Bonding the Inanimate

As DJ in chief sitting shotgun, I naturally was deeply engrossed in my present duty. Pulling 1000 kilos of cement in a trailer behind our cruiser, we were going to build a foundation for a school in a nearby town, Chingoma. We traveled a dirt road outside the property of Riverside Farms; there was an electric fence to our right and trees and a hill to our left. Beyond the fence lay a vast plantation of banana trees. We had just picked up some kids and were bringing them to the nearby village. Cruising at a pretty decent speed for that kind of terrain (about 40km/hr), the ride was not out of the ordinary. Upon coming to this part of the road where everything was super sandy, I'm still looking at my phone trying to get a good tune to play. All of a sudden we start drifting, I thought, "nice, very nice, this is good." Then we just keep drifting pretty soon we are approaching a full 180. Im thinking, "okay maybe lets pull out of this." My friend driving, I could tell, was freaking out. He was struggling and doing everything he thought possible to get back in control of the now recalcitrant vehicle. But no control was given. I looked up to see that fence on our right approaching. And there we went. This was not a graceful message of cruiser and fence, no! We ploughed through that fence and all the electric line that was there. The bonding experience of both inanimate entities was amazing, we demolished the fence and kept flying forward. The cruiser started taking out banana trees left and right, well three big ones that is. Then, and only because the ground was raw mud, we came to a stop. I will not repeat my friends initial and only words to the situation...he then jumps out. The electric wires were caught all over the trailer and cruiser. It was a colossal mess. So I hoped in the drivers seat, put it in 4wheel drive and pull out, slowly. It was then that we realized the trailer had come unhitched and thus led to us not being able to control the vehicle. Sitting there I thought of how epic that just was and felt bad for the guy driving. But it was all good in the end. 

Sometimes life's greatest crashes or catastrophes are it's best lessons to cope with the present. 

Colour Peace

In moments of pure serenity, when the sun sinks slow, and the colours are bright; when the soft breeze cools and the painted grass is churned; when still waters run free to places unknown, it is these moments of purest peace where we see who we really are or who we really wish to be. Could it be that these moments were what we were made for? What we were originally made to thrive in? Moments of inner peace so intense, the soul knows nothing but this peace. It was in this moment that I sat, I watched.
A rustling noise had wrestled sleep from my mind. Sitting up and gazing through the tent screen revealed a sight I had longed to see. The great hippopotamus. Yes, Africa is full of hippos. But to see one in all its glory traversing the ground I traverse, that was my wish. And there in the peaceful stillness of the morning she stood. Leaving no thought to worry, she seemed to enjoy the early peace of morning light gently painting the grass she ate.
With the hippo being a mere ten yards or so from the tent, I did not dare move. I could only watch and soak in what was given. A moment of peace, this hippo had it. There was no concern for the upcoming day, no longing for a better life or wonder for food. As the sun edged the blackness of night away, the hippo gracefully slipped back into the stillness of the water. As though the life on dirt represented an abundance or hardship, she sought refuge in the stillness of the river-never to appear until dusk reigned again.
Peace? Where has it gone? A creature destitute of reason or any intelligence higher then how to eat and procreate, initiates a life more abundant with peace then I. Could it be that a world gone astray has given a peace that we think sufficient, and in turn we expel the true peace of the soul? Slipping into the still waters of the morning the hippo reflected the image of peace that to often slips from my mind into the peaceful waters of a forgotten past.