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barking dogs & strong coffee

Neither should  make an appearance late in the afternoon, evening or night, lest you plan to stay awake in which case one of them would suffice.

I don’t talk dog, at least not yet, and we certainly don’t seem to be on the same wavelength especially when my unmistakable communication misses its target with predictable inaccuracy. Imagine the aftermath if such communication would hit the target. It would however be nice if I could silence the noise just for myself. Tick the box of ‘no-neighbors-dog-bark’ in my lifes’ preferences. And I have, but there’s a bug in the software.

Strong coffee of course is my choice. Decaf is not, – never.

Then it all changes. The neighbours move. The new ones also have dogs but more evolved ones and coffee is now brewed in the mornings only.

Everything goes according to plan, – eventually.

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the fluidity of air

We can’t see the air. It’s ‘nothing’ to most of us, besides air. We become aware of it when we become conscious of our breath. That happens seldom. We gulp for air when we run out of air and then realise how utterly important and necessary it is. During meditation a great practice is to focus on the breathing of air. Slowly breathe in filling your lungs, over say about five seconds, hold the breath gently while the word ‘Aum’ forms in your mind and breathe out again for five seconds. That focus alone quietens the mind. We now become aware of the flow of air. At the same time if you practice a little you could associate a picture, a word and a feeling with that process of breathing. You could imagine a movie screen in your head showing those desired pictures and it could happen to the rythm of the breathing, unobtrusively. The thing about air is that it flows like water flows and surrounds us too.

We are critically aware of the air-flow when we fly close to mountains. That’s where up-drafts or waterfall-like down-drafts occur that affect our stability in the air. Air flows like water. Air is fluid. Obstructing it creates barriers causing detours that change the unhindered flow. It will still flow, but obviously not as easy. If we now associate well-being with air we will be inclined to want it to flow as natural and unobstructed as possible and stay with us. Why? Well, let’s have as much well-being as we can. Let’s have the air flow around us comfortably. Let it flow through our home peacefully and not zoom in and out like through a jet. Let the air be fresh and rich. Let’s view it as the bringer of energy and health and wealth.

I love air. It’s my medium and while I am not a bird I often wish to be able to become one at will. Imagine being a Jonathan Livingstone Seagull. Imagine being a swallow or a Gymnogene.

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into the wind

Often I hear: Go with the flow. Go with the stream. Go with the wind, where it will take you. Jump into the deep end. Go, go, go.
Then I wondered.
Ever seen an aeroplane take off? Ever looked at a windsock indicating the direction of the wind?
They never take off with the wind. It’s always into the wind. Of course there are aerodynamic reasons.
Wind coming from the front over the wing lifts the plane. A headwind therefore facilitates the take off and shortens the runway required to get into the air. Wind from the back is only good when we are up there. On the ground it has a negative effect on our ability to lift off. Once up there then a tailwind pushes us along and saves us fuel and time, increasing our speed without much effort from our behalf.
What if we use that example for our life.
Just going with the wind or jumping into the stream tears us along at a rate of knots. We don’t lift off. We tumble, sink, drown, crash. The fewest of us have enough runway or smooth waters to eventually gain some lift.
We want to gain lift in our life. We are here to make life work out for us.
Why not use the wind blowing in our life and turn into it head-on? Instead of running with it lets utilise it to get off the ground, to get lift-off, to gain much needed perspective, height and clarity and then once we are in control and stabilised and know exactly what we want, turn with the wind and zoom towards our dreams. A little pressure from the front could be quite beneficial to get us going. I for one love facing into the wind. I will be my own aeroplane and pilot it to the destination of my choice.

 

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and then Nothing again

When there is nothing there is actually a lot of it. There is all your life burdening down on you: Nothing happens. Nothing moves. Nothing in your bank account. Nothing you can do, – or so you think. That’s where many of us go wrong. If we would just do what we have to do to the best of our ability that nothing-ness would fill with something that makes us feel good. It takes our mind off the grind when we do something. The better we do something the better the nothing-ness fills with something. If you do a half-a-job you get nothing filled with half of something. And when our mind is off the grind then there is nothing and that is good because now it can fill with something. We should always keep something in the back of our mind. Something we really like; a dream; a picture of something that fills us with joy; an accomplishment. Yeah, let’s see the finished product and not the thousand steps it takes to get there. Each of those steps well done will bring joy when we see the end result. And if you think that you don’t know how to do something that you think you should do, don’t think again, just get started, the solutions and steps required will reveal themselves. It’s one thing going through everything in your mind, meticulous step by step, it’s another when we get going because the universe rewards action. Action makes waves. Thoughts ignite action. Both are key.

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rainy season starting

Sooo much water everywhere…not far from Lake Tanganyika
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Close to the source of the Kalungwishi river, feeder to the spectacular Lumangwe and Kabweluma Falls

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Zambia 2007 1012

Well it’s drying time again I have to air you…this time in Kasanka

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There is something captivating about the rainy season. Something so unbelievable when one has travelled during the dry and dusty winter. It is undoubtedly the most beautiful time of year when nature is so alive with variety and beauty that you are stumped to silence.

You also get wet. Oh boy do you get wet. And muddy. And your vehicle will never be the same again. And everything you ever owned is damp. And there are leaks and drips were never leaks and drips have ever been before. There are so many shades of green you’d think green couldn’t be any greener. Clouds don’t just cover the sky they cover your whole universe and they are so majestic you feel so honoured by their presence even if they bring more rain. And roads are rivulets and and when the sun peeps out you think a miracle has happened.

Forget about the hardship. Forget about wearing shoes. Run around in swimming trunks and windbreaker and hat. Have ten towels close by because each is more wet than the other no matter which one you take. So what! Have you ever experienced something like that? Africa in the rainy season blows various circuits in your brain. It’s something we don’t usually do but we should. The beauty about those latitudes is that it doesn’t get that cold with the rain, still, find your driest wet jacket with hoody for extra comfort. Oh yes, don’t even think of anything less than Mud Terrain tires, diff locks on both axles and a serious winch and umbrellas, biscuits and hot coffee.

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true Africa beating

Your 4×4 is standing and gathering dust. Your heart is restless. The you hear about Zambia.

Zambia is the forest butterfly of Africa. A magnificent and beautiful country with the friendliest, peaceful people in Africa.

There’s been no civil war, uprising or fighting in a century.

Zambia_National_Parks_Map

Its geographic shape looks like a butterfly and only the DRC, Sudan and Angola have more forest, as referenced here. Zambia has twenty national parks, marked in green on the map, of which Kafue National Park to the left is by far the largest with 22k Square kilometres.
Of the twenty parks ten have management structures of various forms and the rest are gems waiting to be saved.

When you yearn for Africa the Kafue answers.

The Kafue is also Zambia’s oldest park. It still lacks somewhat in infrastructure  to other parks and the roads suggest a robust and four-wheel drive vehicle. This is of course all the more attractive for those escaping from tourist spots and civilisation in general, wishing to experience the raw pulse of Africa. Large unexplored tracts of virgin bush with a huge diversity in bird and wildlife put it on the list of ‘must experience’ places in Africa. It is a difficult place to navigate in the rainy season with black cotton soil, lots of water and most camps closed.

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seeds of chaos

As long as we sow the seeds of war, – violent abuse and hate, and create abject poverty, – because of greed, power-lust and blinding self-righteousness, – we feed the hunger of the evil monster and reap the chaos.
Hardly do we have to point fingers and mention names of individuals, leaders and countries. We know which ones to send to another planet given the chance, so that we can live prosperous and peaceful lives without their distorted interference.

I have to refer to one laureates’ acceptance speech at a well known banquet a few years ago:
“we will not eradicate violent conflict in our life times”
“the imperfections of man”
“our limits of reason”
“we lose ourselves when we compromise the very ideals we fight to defend.”

Is there then a reason for leading a ‘just war?’

That the world can be changed by one individual is unlikely. That it can shift from its apparent inertia by many that are moral however, is possible.

“Our moral compass must be love.”
~Marthin Luther King Jr~

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arrest the dream

You wake up at 0230.
A bird is persistently making the same call and you are as awake as if you had never slept. You experience none of the grogginess that often follows sleep.

It was a dream that brought you to the surface and you just manage to catch the tail-end of the story, but then it’s gone. No matter how hard you try the dream got vaguer by the second. As it vanishes  it crystallises for a moment into an idea. Something quite clear. Something you have to do. But even that vanishes if you can’t arrest it. If you don’t catch that either then you’ve lost two important messages that were prioritised above your sleep.

You lie there stumped. A good start to the day.

If you could only press record when that happens, like tapping the screen of your mobile twice when it is set to ‘sleep mode,’ and then talk as fast as you can explaining the dream, apologising to your partner who is either blissfully unaware of your ordeal or used to the script already.

Arrest the dream. Create a picture. Bring it vibrantly to life. Set the background of the canvas of your new day with it.

Whatever you have to do, keep the dream alive.