobbies into income generating projects. My aunt in South Africa last week posted on the family group her videos and it’s amazing how she has turned her yard into dungeon within a week. A lot of women have come out of their little shells and proved that the sky is this limit. Women have decided to stay indoors and train indoors because today’s women are more particular about fitness and health.
Another group shared a lot of e-books to read during this lockdown period. We are living in a world where, with the prominence of social media, books are becoming less and less important. Thus most people spend their time texting, tweeting, on YouTube, and WhatsApp
How to be happier at home
I have just been reading ‘My other Experiments and Practice of everyday life’ by Samuel Johnson. In this lockdown period we all need to be content at home and I am going to share with you some of the things you can do to be happier at home.
In-home Fitness
Women are well known for being very innovative and they never run out of ideas, turn your home into an in-home fitness centre together with in-home health diagnostics. All those old tires that have been irritating you all these years why not turn them into a fully-fledged fitness possession. Growing up I was a Drum Majorette when I was aged 12/13 and funny how the human brain works and not that I have been locked down for more than a week all those drills are coming back to mind and yes am replacing my zumba lessons with my drum majorettes skills and I am finding it interesting. In fact I called myself several names for all these years that I never maximised on.

Make your home easterly
Growing up to a mom who was a school teacher we were taught sewing at an early age and who remembers all those magazines in each household. So our mothers taught us macramé, how to make Easter eggs and Easter bunnies using household material. So this is one of the ways we can be happy at home during this lockdown period. Get all those old clothes you no longer require and be creative and make Easter bunnies. Make your own Easter decoration hanging tree and come up with fabulous ideas to inspire you.
Sort out your storage space

“Your home is a living space and not a storage space”, getting rid of things is not an easy task for most women, Gretchen says “Looking around I realise I don’t need more in my house, I just need to glean happiness from what I already own.” True hey, at one point in our lives we all need to declutter and sort our homes and storage space and make more space for new things. An aunt of mine during the festive break said “enough of ornaments in this house, we now need to start getting rid of most things,” before she left we had time to sort out a few things. I know some women can take this in a wrong way if a friend or relative suggest decluttering. Try it, it will make your house a brand new place. The more things you own the more they own you.

Make time for what’s important
We all need to make time for what is important in our lives. If gardening is what makes you happy please create time for it. If cooking and baking is what’s important in your life please make time for it. When I started this article I mentioned the word “serendipity” I have just realised my articles put a smile on some people’s faces and each week they look forward to my article because most people strongly feel business issues are serious issues. I am not just passionate about women empowerment. but I have realised I love writing because once I start I don’t want to finish. So yes ladies let’s all make time for what is important in our lives and do not forget to monetise all your hobbies and efforts.
Conclusion and Recommendations
All in all it can thus be concluded that if you look at the history of entrepreneurship during economic crisis, it can be noted that most companies were born out of difficult times. I can foresee a lot of business models and ideas that will emerge out of this lockdown phase. Yes opportunities exist where there is chaos and as we say goodbye to our Women’s month I just want to say congratulations to all the women who moved up the ladder in the month of March. And to the rest of us let us all grabe opportunities and avoid procrastinations.