Transiting on my way to Tanzania,
I arrived at the Addis Ababa terminal.
To me it always feels like reaching the gates of Agrabah- Aladdin’s city of mystery and enchantment.
Africans from all over the continent
In majestic robes walking around me,
Shops displaying traditional Ethiopian cloths and art,
and every coffee house also serves Ethiopian coffee-
Buna- in the traditional way,
poured from a black clay pot into small round cups.
I love my magical terminal.
Just as I entered the terminal, there it was, this tree, decorated with traditional straw weaves in the Ethiopian colors.
I stoped in front of this wonderful Christmas tree tearing up. I’m home. I’m back home.
I don’t even know what exactly about it moves me so much. Its simplicity, the true to itself creative interpretation that is so typical of Ethiopia, the natural materials and colors that are so familiar to me. Red, green and yellow – the colors of the Ethiopian flag that have become a symbol of free Africa.
There are no words for this feeling. A feeling of here I am back home after ages in the heart of the desert in solitude. A sense of recognition. Yes, this is home.
There are other places that feel like coming home in the world for me, and still nothing as intense as the pull I’ve felt towards East Africa since I was a little girl.
Thinking about it, I hardly ever traveled to places that don’t feel like coming home.
When I go on a journey I respond to an inner call. To a place on the face of Mother Earth that calls to me. A place I know in the depths of my spirit and soul, from many previous lives.
In such places I feel a deep connection, a recollection from the heart of my soul.
Not every place is easy and flowing, I also experienced places where it was difficult for me to stay even though I knew and experienced the deep connection. And there were times I decided to leave.
In East Africa
Here I feel happy and light, everything flows my way, the language is easy for me and I like the people. This is home, and not by chance, East Africa is the cradle of humanity. The great rift valley contains the earliest memories of humanity. And I remember us. Ancient and primordial, living in deep connection, love and respect with Mother Earth.
10 must-do routes for 2023? not interested.
Seven wonders of the world? Don’t do much for me.
When I hear: “You have just got to visit…” I simply say: “No thanks”.
I’m interested in the places that my heart is drawn to.
Mama Africa led me on the way to become the woman I am today, changed the whole course of my life.
That’s how it is with these places that are the home of the soul.
Find the place that resonates with you, those places that call your heart to come to them. Different places will call you at different times of your life.
All that remains is to listen. Listen to the whispers of your heart, and for women, to the wisdom of your womb.
Or just simply ask yourself:
“Where do I feel like travelling to?”
“Where will I feel happy?”
“Where do I want to go?”
and get going.
Just get going. I promise you that you will not come back the same. Actually that’s my wish for you- that you’ll be different when you come back home.
When I return home to my mama Africa
I feel her at an Addis terminal,
in a colorful market in Tanzania,
in a remote village in the open bush,
And when I seat and weave with Digna in my Kilimanjaro home.
