The seasons are changing no matter which hemisphere you call home. Summer is winding down in the north and fall is around the corner, shutting down cottages and bringing beautiful vibrant colors and fresh starts. Fall is known at home as the season of change.Here in the Okvango the summer rains ended in april leaving behind a vibrant green oasis. With the exception of the “freak june rains”, winter then set in and the heat of the day subsided and the nights got cooler, so cold that we were
bundled up in down jackets and beanies, some nights dipping below 0°C (he best of both (fashion) worlds. And now we are into August, on the cusp of, and maybe the height of the dry season, when scorching sunlight paired with no rain parches the vegetation, browns the earth (and my skin) and in some spots creates a thick salt crust.
Seasonal winds stir dust storms creating a hazy horizon that sometimes feels a bit overcast. The sandy Kalahari desert simply swallows the Okavango river, our perception of this would lead us to believe and visualize a stark dry baron land, but the Kalahari basin possesses an oasis that flourishes in the midst of the dry season and is host to a wide variety of wildlife, including 1,300 plant species, 444 bird species, 71 species of fish, 64 reptilian species, 33 amphibian species and 122 species of mammal. The clear waters reflect the sky. The birds, grasshoppers, beetles and numerous insects are humming away the day as nature's music, it gives way to the life of frogs to lions, even flowers bloom in this arid land and in all aspects this is a land that celebrates life. The waters lethargically flow, finding new paths and enhancing old ones, totally changing the delta's landscape. The nature of the annual floods is gentle (though the way they talk about the annual “flood” in town one would think and imagine houses and cows floating down the streets with people on rooftops, it is such an event that people throw parties in it’s celebration and go to watch said “flood” on a daily basis. I assure you it is a gentle, dribble and leaves no one homeless) flood plains and islands disappear under water and then reappear in this ever-changing landscape at the end of each season.
bundled up in down jackets and beanies, some nights dipping below 0°C (
Seasonal winds stir dust storms creating a hazy horizon that sometimes feels a bit overcast. The sandy Kalahari desert simply swallows the Okavango river, our perception of this would lead us to believe and visualize a stark dry baron land, but the Kalahari basin possesses an oasis that flourishes in the midst of the dry season and is host to a wide variety of wildlife, including 1,300 plant species, 444 bird species, 71 species of fish, 64 reptilian species, 33 amphibian species and 122 species of mammal. The clear waters reflect the sky. The birds, grasshoppers, beetles and numerous insects are humming away the day as nature's music, it gives way to the life of frogs to lions, even flowers bloom in this arid land and in all aspects this is a land that celebrates life. The waters lethargically flow, finding new paths and enhancing old ones, totally changing the delta's landscape. The nature of the annual floods is gentle (though the way they talk about the annual “flood” in town one would think and imagine houses and cows floating down the streets with people on rooftops, it is such an event that people throw parties in it’s celebration and go to watch said “flood” on a daily basis. I assure you it is a gentle, dribble and leaves no one homeless) flood plains and islands disappear under water and then reappear in this ever-changing landscape at the end of each season.
When I first arrived, Moremi was lush and green. Camp was hidden behind rows of mopane trees providing a barrier between us and the rest of the reserve, it was difficult to see camp from my tent over the tall grass. While the sun set behind the kitchen every night it too was hiding behind tall reeds in the permanent swamp, now the sunset paints the water a golden red for us to sit and watch, the reeds shadowed and the last calls of the birds echo in the wind as the elephants and hippopotamus saunter on by.
Now as if all barriers have been brought down, the landscape is transparent and a new sense of it’s vastness overwhelms me. It’s dry. My hair, my skin, my lips and my throat crave moisture. It’s getting hot. My internal clock is confused no doubt. I went from -30 °C to + 30 °C in 30 hours. During the "wrong" season. I crave summer at home, it's what we live for. Driving up north and stoping to jump into a lake or river along the way just to cool off. Skinny dipping in the lake at night and feeling the cool water on my hot sun burnt skin one inch at a time from my head to my toes and sailing through the blackness eyes wide open until I pop my head up gasping for air from the stars above. ..... sorry had a moment there.....Though I am used to heat at home where now it is +30°C with the humidex, here it is the same temperature (though rising daily) and dry.
There is a predictability in the forecast here that one has to appreciate, even if it gives me L.L.H.S (limp lettuce hair syndrome) it's a good thing I only see a mirror once a week and vanity has all but become a distant cousin of mine.Since I've arrived here I too have changed immensely, and symbolically in sync as it seems with the seasons and the land. Stripping away layers as I go. I had no doubt in my mind that this experience would change me forever what I didn't realize just how that change would impact me to the depths of my soul that it has. Even here as I write I've gone from recording "life in the Okavango Delta" to "at the baobab tree" and my personal experience with myself as it's been fused with nature and this land. I've come out of myself, and back in. I've been blessed with an opportunity to think and live without outside influence (media) and simply on the necessities. Less is more. I've danced with nature in a way only a lucky few ever get the opportunity. I know how fortunate I am. I've grown to learn that it is possible to be a whole person and work on all areas of my life as much as possible day to day, season to season. Work, career, personal, spiritual, emotional needs and relationship development. Change is the essence of the delta, as it's been the essence in me and my experience here
Sometimes we travel through the processes of personal growth just by staying where we are. Changes in season impact on our psyche and so we must change. The shortening of the days and the leaves falling stir our spirits and challenge us to get moving. Some people love the summer, some the winter. I love the changing of the seasons. The seasons will change no matter what happens in the news, in our small lives or on the planet as we live on. Seasons put things into perspective, they wait for nothing and are fearless to change. As I get on in my years the seasons go by faster and faster and remind me that time can get by you if your not carful. I've learnt to pursue every opportunity that presents itself, and try and live as much in the moment as possible. I don’t pretend it’s always easy. I lose track of days and weeks that meld into months and before I know it, another season has come and gone. It's hard not to think only in terms of work or career or retirement savings when it's in our faces constantly. But it's not here, I never hear of it, here I can do both and meld it with my own spiritual, relationship and emotional development. I must be the source of my change if it is to last and evolve with the land around me. To flow with the water and change with the land around me by paying attention to the amazing interconnectedness, mindfulness and being present. Because it is in the present moment, that we are truly alive. When we awaken to the silence of our minds, we are able to hear the wisdom of our souls. Our presence allows us to fully participate in our lives and enjoy all the peace, joy and wonderment that life has to offer.
Change is the law of life. And those who only look to the past or present are certain to miss the future. John F. Kennedy
Sometimes we travel through the processes of personal growth just by staying where we are. Changes in season impact on our psyche and so we must change. The shortening of the days and the leaves falling stir our spirits and challenge us to get moving. Some people love the summer, some the winter. I love the changing of the seasons. The seasons will change no matter what happens in the news, in our small lives or on the planet as we live on. Seasons put things into perspective, they wait for nothing and are fearless to change. As I get on in my years the seasons go by faster and faster and remind me that time can get by you if your not carful. I've learnt to pursue every opportunity that presents itself, and try and live as much in the moment as possible. I don’t pretend it’s always easy. I lose track of days and weeks that meld into months and before I know it, another season has come and gone. It's hard not to think only in terms of work or career or retirement savings when it's in our faces constantly. But it's not here, I never hear of it, here I can do both and meld it with my own spiritual, relationship and emotional development. I must be the source of my change if it is to last and evolve with the land around me. To flow with the water and change with the land around me by paying attention to the amazing interconnectedness, mindfulness and being present. Because it is in the present moment, that we are truly alive. When we awaken to the silence of our minds, we are able to hear the wisdom of our souls. Our presence allows us to fully participate in our lives and enjoy all the peace, joy and wonderment that life has to offer.
Change is the law of life. And those who only look to the past or present are certain to miss the future. John F. Kennedy
No comments:
Post a Comment