Freetown: City of Stars

I have come to feel great love for this ‘city of stars’…with no lights at night the moon illuminates your path while the stars guide your way. Freetown has definitely grown on me with her little treasures here & there…from the beauty of the oceanfront and those magnificent cotton trees to the vendors walking up and down the street with the goodies they carry on their heads – like those tasty sesame sticks and the plantain chips I’ve become quite fond of. I booked my flight home today – June 26 – I feel great sadness when I think of this day coming – while sitting in a ‘western style’ café this afternoon I began to think of returning ‘home’ and what this means…for the first time in all my journeys these last few years I am not ready to move on – however I understand that in order for my being to fully integrate these past few months of experiences and take with me the lessons I needed to be given home is where I must go…It is going to take awhile for this girl to process this ‘trip’ already I know everything has changed. I have planted myself in a different vibration and now found myself a new rhythm…

Everything in this universe has a rhythm - from the spin of the earth and the cycles of the moon to the breath we take and the words I write. How many times have you jumped into an experience you had only imagined in your mind - stepped out of your usual vibration to resonate with a brand new rhythm. I read today how the measure of our creativity isn’t necessarily about how well we may draw a picture or sing a song - rather it is about how creatively we live our life. People often underestimate the challenge that living a creative life demands…it requires you to step into the unknown without a guide – life asks you to take part instead of shying back into your ‘safe space’ where your world is predictable and known…living a creative life means exploring vast potentials and finding an expression for what you discover.

Ohh Sweet Africa…she has seduced me with her rhythm…any time you initially enter a new space your being experiences a sensation of new vibrations you become engaged by its rhythm –– stimulating you and causing you to feel a sense of euphoria (possibly mixed with anxiety and slight nausea depending on how intense) this excitement reminds you your alive…at the very least. But after a time that initial feeling goes away & it sinks in that this rhythm that once ‘woke you up’ is not what resonates with you at all – you are not in harmony – worse you aren’t even in the same key…and then ‘reality’ hits or should I say ‘culture shock’ happens – vibing with this new rhythm may take awhile...but it can happen if you let go enough to lose yourself in it. The more chances we take the more we cultivate our rhythm and the greater our potential for creating those infinite harmonies…and what a harmony I have begun to create.

My Sweet Salone…we have only just begun to resonate. Freetown has captivated me…Sierra Leone has swept me up in her rhythm and I am thoroughly addicted – or should I say absorbed by her vibration…it seems as if we have only begun our dance and I must leave before the song is over****city of stars****like Cinderella at the stroke of midnight – maybe I too will be sure to leave my glass slipper behind…

An Ode to Bob

Today - May 11 - in Sierra Leone is Bob Marley Day - (as some of you may or may not know Freetown was a settlement for many freed slaves in the late 19th century, many of whom came from Jamaica and traveled through Nova Scotia settled around the old cotton tree and founded Freetown) It was on this day over a quarter century ago Bob Marley came and performed in Freetown - since this time May 11 has been used as a day of celebration to honour Bob Marley his music and his messages of justice, hope, peace and ‘one love’. While much of his music speaks to these issues I would like to share with you a song I believe says it all…

War

Until the philosophy which old one rates superior and another------------ inferior
Is finally----------- and permanently----------- discredited------ and abandoned
Well, everywhere is war
Until there is no longer first class and second class citizens of any nation
Until the colour of a man’s skin is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes
Me say war
That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race
Well there’s a war
That until that day the dream of lasting peace---------- world citizenship------------ rule of international morality---- will remain in but a fleeting illusion to be pursued------------ but never attained
Now everywhere is war…me say war

I hope you find the time today to think about these words…to look inside of you and outside of you – to challenge those who believe they deserve more because of geography or history or worse the colour of their skin…we are beyond autonomy within our borders – we are global citizens capable of unifying and uplifting all – or isolating ourselves and destroying everyone - with privilege comes responsibility…are you being responsible?

Mysterious Universe

Well I guess I have been giving Freetown, Sierra Leone a bit of a bad rap lately mostly due to the intense ‘culture shock’ I have encountered since my arrival – this place feels like the exact opposite of everything I have ever known, yet at the same time its beginning to feel somehow familiar…the universe has strange ways of giving you what you need and for me it always seems to take me to ‘crazy’ first - then reveal its plan. To be quite honest I daily question my purpose here…cause what I came here for is in no way what I have been doing, but something inside me says not to be discouraged…take it all in…let my mind/body/soul/spirit – experience everything - absorb it all…envision the unlimited potentials…trust there is a greater plan unfolding then I can currently recognize.
Wow! Way easier said then done though…once again I find myself wondering what’s next? What am I to do upon my return to Canada? Have I been too passive in carving my own path, believing too much in the power of the universe to lead me and take care of me instead of focusing and dedicating myself to narrowly pursuing specific goals? I frequently find myself in this position - entering into the darkness of the ‘Moon’ - a place where we wait with little awareness of our destiny…our only comfort is instinct reminding us that we will – like the moon - emerge into the light…our path illuminated once more. Kinda like walking around Freetown I guess, you just learn to live in the dark most the time…relying on your instinct, stepping carefully, and trusting you will make it down the path even if you can’t see it.