Africa. Max proved to me that the spirit of ubuntu is alive and well. My friend and I then
nicknamed Max, “Durban Dad.” To which Max responded, “No, no. Durban Dude.”
Another friend of mine from Durban venerates ubuntu poetically,
“Without ubuntu life is nothing. Ubuntu is like purified water.”
5. Butterflies
In Africa, there is never a time of year in which butterflies are not adorning the open air with their
colors. On days that the mind weighs heavy with challenges to overcome, a cloud of butterflies
can swirl around me, bringing me fully into the present moment.
My mind stops churning as I smile in wonder and adoration. Concerns dissolve and my attention
is brought fully into the Now- the space of clarity, simplicity, and pure potential.
The butterfly’s reminder: Patience and Process. It is a reminder that things get better when we
take our time. In life, as in nature, there is a season for everything. The culmination of
a revolution requires a certain ripeness of all people, ideas, and resources involved.
As a visionary, I tend to see the fruits of my labor before the labor even begins. This is how I
know what I am pulled to do in my life. Having visions among foreign cultures and
foreign languages could mean I’m only a dreamer- unless I embrace the patience required for
Doing. It seems counterintuitive to some, “How does one Wait and Do?” It is this simple:
Keep the Vision.
See the people and events unfolding perfectly, and wait for the elements of the vision to reveal
themselves to you in the present.
This means that the vision lives and breathes in my every breath. It is a life force all its own; it has
its own energy.
Feeling the vision means that I am always aware that at any moment, the right person or resource can
present itself, and because I’ve been waiting for just that, I am prepared to act when the time arises.
A caterpillar doesn’t stress about becoming a butterfly.
It just does.