My
boyfriend is part of a golfer's league, a gentlemen's club as such with men of all ages
ranging from around 24 to 84. A few weeks back I went to one of their
prize-givings and was once again drawn into an ambit of fascination by how
vastly important heritage and tradition is considered to be here in Zimbabwe.
Culture is definitely something which is installed among individuals from a
young age and as such, boys grow up to be true gentlemen. I am so impressed by
the manner in which Zimbabwean guys treat ladies. It’s a rare thing to stumble
upon, especially when you come from a place where the men seem to worry more
about their appearance and the size of their ‘guns’ than they do in treating a
woman with a vague amount of respect. Of course I am generalising here, and of
course there are still the odd gems you meet who place you up on a
pedestal, and of course you still get your classically arrogant and egotistical
men here in Zim as well. In general however, it is truly refreshing to meet a
great group of gentlemen who hold high their traditions, their loyalty to their
clubs and each other and the love and devotion to their ladies and
families.
So
where am I going with this? Well a few months back, my boyfriend won a weekend
away for two in a raffle held at one of these golfer’s prize-givings. We
therefore decided to use that this last weekend and on the Saturday morning we
headed up to Nyanga for a nice relaxing break. We stayed in a rather commercial
and somewhat kitsch hotel, which to be fair, is presently being done up and
revamped. Not complaining though – a free weekend stay, in one of the most
breath-taking areas I have ever been to, including a delicious breakfast daily
is always welcomed! The drive there was interesting. In fact not five minutes
in - once we had grabbed our Mochacinos from an awesome barrister named Peter at
a hardware store – yes a hardware store with a coffee shop(?) - we passed a dead
cow on the side of the road, which I of course did not see and begged my
boyfriend to turn around so I could have a look. He assured me we would see
plenty more and hence, disappointingly did not turn back, much to my discontent.
By no means do I have an affinity for dead animals, but I do find it
fascinating how road-kill that large
can just be left on the side of the road, especially with all the little
townships we were passing. Surely this could be someone’s next meal or rather
month of meals? Anyway, I soon forgot about our first road-kill casualty and
settled down to enjoy the trip.
Eventually
the flat farmlands started transforming into stunning mountains which were so
mesmerising it was almost like we were driving towards massive photo-shopped
pictures. It reminded me so much of the Drakensburg in South Africa, except
there is always something unique about anything and everything here in Zim and
these mountains were covered from bottom to top in the Msasa tree. This
particular tree has leaves which come in different colours, from green to
orange to deep red. As you can imagine – thousands of these blanketing a mountain
range, would literally take your breath away.
We
never passed another dead cow, nor a dead anything – which in a way I was ok
with as I am not the type who likes seeing that an animal has been injured or
killed. Also, who needed road-kill when you had the view of a thousand rolling
hills, with the back-drop of a milky pink and fiery orange sky? Appreciation
comes in many forms, however I cannot describe how much appreciation you actually
feel when you look at something of such pure beauty. Perhaps it was my pops who
installed a deep gratitude in me for the perfect sunset with all the photos he
used to and still takes. I tried to capture the sunsets we saw on this trip but
no camera would ever be able to portray what we actually experienced. Being the
yoga teacher I now am, I insisted on my boyfriend taking some pics of me in
different postures to see if we could somehow trick the sunset into thinking we
were literally just taking silhouette photos of me, but alas – it knew what we
were doing and still did not want to surrender its splendor to being captured
on film. I guess that’s why we have memories, and that’s what teaches us to appreciate
the moment that much more.
We
experienced a lot that weekend.
Horse-riding through these mountains; wining and
dining at a beautiful, quaint inn where we were treated like royalty; playing
bowls (yes bowls) in front of a mirror-like dam which reflected deep dark green
pine trees in the background – again something you couldn't quite believe was
really in front of you and not a blown-up postcard. We met an artist named 'Modern' who made the most charming sculptures out of marble rock, and whose genuine and friendly welcome made us want to buy everything, but alas we settled
for a cool elephant statue which now takes residence in our hallway. We saw what
they termed the “rare Samango Monkey” ironically all over the place, a rather
arrogant type of primate which never seemed to want to allow me to get a decent
pic of its face, which happened to be absolutely adorable. Instead, every time I clicked
the button on my camera I got a picture of the back of this monkey’s head or
torso (which was also rather cute but not as charming as its koala-type face.)
I
cannot pinpoint the highlight of this mini getaway because it was all so breathtaking
and rather humbling to say the least. I can say that the trip home was one
where we hardly spoke to each other and it felt like that same feeling you got
as a kid when you realised it was Boxing Day and Christmas was now a whole year
away. We did however both feel like we had been on vacation for a week, utterly
relaxed and ready to start a new week.
You
learn a lot about yourself, your partner and your relationship on a little trip
like this one. Enjoying literally only each other’s company with no other
distractions or commercial things to occupy your time really brings you down to
earth and draws you a lot closer together. Who would have thought that we would
enjoy bowls at our age? That sipping on Irish Coffees, in the attic of an old-fashioned
inn, with no tv, no books and nothing other than the company you keep, would
take your relationship to another level. Appreciation for the small things…you
hear people talk about it all the time, but often take it for granted and
sometimes need a little reminder to bring you back to earth. This weekend was
that for both of us – a gentle push to appreciate what you have, what you get
given and what you experience.
As
a result of this weekend, I based my yoga classes the following week around
this concept of gratitude and thankfulness. I started something on Facebook for
myself called ‘#MonthOfGratitude’ where every single day I acknowledge
something in my life for which I am grateful. I started this on the 25th
November so that by the time Christmas Day comes around, I will have a month’s
worth of random things in my life which I appreciate. I encouraged my friends
and my followers to do the same but unfortunately this isn't something which
catches on like a Neknomination or simply sharing a horrific picture of a slaughtered
animal or a story of a maid abusing a baby.
It’s
sometimes scary what people focus on in their lives. I encourage you to think
about this in your own life. Try focusing on the positive and the unique little
things which you are eternally grateful for. Whether it's the gentlemanly actions from someone you least expect, a sunset which steals your breath faster than you have time to realise, or even just sharing in some fun with your best friend, on a patch of grass made for old people to chuck around a few balls. If you can do this for even 3
days, you are blessed.
What have you got to lose? More importantly, what have
you got to gain..?
In
love, light and appreciation for all my readers, till next time.
Denise
