This Moment is Sacred

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The sound of angels singing drew me closer, the high notes and harmonies expanding around me until my whole body was filled with this exquisite song of praise. I have always felt tearful in churches. Today, we by chance (is there such a thing?) wandered away from the busy South Bank of London (where we rode the London Eye and were dwarfed by the Tate Modern), across the Millenium Bridge, and into St. Paul’s - a glorious Anglican cathedral with stained glass, candelabras, ornate ceilings, and the welcome peace that comes when all present agree to take a moment to worship, celebrate, or honour their god. My heart fills with gratitude. I feel blessed. I am soothed and enjoy giving thanks to the many faces of God - and all that is.

Hilary and I are enjoying the practice of present-moment awareness. We carry small devices (Motivaiders) that vibrate in our pockets at random or preset intervals to remind us to take a breath and say to ourselves “I have arrived; this moment is sacred,” wording that comes from a wonderful Paulo Coelho book, The Witch of Portobello. These words work powerfully to connect us to the Holy Instant.

In such an agreed place of worship as St Paul’s, it is easy to see and feel the sacred, the divine (especially when the choir is singing), but when driving through the slums in Kenya, I had to work harder. And when surrounded by pushy street vendors shoving their carved animals and beaded jewelry into my face (“you want?” “you buy, you buy?”), I would pull back and forget the sacred. Instead, I would feel a constriction in my heart, confusion and guilt. I could sense these people’s neediness and desperation, and I didn’t want to feel or see their suffering. What could I do?

Rather than buy from the street vendors, we got school supplies (not lollies) to donate to the children. Tanzania’s and Kenya’s governments are, the teachers tell us, focusing on education reform - more schools, teachers, and resources, even in remoter areas. (However, the claim of free education for all is belied by the fact that primary schools -- in Tanzania at least -- will only accept pupils who have been to kindergarten, but kindergarten is apparently NOT free, meaning that much of the population is still denied even basic education.) Education is, of course, paramount in a continent where beliefs such as “sleeping with 16 virgins will cure you of Aids” are so entrenched and have such devastating consequences, especially when in some areas up to 70% of the population is HIV-positive. (See http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2002/april/virgin.htm and http://www.gig.org/Features/gig_GD_Letter_16.php for some relevant information. Also see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/africanlives/kenya/kenya_aids.htm for an interesting article on how “Wife Inheritance Spurs AIDS Rise in Kenya”.)

“No continent is as badly ravaged by AIDS as Africa. Roughly 25 million people have been infected, and 12 million children are AIDS orphans. The epidemic has been spreading for decades. In many places, traditional healers are paid more heed than university-trained doctors. Millions of men believe sex with a virgin will cure them of AIDS. South African president Thabo Mbeki has openly questioned whether the HIV virus in fact causes AIDS. His former vice president Jacob Zuma had unprotected sex with an infected woman in 2005 and later told a court that, having showered after the act, no risk was involved.”

*** Travelling certainly poses some interesting dilemmas. If, as seems to be the case, we get more of what we focus on, why would we entertain putting energy into researching the question of AIDS/HIV in Africa? Why would we put references to AIDS/HIV statistics and articles on our BLOG? It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the extent of poverty and misinformation and inequity in the world - and to judge ourselves for not doing enough. What is this BLOG about, anyway? Who is it for? Maybe, as in our style of travel - backpacking - we’re attempting to steer a bumpy path metaphorically between, on the one hand, the wealthy westerner flying in to his exclusive lodge in the Serengeti to view game from the comfort of his air-conditioned LandRover, thereby totally avoiding the issues facing his host country, and on the other hand, the volunteer working hands-on in political, educational, and health issues. While, from our van, we enjoy photographing a lioness sleeping in an acacia tree, we likewise want to better know our wonderful Kenyan driver, to hear about how his brother died of AIDs and how he inherited his brother’s wife and their children -- and how his brother’s wife later died of AIDs, too. Maybe our intention is simply to observe, as far as possible without judgment, what we encounter both externally and internally, and to use this BLOG as a vehicle for exploring our own experiences in a way that helps you and us get to know us better. To hack out a path between New Age beliefs and the nitty-gritty of life’s uncomfortable detail. As such, it’s a mix of ostrich-head-in-the-sand observations and comments, inner questioning, and, hopefully, lots of humour. To quote Stanislaw Grof quoting somebody else: “If there is truly a God, why would he allow such suffering?” “To thicken the plot.” (That is, nothing inherently has any meaning, but a film or book that gets our juices flowing with a good plot and great character developments is a lot more interesting than one about Happyville.)***

I am still standing in this magnificent cathedral of St. Paul’s, serenaded by evensong. The memories are flooding in: the sensation of standing in our safari truck, holding on tight as we hoon across deeply rutted tracks in the Serengeti, roof latches jabbing our ribs. The warmth of the breeze on my face, looking out at an infinite expanse of golden and green grasses, deep blue sky, and the promise of wild and magnificent animals rising into sight at any moment. I imagine this is how Kyla’s Papillon, Bella, feels when she has her head out the window of the car, ears flapping in the breeze, nose up in the air to savour every changing aroma, feet braced against the window frame, ready and willing for the adventure to unfold. It’s a sense of total abandon and freedom.

Awe and wonder fill my heart as a herd of simultaneously elegant and awkward giraffe lope alongside the road, nibbling with delicate lips the tall yellow-bark acacia.

The truck stops, we are silent; 6 of us enthralled, witnessing these graceful creatures, swaying and bending as the graze in the late afternoon sun.

Photos taken and whispers of delight shared, especially for the baby giraffes, perfect miniatures of their towering 18-foot mothers.

We urge the driver on, keen to take in more of the magic in this stunning wilderness. “STOPPPPPPPPPPPP!” yells Hilary. He has spotted a head, peeping just above the grasses. It’s a cheetah, the tip of her white tail twitching, as she pads silently towards the shade, where she lies down panting. One by one, her cubs appear. One, two, and then all four cubs standing up to stretch and yawn, now that mother has returned. Again, we are hushed in reverence to these glorious animals. Soft-spotted fur, long legs, and painted faces. The extraordinary grace of a lean body designed to run at up to 70mph (c.f. the garden snail, at 0.03mph).

We see elephants, lions, gazelle, impala, hyenas, hippos, rhino, vultures, eagles, crocodile, buffalo, warthogs, water buck, jackals, flamingoes by the zillion, and many new species of colourful birds. We witness the zebra with their flamboyant and exotic stripes migrating with the wildebeest across the plains, from the Serengeti in Tanzania to the Maasai Mara in Kenya, to follow the rains, the food source, and ideal breeding conditions.

The choir finishes with a resounding Amen. Like the wavering mirage on the horizon of the Serengeti rising to the heavens, it rises to touch the tops of the elegant arches and fill the rafters of this cathedral with a richly harmonious OHM.

“This moment is sacred. I have arrived.”

Jane and Hilary

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Photos

Mischief
These beautiful cubs greeted us within 5 minutes of arriving at Samburu.

Mum
Mum was just THE most elegant and graceful of creatures -- with the most delicate of barks. She can accelerate from zero to 100kph in 3.5 seconds.

Wrinkles
Nice bum shots became the norm.

Magnificent scenery
Stunning scenery in Samburu, Kenya

Beautiful girls
These gazelles are incredibly elegant and graceful.

Handsome boy
And this Grevy's zebra (narrow stripe) was a stunningly beautiful creature. I just wanted to watch and watch.

Comments

[Juliet Batten]

Exquisite descriptions!
thank you Jane and Hilary for this beautiful commentary. I feel I have travelled along with you, at one with your openness to the pain and beauty of Africa. The wildlife shots and descriptions are beautiful; I feel moved to see through your eyes, these creatures in the wild. How to hold sacredness through all moments of life? It's my ongoing question too. John and I have just taken 5 days at Te Henga, in sanctuary, reconnecting with our sacred selves. Sometimes pure beauty is necessary, so that all the rest can be filtered and assimilated and one can return to faith. Journey well, dear travellers.