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My baby, that is Soap Cafe , will no longer operate from St.Mary street as from the 1st of July. But hold on! This is not a ‘goodbye’. Merely a ‘see you soon’ . A new location will be revealed shortly 
😉 .Life! Gosh, it is one hack of a roller coaster – or at least, mine is. Been a while since I dedicated time for a writing session. Call it writers block or simply a crazy life.
I’ve gone through many ups and downs the last 6 months. Loads of mixed emotions; from anger, frustration and fear to surrendering, excitement and joy. And now it is time to spill the beans.
My baby, that is Soap Cafe , will no longer operate from St.Mary street as from the 1st of July. But hold on! This is not a ‘goodbye’. Merely a ‘see you soon’ . A new location will be revealed shortly 😉 .
Why is this news? – well, for those who have recently been following me, the last 2 years were quite challenging – physically , emotionally and also mentally. Apart from recovering from health issues, at the back of my mind I knew that our current shop contract was reaching an end and I was at the mercy of the landlord; until the day I received the letter from his lawyer stating that our contract won’t be renewed. I only had a few months to find a new place.
With rents that are sky rocketing , I even considered taking a loan and buy somewhere. Banks were not particularly keen on the idea since both myself and Wayne have home loans and I also had the bonus of having a cancer history. Moving also meant redirecting people to a new place (hence most of the marketing we did went to waste), and also the financial burden of setting up a new shop – (hey, I don’t do things half way – it has to be either done well or nothing at all!)
I was in between fear and feeling lost . I could not find a place that both spoke to me and made financial sense. I have to admit, I also felt quite tired. After 10 years of running the business almost on my own, I just felt that maybe it was time to quit. I had gone through a move already since my previous landlords wanted to sell aswell and this time it seemed like life was throwing another punch under the belt. I was becoming tired of fighting. Changing jobs might not sound like a big deal to most, but when you see your ‘baby’ grow , with all its ups and downs, it can be difficult to just let go .
Sometime ago someone told me ; “why quit? You like to fight! ” . I cracked half a smile whilst saying to myself – ” damn he’s right. No wonder I feel like life throws me one blow after the other” . After that day, I decided to surrender to it all. It wasn’t any more whether I should quit or not but simply about ‘come what may’. I was ok with the idea that maybe life was trying to change my path again . After a couple of days feeling at peace with the fact that maybe it was time to say goodbye to my baby , I had news that a particular shop in a very good area in Sliema was about to get vacant. It was the right size, it had good vibes and it was financially viable. I realized I wasn’t ready to quit.
We are constantly being bombarded that we need to ‘fight’ in life. Whether to achieve something or a position, fighting against an illness or fighting for our rights. I constantly see it on statuses especially those who might be passing through a rough patch. I’m slowly coming to realize that in life sh*t happens, more often then you’d like . You can quit, you can fight it or you can accept it . It is not about how good or bad a situations is but how YOU DECIDE that it is going to effect you. Fear, worry, sadness and anger can spiral down even the best of us. What I’ve personally learned is that sometimes it is ok to surrender to it all. I had to apply this in 2 very difficult situations; whilst I was facing death ; and when I felt like one of the most precious things to me was being snatched away.
Is this the solution to ALL problems in this world ? – Maybe not. But it seems like a recurring pattern – maybe this is the lesson I have to learn in this life. Call it karma or a lesson from the divine. In any case, now it is time to move on to a new ride 😉
To a great week ahead, come what may 
🙂