We spent a relaxing twelve days in the Drakensberg Mountains. They are called the Drakens (berg means mountain so it's kind of repetitive) because the craggy peaks look like the back of a dragon. The birding was terrific. I was able to slow down and be present with myself, follow a rhythm I rarely hear and again remember how I long to be out of the talking head mode. I have thought that this physical and emotional state can only happen in surroundings like this, in contexts like this. I am now wondering if that is not the case. There are moments, daily I think, in which I can switch into this present mindedness. Moments...that could evolve into minutes? I want to make sure of it, take that certainty back to share with my clients who like most everyone else get caught in the "what ifs", "nevers" and "always" that are paralyzing.
All over South Africa there are "bushman" paintings. Paintings done by the San and Khoi peoples who were the original tribes in this region. Some of them date from over 4000 years ago. The San and Khoi were still in South Africa until the mid-1900's, struggling to maintain a culture and an existence. Many of the Bushmen, the San and Khoi tribes joined together, now live in the Kalahari Desert of Namibia and Botswana. They took refuge there when the Europeans began a campaign to eradicate them starting in the mid-1800's because they were blamed for killing cattle and other livestock of the European farmers. They are a hunter/gatherer society that did not believe that people could "own" land. Sounds oh so familiar, paralleling the history of native people of the US. They were intimately connected to the animals and plants and the weather.
According to our Zulu guide Stephen, the African tribes that migrated south centuries before Europeans arrived, had a relationship of respect with the San in the Eastern part of the country now called Kwazulu-Natal. The San had a connection to the natural and spiritual world that sounds similar to the Native American cultures. The Zulu and other tribes sought out their guidance and help with illnesses. The San were also known to be able to call rain. Stephen studied the San/Khoi in school and was greatly in awe of them. He explained to us the meanings of the paintings. They were only done by the spiritual healers in a trance. We went to two sites in the mountains to view these paintings.
We spent a relaxing twelve days in the Drakensberg Mountains. They are called the Drakens (berg means mountain so it's kind of repetitive) because the craggy peaks look like the back of a dragon. The birding was terrific. I was able to slow down and be present with myself, follow a rhythm I rarely hear and again remember how I long to be out of the talking head mode. I have thought that this physical and emotional state can only happen in surroundings like this, in contexts like this. I am now wondering if that is not the case. There are moments, daily I think, in which I can switch into this present mindedness. Moments...that could evolve into minutes? I want to make sure of it, take that certainty back to share with my clients who like most everyone else get caught in the "what ifs", "nevers" and "always" that are paralyzing.
amazing photos...I am gonna link up to this post and tell folks to check them out...their loss if they don't...especially the one of the now famous photographer...THE Janita VanDerWalt...
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