HappY!

I catch people humming or singing to themselves ALL THE TIME ... unfortunately, they usually aren't really displaying great musical talent, ha! But they are truly enjoying themselves and that always makes me smile.

Pharell Williams' song "Happy" is a global pop hit it seems, and people all over the world are making their own versions of the upbeat music video. So, since these videos keep popping up on social media, I'm going to share with you these glimpses into cities all over Africa. The "Happy" video below from Brazzaville is thus far one of my favourites. I haven't seen one from Uganda yet, which is actually surprising. Kampala is a 24-hour city that loves to have a good time! I think I've been out till after 5am more often in 7 weeks in Kampala than in years anywhere else.

Follow this link to see the full playlist on YouTube of Happy video remakes produced all over Africa. And of course from there, you can tour the world!

TIA

Downtown Kampala, from the top of the Gadaffi Tower

"This is Africa."
I'm not sure when this phrase came into use. It's usually used by non-Africans in response to a situation they wouldn't expect in their home countries. It's kind of like saying "that's how it is, get used to it." Power outages. A new package of batteries that have all been drained of power. Roads that are more pot hole than road. Waiting ages for over-packed public mini-buses to depart. Waiting ages for anything.

What I've realised is that the phrase is never used in a positive context. All of the things I just described are certainly a part of daily life for a large part of this large continent, but they do not alone define Africa. There are a lot of things that I encounter here as part of daily life in Africa that are actually fun, or amusing, or strangely interesting, or fascinating, or awesome. And sometimes those things that people find frustrating are great lessons in questioning what our expectations are, why they are such, and if they actually benefit us.

So, I'm re-activating this blog (it's been over a year since my last post, and they have been very infrequent for much longer) in a project to reclaim and redefine the phrase "This is Africa." I didn't move here because I love it when the power unexpectedly goes out for anywhere from 5 minutes to 5(+) hours, or that it goes out every time it rains, or because I prefer my roads gouged and bumpy, or because I've always wanted to hear someone say on the phone "I'm coming" and have no idea what-so-ever when they will show up. More importantly--very, very importantly--I did not move here so I could "fix" it. Sure there are problems, everywhere in the world there are problems. I think that I have something to offer to help people live happier, healthier lives, but I believed that to be true in Colorado too, and that's what I want for my life no matter where I am.

I moved here because there is beauty and laughter and creativity and a whole lifestyle which has benefits that, for me, outweigh the frustrations. We all have frustrations, no matter where we live in the world. Africa is more than frustrations, war, poverty, and chaos! Let me show you.

2013!

A change is underway. I'm ready for it. Whatever it may turn out to be. So to prepare myself and to move forward in that change, my mantra for the year is:

Let go. Be Present.

That's pretty contradictory to what I would have thought I needed to do to prepare for change 10 years ago. But for the past few years I've slowly been learning not to live in the future, in what's next or what I wanted to be next. The future will come, it may unfold just as I hope and it may not. I have everything in the here and now I need, it is exactly where I'm supposed to be, and I can find complete contentment in this moment, just as it is. That's my grounding as the world around me swirls and spins and changes. My life is like an open hand: the only thing I need is what is resting in it right now; not what may fall into it later, or what may fall out of it.

On New Year's Eve, I went to Harmony Yoga to participate in "The Forgiveness Series" created by Sri Baba Hari Dass. It's a very simple vinyasa (a series of yoga postures linked by breath) accompanied by mantra, repeated 28 times focusing on the removal of 28 different negative attitudes. It fit just right with the "Let Go" piece of my 2013 mantra. And cleaning out all that negativity left behind a lot of space. Space is a beautiful thing: it allows for breathe, movement, stillness, and peacefulness. But I also felt inspired to contemplate what I want more of in the new year. It's much more productive in the long term to focus on what we do want, on the positive rather than the negative. Whatever we focus our thoughts on, that's where our energy goes. So I decided to create a list of antonyms for the 28 negative things we focused on removing, a list of positive things that I want to focus on generating in my life. Here's both lists.

So, as the sun set on 2012, I focused on removing a lot of negative attitudes. And with the dawning of 2012, I focus on attaining a lot of positive energy. And in the spirit of compassion and non-violence to myself, in the spirit of Letting Go and Being Present, this list represents not what I will beat myself up for not achieving, but what I will come back to and ground myself with. I'm not perfect now, and (probably) never will be, but I'll do the best I can do.