Thoughts as I Return to America from Kenya

Note: This piece was written in segments on a flight from Kenya to Brussels (9 hours). I had to take photos of each page as Medium did not save the story. So excuse typos as they could not be corrected in the photo (e.g. word is “axis” not “access”!) There are plentiful images embedded here too. Call it a first effort at photo-reflective thinking. My art appears at the start and finish of this post: art created while on Kenyan soil.

But, here are three lessons that I have taken away from my experiences in Kenya. They will not solve all that ails our world in general and America in particular. But, they give me perspective; they give me insight; they give me a framework; they reflect deep patterns. Separately and collectively, they convince me that we can, we must, find our way forward.

2. Our animal kingdom, from our smallest to largest creatures, is and remains magnificent. Truly. That gives me joy and hope. Until we humans find a better pathway forward, those of us who feel alienated and affronted by the behavior of others (whether that is leaders or neighbors or political figures or co-workers or family members) can find comfort in animals. Consider these images starting with the hedgehog found in the house I used on the Nasurani campus (when I was not sleeping in my tent) to the baboon along the highway where we drove to the giraffe I fed in Nairobi.

I end with a few watercolor paintings I did while in Kenya. My first watercolor foray. I hope they capture what words fail to express. The bird at the opening of this piece is from a series called Take Flight. The end piece is from a four part series titled Seeing Beauty.