JACulture: Marguerite, thanks for agreeing to the interview.

Marguerite Orane: Thanks for the honour of the invitation. Your website is lovely - but not just lovely, very informative and interesting.

 

JA: High praise indeed. Tell us, Marguerite, you are a motivational writer. What is it that led you down this interesting path?

MO: Well, it’s funny. I’ve journalled for many, many years and have always found it to be therapeutic.  Plus I’d started a blog in 2006 as I felt the calling to share some of my insights with the world.  And people were always saying to me “Marguerite, when are you going to write a book?” So then in 2007 my mother celebrated her 90th birthday. There I was trying to decide what to give her for this special milestone and it came to me one morning – do the book!  Thankfully I realised that I already had much of the content from my blog.   So the truth at the end of the day is I never set out to write a book – I was just doing a birthday gift for my mom.

 

JA: Can we assume she loved it?

MO: Oh, yes! For sure it was the only one like it she got.

 

JA: For sure. Well, whatever the start, you’re certainly going at it with a vengeance! What is it about being a motivational writer that you particularly love?

MO: That’s easy: how it helps people.  Really, really helps them.  I tell you, I am so humbled by the breakthroughs that people have had by reading my book.  Sometimes it helps someone get through the day.  At other times, it helps them with a major crisis in their lives.   Whatever it is, I am so grateful that I can be a channel of love and healing for someone.

 

JA: That’s great. But it can’t all be easy, can it? What do you find challenging about being a motivational writer?

MO: Finding the time to write more!  I have a whole “Free and Laughing” series working on.

 

JA: Can you tell us more about this series? Sounds interesting.

MO: A few months ago, I published an e-book, Free and Laughing in Crisis Moments which is available for free on my website www.freeandlaughing.com.   I have now started to write Free and Laughing at Work which combines my considerable experience and training in business with spirituality – a mix that is provocative, rarely spoken of and much needed.  Then there is Free and Laughing in Love, Free and Laughing Parenting, Free and Laughing Aging, Free and Laughing Finances – and my favourite – Free and Laughing Children, which I would love to co-author with the real free and laughing experts – children. 

 

JA: I see. So you’re building further on the concept of laughter I guess as the best medicine. Tell me something: this concept of laughing – are people to literally laugh their way to happiness?

MO: Yes, literally laugh.

 

JA: Really? And this works?

MO: Well, the thing is when you laugh, you are totally present.  You are not thinking of the past or future, you’re just laughing.  Laughter is also the deepest form of exhalation, which is why your tummy hurts when you really laugh.  I tell you, most people breathe very shallowly, only the top one-third of their lungs.  The rest is all stale air.  So, when you exhale deeply through laughter, you expel the toxic, stale air in your lungs making room for deep inhalation.  Your whole body is therefore deeply oxygenated and energised, which is why you immediately feel good when you laugh.  The research shows that if you pretend to laugh, you get the same results!  We often feel that we need to be happy to laugh but it’s actually the other way around – we need to laugh to be happy.

 

JA: What if I’m afraid I will look crazy if in the middle of a stressful day I just start laughing.

MO: Listen, I can give you at least two success stories and you judge for yourself. One of my readers told me that I have changed forever the way he drives.  Whenever he is in traffic and someone “bad drives” him, he thinks of chapter 14 in my book “More on Niceness” and just starts to laugh!  He is no longer bothered by bad driving and gets to his destination free and laughing.

 

Then there is the story of an acquaintance of mine. She unfortunately was dealing with the betrayal of her boyfriend.  Then she read my book and the part about letting go resonated with her.  But she was having a hard time actually doing it.  So she wrote me and we shared thoughts on how to free herself (first step – laugh!).  Nine months later, she got married to the man of her dreams!  I was just so thrilled that I had played some part in helping her to let go of her past relationship and open up to this perfect one. So it does work. And no, you won’t look like a mad woman, or man. You’ll diffuse bad situations and project a positive energy with your laughter.

JA: Okay, well, that sounds good. And you’ve obviously given this a great deal of thought.

MO: Oh, yes. My passion in life is helping people transform themselves and embrace their magnificence.   I’m also a facilitator and Management Consultant. I help clients create organizational transformation and one thing I’ve come to know is that you cannot transform organizations without transforming individuals.

 

JA: And you also reach the young minds too, right?

MO: You mean my lecturing at Ryerson University? I tell you, the thing I love most about that job is turning on the lights.  One of my students said to me a few days ago “You have changed my life”.  That made me so happy, I can’t tell you how happy. What else are we here on this earth for but to enrich people’s lives?

 

JA: Plus you’re a Mummy so in a sense one of your full time jobs is also as parent.

MO: That job is one I love.

 

JA: What do you love about being a mother?

MO: Boy, that is a long, long list! If I had to say what I love most, I would say first and foremost, I love my children and who they are, and I enjoy seeing them blossom and grow.  I also love the lessons they teach me – they are my greatest teachers.  I love the way they let me into their world.  We are friends. It’s funny. Some people say you shouldn’t be friends with your children but I say “why not”?  Who better to be their friend than their mother?

 

JA: True. I know that mothers often have a million and one things they’re afraid will happen to their children. What’s your biggest fear?

MO: I don’t like to give power to my fears by verbalizing them. However, let me say it another way – my greatest hope is that my children embrace their magnificence and be kind, contributing members of society.  I hope they follow their passions, and are happy. 

 

JA: Your children are Jamaican, you are Jamaican. What do you most cherish about having lived in Jamaica?

MO: The colour and intensity of the people, the scenery, the food (those mangoes!), the language, the passion.   I grew up at a coming of age time in Jamaica, where as little as we were, we had a big voice on the world stage.  And I just love the confidence that gives me to step out, step up and play BIG!   If Bob and Bolt can be the best in the world, then why can’t I?

 

JA: True, true. And as amazing as the people and the country are, there are still misconceptions about life in Jamaica. What you wish most people outside of Jamaica knew about Jamaica?

MO: How kind and loving Jamaicans are.  We really are a caring people.  I wish people (including ourselves) could see beyond the hardness and aggression – at heart Jamaicans are real softies – and I love it!

 

JA: Marguerite, tell our readers which is your favourite place in Jamaica?

MO: Treasure Beach.  I just LOVE South St. Elizabeth. My grandpa is from there.  It’s a microcosm of what Jamaica can be – quiet, productive, peaceful.

 

JA: I know you’re also into Jamaican cultural expression. Who is your favourite Jamaican artist?

MO:  George Rodney. I love his use of colour and the peace and gentleness in his work.  There are no hard lines, just softness.  But even in that softness, you see the distinctions.

 

JA: Your favourite Jamaican writer?

MO: Besides me? (Laughs.)  I LOVE Joan Andrea Hutchinson.  She is just brilliant!   And Anthony Winkler has this perceptiveness into the complexity of Jamaican society – with a wonderful sense of humour.

 

JA: Your favourite Jamaican singer?

MO: Dennis Brown. I go into rapture when I hear his voice!

 

JA: The Crown Prince of Reggae. Nice. Tell me, you’ve already done so much. Is there anything you particularly still want to accomplish before you die?

MO: I’ve given this some thought. I am aiming to get to that place that, in each moment and each situation I turn up as love. 

JA: Why is that so important to you?

MO: Well, I notice that when I am love I am able to help others see a different way of being, see something differently, change their opinion, diffuse their anger, accept someone unconditionally.  I can only genuinely do this work if I am love.  The work is always on yourself.

 

JA: Wow. To be love. Alright, so where can persons get a copy of Free and Laughing?

MO: You can buy it on line at Amazon.com or on my website www.freeandlaughing.com. It’s also available in bookstores in Jamaica.

 

JA: Great. Thanks again, Marguerite for doing this interview. Do you have any final words for our readers on how they can improve their lives?

MO: I would say that everyone, every single morning needs to laugh for two minutes, write down 10 things they are grateful for (and this shouldn’t take more than 3 minutes), and sit quietly with eyes closed and breathe deeply for five minutes. That’s only 10 minutes out of your day and it will have a major impact on your life.