Book 216 - A Year of Magical Learning

Reflection Title: This is Africa!

Book – The Elephant Whisperer: My Life with the Herd in the African Wild by Lawrence Anthony

Book Description:

Lawrence Anthony devoted his life to animal conservation, protecting the world's endangered species. Then he was asked to accept a herd of "rogue" wild elephants on his Thula Thula game reserve in Zululand. His common sense told him to refuse, but he was the herd's last chance of survival: they would be killed if he wouldn't take them.

In order to save their lives, Anthony took them in. In the years that followed he became a part of their family. And as he battled to create a bond with the elephants, he came to realize that they had a great deal to teach him about life, loyalty, and freedom.

The Elephant Whisperer is a heartwarming, exciting, funny, and sometimes sad memoir of Anthony's experiences with these huge yet sympathetic creatures. Set against the background of life on an African game reserve, with unforgettable characters and exotic wildlife, Anthony's unrelenting efforts at animal protection and his remarkable connection with nature will inspire animal lovers and adventurous souls everywhere.

Reflection:

Mark my words, someday my family and I will take a magical trip to Thula Thula game reserve in South Africa. I don’t know when, I don’t know how, but I know that it will happen.

I’m sold on Africa!

I don’t know what it is, but there is something about the wildlife in Africa that feels like it has been calling my name since I was a child. The Lion King was my favorite movie growing up, the African Safari section of the Indianapolis Zoo is by far what I look forward to visiting the most whenever we go, my favorite time to run outside is when it is hot and dry in the deep summer which is similar to what I imagine the African climate feeling like, and my spirit animal has always been a Lion (after reading this book, Elephants are giving them a run for their money though).

While Africa may have been calling my name as a child; as an adult, I’m finally ready to listen.

I believe in omens. I believe in listening to what the world is sharing with you and following its direction. For whatever reason, this journey has been slowing pointing me toward the direction of Africa since the day Emilia was born. It started way back in Emilia’s NICU room at Riley’s Hospital for Children where each room had a unique Safari themed photo on the wall. I came to find out that the chief of medicine was an amateur photographer and loved to travel, and I guess he liked Africa as well. The photos were off shots of animals from what I assume was some African Safari trips he took over the years. As chance would have it, the photo that ended up in Emilia’s hospital room was a Lion, because of course it was. Emilia’s code word to get access into the NICU each day was “Lion”. Her first stuffed that we brought her was a Lion. The mural that we created for her nursery was of a family of Lion’s. Our Book Cover for I Can’t Imagine was an adaptation of that mural with a family of Lion’s on the African savannah. I think you get the point!

Where things got weird is when I mysteriously started reading all these crazy books on this journey where Africa played a major role and kept popping up time and time again. Whether it be Santiago’s epic trip to the Egyptian Pyramids in The Alchemist on the hunt for his personal legend. Learning about the origins of humanity that rose out of Africa in Sapiens. Discovering that humans used to use our remarkable ability to run, sweat, endure, and work together to literally run animals to death in endurance hunts in Africa in Born to Run. Hearing about all the extreme poverty and lack of clean water that plagues the continent today in Thirst. Understanding how volatile nature can be and dangerous viruses like Ebola’s origins of how it spread amongst species in The Hot Zone. Being inspired by the corollaries to life and tracking these majestic animals that live deep in the African Bush in The Lion Tracker’s Guide to Life. Finally, being awed the incredible connection that exists between humans and these ancient animals and understanding how much we can teach each other in The Elephant Whisperer!

The Elephant Whisperer officially put me over the top in hearing the call to this magical place that is Africa. I felt like I was right there with the author as he described his life of running the Thula Thula game preserve and all the complexities, hardship, and magical feelings that come with it. The author kept saying over and over again throughout the book the phrase, “This is Africa” in an effort to describe just how different and unique it is from the rest of the world, and I can’t get it out of my mind. Africa is wild, it is ancient, it is dangerous, it is complex, and it is beautiful all at the same time. Africa is where we come from, it is our ancestral home and beginnings, and it is where humans first learned how to survive and thrive in harmony with each other and the natural world.

This is Africa! I’ve heard the call and I’m ready to see it for myself while sharing in this magical place together with the ones I love the most in this world.

Question: Is there somewhere in particular the omens been directing your journey recently? What’s stopping you from listening and going?

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Links:

What is The Year of Magical Learning? - An Introduction

YOML Podcast Discussion - Coming Soon

YOML Bookstore - The Elephant Whisperer: My Life with the Herd in the African Wild by Lawrence Anthony