Ego. Stature. Money. Talent. Race. Power. Gender. Religion.
All the things we love to hate and hate to love. These things account for all the division, toxicity, and bile in our lives.
They have a magnifying effect. Especially when one is benefiting from any (or a combination of these) they invoke a ‘larger-than-life’ aura. You know these chaps. From the politician who thinks they are ‘untouchable’ to the athlete who believes they are ‘indispensable’.
Recently I was at the port city of Mombasa, Kenya. I have made that flight countless times and yet it continues to feel so surreal. There’s something that flying 24,000 feet above sea level does to my being. And no, I am not talking about the puking!
There’s something about flying above Nairobi. How everything is reduced to dots. Mansions, sky scrappers, trucks and yes, even the mighty. From that altitude, there’s no distinction between rich or poor; black or white; child or adult. We are all just dots.
Then there’s the occasional turbulence that lasts a little longer than necessary. You know, the one that tempts you to recite your final words? Every time I have one of those moments I think about Kobe Bryant. RIP Black Mamba!
I digress. Mombasa is hot! Literally and figuratively! The Swahili city is right by the ocean and it lives up to its expectation. Regardless of my schedule, I make some time to go to the beach.
There’s something about seeing the Indian ocean that intrigues me. Its vastness. The lives it has claimed. The secrets it carries. The things it has seen. The majesty of its waves. Bold. Unpretentious. Untamed.
Nature helps me clear my mind. It reminds me of how transient life is. It reiterates how interconnected we really are.
Nature is unbothered. Unfiltered. Original. Nature just is.
Ah, what a sobering feeling!