The Spirit of Safari

Oh, how I forget about some of the most formative days of my time in Kenya.
The following is a snipit from our days at Tsavo East National Park on a safari drive when I finally knew that I was where I was supposed to be; that I was home. 09/14/10:

"Water buffalo were my favorite. They all had very distinct faces. Some looked very angry, others looked sad and puppylike. They were curious too. Some had birds sitting on their horns.
The final drive this morning beginning at 6:30AM hit me hard. We were all a bit fried on animal watching and were running into very few animals. I put on my music, stood up in the back seat and leaned out the top sunroof out the back of the van. I must have gone through 35 songs--the most perfect playlist that framed a beautiful, spiritual, Africa-connection experience for me. I felt my spirit disconnect from my body and clutch the land around me--a land that has seen slavery, colonialism, drought, suffering, and continues to be rich in the creations and breath of God.
All I could see for miles was open, and landscape--the most picturesque, paintable trees in the world, and the occasional occurance of a beautiful creature peeking out from behind the Bush.
I watched elephant herds drink from waterholes they'd created by stomping human waterlines, giraffes reach high above us to nibble on branches while shaking luminescent birds from their heads, lions feast on newly hunted prey. The simple, magnificent beauty was overwhelming. I struggle to understand my place in it all. Am I an observer? Am I an outsider? Or are we going through the same struggles and successes? Who am I to these creatures? Who should we be to each other?
These weeks have already brought me so far. We have brothers and sisters in every village, in every town, in every animal, in every territory in the world. If we expose ourselves, love is easy, love is joy, love is everywhere. I feel like I finally understand why "One Love" is a globalized phrase used here and recognized across the oceans. Wherever you are, whoever you experience it with, there is a common love. One.
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"Sing," Sanctus Real.
"India's Song," India Arie.
The End of History, Fionn Regan.
So Much More, Brett Dennen.