Uncommon Path Network

Dear Path Finder,

 I pray you find your purposeful path, walk audaciously in it, and inspire others to find theirs too.

Before we dive in, I want to extend my sincere gratitude for the beautiful, heartwarming messages I’ve received since the launch of this newsletter. Just over four articles in, and already your feedback has made my heart so full. I genuinely love hearing from you.

This newsletter isn’t meant to feel like a sigh when it lands in your inbox. It’s not another obligation to read because “you know Oyena” or feel guilty for not clicking. My hope is that these letters feel like a conversation honest, simple, soul-stirring and that, somewhere in the read, you find at least one thing that nudges you closer to your path.

So please, keep responding. Keep engaging. Your personal reflections continue to inspire the topics I unpack.

Now that the formalities are out the way, let’s jump into today’s letter one that flows from a very personal experiment I did recently.

If you know me well, you know I have a bit of a reputation: the girl who moves fast. My friends have given me all sorts of nicknames because of how suddenly I shift gears. I’ll sleep with one thought and wake up with a brand-new vision, goal, or challenge. And well… I’ve made peace with the fact that I’m wired this way for now at least.

But today’s story is not about my impulsiveness. It’s about what happened when I did something I never thought I could do: I went completely off-grid. No phone. Not even in sight. For five full days.

From the 26th to the 30th of May, I disconnected completely. Not just a social media detox. I handed my actual phone away. Gone. No Instagram. No messages. No checking the time every 17 minutes. Just me. Present.

The weekend before I did it, I prepped my people. I let my close friends and family know: “Something different is happening next week. Please don’t panic. If someone dies, email me. If not, I’ll check in after.”  Bizarre, I know. But necessary.

So, what inspired this ‘drastic’ decision?

Honestly, the Holy Spirit nudged me. I wanted to test what I call “the grip.”
What had such a hold on me that I couldn’t imagine functioning without it?
For me, it was the phone, the scrolling, the documenting, the habit of living through a lens. It wasn’t about sin, but idolatry. And I knew I couldn’t just pray away the idol. I had to physically dethrone it.

I needed my body to feel what it was like to live without what had quietly become too integral to my identity.
And I needed to prove to myself that I could obey when God calls me to something uncommon.

The first day? It felt like my house had doubled in size. The silence was loud. I felt strangely lonely and disoriented, especially as someone who works from home.

But by Day 2? I was walking for an hour a day with just my thoughts and a step-tracking watch.
I laughed out loud at how much I enjoyed my own company.
I read a lot of God’s word, lots.
And yes the nudge to immediately start this newsletter came to me during one of those walks.

I began to enjoy moments simply for what they were not for what they could become on social media. I found peace in knowing that the sunset didn’t need to be photographed. That the conversation didn’t need to be quoted. That the meal didn’t need to be posted.

I started to treasure the private, the quiet, the hidden.

I’ve now reached a point in life where I get to decide what to share, with whom, and when.
It feels liberating.

So yes, I came back paid my bills (because STANDARD BANK was not going to understand spiritual obedience) and then went off again.
This time, I even bought a R139.00 button phone from Pep just so my family can know I’m alive. It’s me, my MacBook, church, walks, and Uncommon Path. 

You might be wondering, “Okay, Oyena… what’s this got to do with me?”

Well, this isn’t a call for everyone to put their phones away.
But maybe there’s something you need to do, something uncommon, something uncomfortable — that will stretch you into becoming someone you haven’t yet met.

Maybe for you it’s:

• Waking up at 4:00 a.m. for a week to build discipline.
• Starting a YouTube channel or finally launching that page to showcase your work.
• Running or walking when you’ve sworn you’re “not that type.”
• Sending out your proposal every single day for 30 days.
• Saying “no” to that thing you always say “yes” to.

In my last article, I wrote:
“Nothing changes if nothing changes.”

So I’ll ask you:

What will it take for you?
What grip do you need to loosen?
What moment of sacred silence are you avoiding?

Take one step. One “uncommon” move. 

Shalom,
Oyena