All things Hairy And Warm......

Have you ever stepped into a pen of dairy cows?? Well, this is what it feels like after about 3 minutes later because first they shy away. But then, with nervous curiosity they all slowly come forward, step-by-patient -step, moving together, lowering their sweet heads and their drooling chins, stretching their necks and noses to the safest point toward you to just get a whiff of the new "cow". And if you stand really still, you will have the unique privilege of feeling huffing, wild breath, moist and musty, the embrace of all things hairy and warm, and you will be part of an earthy, ancient dance of comradeship - that will be broken with nothing more than a sniffle or sneeze or the click of your camera.

I was there. And wanted to remember.

Re-gifting

"I went to the mountaintop and received a gift.

I went down into the valley and went to the market and carried it with me under my robe."

Japanese proverb

Some of our most treasured gifts are memories of places and people that touch us to our very core. And once we take time to bring them forward into the open spaces of quiet reflection where we examine them with the precision of a jeweler, we find something exquisite in the treasure that may have been hidden upon previous inspections.

And once again, the gift is re-opened and re-gifted to our very own soul as if we had never seen it -magnified now with a thousand joyous memories with brilliant facets going in every direction, like a handful of diamonds scattered out on black velvet.

May you find those gifts deep in your soul for this season.

You can leave Africa but it never leaves you. -