Finally, a morning with light and blue sky! Yesterday I saw more rain in a day than I did the full three weeks on our “home & away holiday” in South Africa a few weeks ago. I hate to say this, but it is indeed typical British weather.
I’ve put the kettle on, waiting for the water to boil so I can nourish on my hot lemon ritual. A few months ago, I was on and off balance at keeping up, what a task it can be to put a kettle on, add lemon and drink it- for your wellbeing. Well it happens at times, the same way we neglect our water intake but find pleasure in coffee, soft or alcoholic drinks. It wasn’t until being in South Africa I found my favourite morning routine as an official early riser (I’ve stopped wondering why and now embrace the body’s flow). There isn’t a dull morning in Africa- no sir! This is why I fell deeply in love with Morocco, a slice of Africa 3 hours away from the UK. The morning light and serene feeling of birds surrounding every tree within view. The noise they utter, that oneness with yourself and God before the busy takes over the stillness. As a being who thrives in nature, I didn’t need anything else. Coffee soon followed after a cup of lemon squeezed water- it really does the trick by the way, skin & digestive system.
I grew up in the Vaal Triangle, an area based in Gauteng Province, about 60km from Johannesburg. Imagine East Yorkshire & London, not the most popular but a hidden gem in some way. Although it’s at a much slower pace to the city of gold, I’ve always seen that as a quality. We have a dam connected to the Vaal River that brings in tourism, some of the most stunning houses owned by even the prestigious. We have healthy land that for the longest time as a child I wondered what laid behind the hills in the distance… I’m trying to recall the reason I started writing this post and I’m failing but, I think as I’m looking out to a view of traffic and scaffolding outside our apartment window, the memories of my morning routine of sunshine, lemons and chirping birds have dawned. Home really is anywhere you make it but there is no place like the home you originate and as a proud South African, there is no place like mzansi.
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