Raising the vibration
A musical show and a magical walk gave us the opportunity to raise the vibration and extend it across the long weekend.
On Saturday afternoon we did something a little bit different. Usually we would be sitting on the big white couch in front of the television watching rugby. At 13:05 an alarm sounded on a phone, a first reminder to start moving away from whatever it was we were doing and get ready to leave.
Matthew closed out his multiple interesting searches and Chantal packed away her current crochet project. Blinds were lowered, the fireplace readied for later and the cats patted. We left slightly later than we wished to at 13:30, we headed to the Linder Auditorium to attend the Black Hole Symphony.
There was minimal traffic on the roads at that hour but the vehicles that were, tested our patience by bobbing across their lane, driving at a snail’s pace or forgetting to use their indicators. As we drove down Victoria Road past the Wits University hockey fields we were slowed to a halt by a string of vehicles turning into St Andrews Road.
“Oh my goodness,” said Chantal, dismayed, “Look at this traffic and it’s all for the Linder Auditorium.”
We are going to be so late, she thought.
Matthew had a plan. A cunning one at that. He turned right at the next traffic light, did a U-turn, and arrived back at the traffic light facing the entrance with only two vehicles in front of us. The cars were jammed into the two lanes entering the campus but the security guards were patiently opening the booms, allowing everybody in with no delay except for the up and down of the posts.
At the traffic circle Matthew intuited a left turn and found us a comfortable parking place in easy walking distance to the theatre. We had arrived in good time after all.
What seats?
Chantal had the tickets on her phone. Attendants directed us to the relevant landing but there was no-one at the door to show us to our seats.
“What seats are we?” asked Matthew
“I’m not sure,” answered Chantal, “It says East Mez MM-QQ and our ticket numbers are 0060 and 0061. Where are we supposed to sit?”
We sat down in the MM row but were soon shifted with the later arrival of a group of five. Chantal knew she had purchased the tickets in this section and a few rows down from the very top. Looking back, the next row was full. The row above had a single woman on the end and four seats open.
“I know there was one seat taken, then us,” said Chantal, “These must be our seats.”
She sat down still feeling uncomfortable. What if they were still in the wrong seats. Who could assist them? What on earth was wrong with the ticketing system that the row was not clear?
The lights dimmed and the show started.
Transported across space
The Black Hole Symphony is a multisensory journey through the mysteries of the universe. Produced by Universe on Stage and the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO), It combines live music by Yash Modi, an actuary, composer and performer, with scientific storytelling by Dr. Luca Pontiggia, who holds an undergraduate degree in nuclear engineering and a PhD in theoretical physics specialising in string theory from Wits. These are brought together with beautiful visuals by Darius Botha.
The overall objective of the show is to make complex physics, specifically black hole behavior, not only easy to understand but an enjoyable experience.
We were transported across space and time, immersed in the vast secrets and terrifying tales of the cosmos. Time flicked by. It was interval. We used the opportunity to enquire about our confusing seating arrangements. The smiling, gregarious gentleman heard my question, took my phone and graciously pointed out that our seats were in row OO – 60 and 61.
We laughed! How could we have not seen that? We had read the double O’s as double zeroes 00 not double O’s: OO. We had found our way to the right seats but had not known that they were as a result of the misreading. We shook our heads and made our way back with the sound of the bell, but not before Matthew stopped to take a photo of the Hillbrow Tower out of the top floor window.
Raising the vibration
We were able to enjoy the rest of the production worry free of being ousted from our seats. The arrangement of music, narration and visuals was inspirational and uplifting.
“What a fabulous way to spend a Saturday afternoon,” remarked Chantal on their way home.
“It really raised the vibration of the day,” concurred Matthew.
“People think Johannesburg is a hard and dusty place. Full of noise and chaos, collapsing infrastructure and complicit political parties,” reflected Chantal watching the sun set through the trees bowing over the road. “But it’s actually full of colour and music, art and joy too. The events that are going on around town are phenomenal.”
We want more of that and less of focusing on what is wrong and awful and disempowering.
Another opportunity
Sunday morning brought more sunshine that beckoned to be walked in. After a slow start we stepped out onto a quiet road. The recent rains had washed the dust away and the light sparkled fresh and crisp. The grass verges shone emerald green, unusual for this time of year.
A large oak tree, at least 60 years old, called our names. We stopped to touch its trunk. The bark was thick and rough. We paused at the next tree, and the next, each one a different species, each trunk covered in softer or thicker bark, peeling or smooth.
The morning air curled between us, the trees, the tarmac, and the verges, grass covered and mowed flat or unruly and overflowing onto the road. It was so quiet even the dogs resisted breaking the stillness with impudent barks.
That walk had a magical quality. It offered another opportunity to raise the vibration of our day and add to the waves of the weekend.
As we rounded the corner and stepped back into our front yard to greet our magnificent pin oak, that now had several shades of yellow streaked through its green canopy, the words of the Beach Boys song “Good Vibrations” echoed in our heads:
I love the colorful clothes she wears
And the way the sunlight plays upon her hair
I hear the sound of a gentle word
On the wind that lifts her perfume through the air
I’m pickin’ up good vibrations
She’s giving me the excitations
We laughed and danced our way indoors to make a late breakfast. As we plonked ourselves down to enjoy scrambled eggs with catch-up rugby we were full of expectations that the good vibrations would continue throughout the long weekend. And they did.
Until next time.
Yours in good vibrations,
Chantal & Matthew
The Number One Women’s Tennis Player Who Couldn’t Win the Final Match
Novotna, Safina, Jankovic, Dementieva, Halep, Wozniacki, Pliskova, Sabalenka, Swiatek. Nine players across thirty years of women’s tennis. Seven reached world number one. All of them proved they could beat anyone in the world on any given week. Then a Grand Slam tournament arrived and their body delivered something different.
Credits for this issue — Images: 5th Place
Written by
Chantal Dawtrey
Supporting women, especially in midlife and beyond, to navigate life transitions · Emotional fitness coach
Chantal supports women, especially in midlife and beyond, to navigate life transitions. She designs and delivers data informed digital programmes that build organisational emotional fitness. She helps people move beyond habitual patterns into greater awareness, agency, and well being.
With over 15 years of coaching experience and more than two decades in facilitation and human development, Chantal partners with individuals, teams, and organizations to build emotional resilience, enhance self-awareness, and develop sustainable well-being strategies.
Her primary focus as a coach is supporting women, especially those in their 50’s and beyond, to navigate profound life transitions with clarity, steadiness and self-reconnection. Finding answers to questions about identity, purpose, belonging and desire to an emergence, a reclamation and a return to self.
If you're going through a transition and would like support, let's talk.
Matthew Green
Reducing the Certainty Deficit in high-performing people and teams · Emotional fitness coach
Matthew works with athletes, performance teams, and anyone who wants to reduce the Certainty Deficit in their situation or context.
The Certainty Deficit is the space between what you can do and what your body will let you do when it counts. It is context-specific and situational. A person or athlete can have zero deficit in one situation and a significant one in another.
The body holds beliefs that keep the Certainty Deficit in place. These beliefs run deeper than self-talk and faster than any conscious strategy. When they shift, the ceiling shifts, and new possibilities arise.
Matthew is also an emotional fitness coach who supports individuals to live and lead from a place of inner clarity and stability. The work is somatic-first, practical, and grounded.
If you're seeing a pattern that current approaches haven't shifted, let's talk.
My origin story: Why elite athletes underperform when it counts
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