Add a Spring in your Step with Feel-Good Habits and Hobbies
Written by: Esther Moloi
Every season brings a sense of newness with it, making it the perfect time to also look inwards and reflect. It may feel as though the year is nearly over, but spring is a good time to take stock and reset.
These small acts and practices can help you control what you can if you feel that the year has run off ahead of you.
Habits To Hop On
Tip 1: Declutter your space
The best way to start anew is by getting rid of what no longer serves you and by giving your space a sense of newness. This also serves as an opportunity to donate what you no longer use to someone who is in desperate need of the same thing.
Tip 2: Review and reset your goals
It may sound like a cliché, but setting goals can often give you a great sense of direction and fulfilment. Take stock of what you have achieved so far and focus on the areas of your life you would like to improve on. You’ll be happy you did when you see yourself achieving your goals!
Tip 3: Spend time outside
With the weather warming up, it’s the perfect opportunity to spend some time in the great outdoors. Whether it is a walk, run or hike – embrace nature. We have a beautiful country that’s waiting for you to explore.
Hobbies To Have
Turn Up the Music: Sibusiso Mashiloane’s “Isigqi”
Music has a powerful way of speaking to your emotions and memories – with or without words. That’s certainly the case with acclaimed South African pianist, composer and scholar, Sibusiso “Mash” Mashiloane’s latest album Isigqi. If you’ve grown up in a township where the sounds of South African Jazz legends permeated the air, you will undoubtedly relate to this album. With each song comes a flood of memories of festive Sunday lunches, birthday parties, or large family gatherings where everyone gathers to get to know their extended family. It’s a musical journey through time, delivering nostalgia while still being relevant and enjoyable in 2025.
Inspired by the influential figures who have shaped Sibusiso’s personal and musical journey, the album serves as both a sonic reflection and a tribute to mentors, community leaders and pioneering artists. It was recorded live at the iconic Bird’s Eye Jazz Club in Basel, Switzerland during a 2024 residency, supported by Pro Helvetia, with Sibusiso performing alongside a Swiss ensemble.
“Isigqi is a culmination of many things: my personal journey, my academic reflections and my tribute to those who walked before me. It’s about recognising how music carries memory, identity and connection,” says Sibusiso. Isigqi – which means beat – is a good representation of the intangible pulse of community, heritage and ubuntu. The album is available on all music streaming platforms.
Settle Down with a Page Turner: Journey Kwantu
If you are familiar with Vusumzi Ngxande’s award-winning podcast titled The Journey Kwantu, which was launched in 2018, you will be familiar with the many conversations and guests he has hosted, discussing African spirituality issues. Evidently, it comes as no surprise that Vusumzi has taken these discussions further in book form, titling the publication Journey Kwantu. In the book, Vusumzi explores South African spiritual identity through history, personal stories and interviews with healers and seekers, indicating its evolvement over hundreds of years. Rooted in research and lived experience, the book is a powerful reflection on faith, culture and self-discovery.
You can find books like Journey Kwantu and many other South African and African titles from The Book Lounge in Cape Town.
Exploring the Arts: Kamyar Bineshtarigh’s Group Show
Born in the small town of Semnan (about 200km east of Tehran in Iran) in 1996, Kamyar Bineshtarigh moved to South Africa with his family when he was 15. Based in Cape Town, he works in a variety of media, with his conceptual concerns ranging from language and communication in all its forms, to the movement, migration and displacement of humankind. Kamyar’s interest in text – particularly Arabic script and calligraphy – has become an explorative means for him to study the nature of mark-making and the cultural complexities that often arise through translation. With many solo exhibitions over the years, his latest – titled Group Show – is at Southern Guild in Cape Town until 23 October 2025.
