South Africa

When I lived in Johannesburg, I was about 20 miles from Sterkfontein, which anthropologists proclaim as the birthplace of humankind. Indeed, diversity seems to be the order of the day for that whole area, whether it is the numerous species of flora or of fauna. What was amazing to me, especially on the first morning of my first time in Africa (1990), was the number of different kinds of birds, as well as the number of birds, period. It seems to be some kind of a bird capital.

It also seems to me that each trip to Africa changes me in some way. Even though this trip was particularly busy, there were also moments of quiet, where I could get in touch with that barely indiscernable drum/heart beat that is the soul of Africa. I can't quite hear it with my ears, but something in my body picks it up and dances to that primal pulsation, and I know I belong.

This time was no exception. I let go of more ideas of how "it ALL should be" – which certainly makes it easier to be alive to "how it is" – which interestingly enough, makes it easier to be in my skin. I'm not trying to make something that 'isn't' into something that 'is.' Which allows me to relax, be more aware of exactly what 'is" and to address it. 

At one point in the More To Life Weekend in Johannesburg, I remember we were 1.5 hours behind the stated times in the manual. In the past, I would have fretted about how to catch up. This time I just knew we were on target with the training (not the manual about the training) and that it would all work out the way this training was supposed to work out … and it did … without cutting anything out. I wasn't in the least fussed about it, and I couldn't tell you exactly how it happened, but it did … easily. 

And that was just one of many examples of the dichotomy of being laid-back on the one hand, and alive to the possibilities on the other – capitalizing on the diversity the world actually presents vs the powerlessness of trying to force my mental homogeneity on the world.