I absolutely love finding old notes, little riddles and thoughts written down on whatever was close by at the time. I find them here and there, cleverly hiding in between sheets of paper or in the most peculiar little places as this one – neatly folded away and placed in a zippocket i didn’t even know existed – in a toilet bag i have no recollection i have ever used.

It was written the day before last New Year’s. I had just arrived, alone, in a place called East London in South Africa. I was waiting for a stranger to give me a ride up the Wild Coast to somewhere I’ve never been, to meet people I hardly knew. Who he was i didn’t know, who he was didn’t really matter as long as I got the ride i needed.

So, I waited and I trusted my new friend who arranged the pickup and who I was going meet in the Transkei.

I put all thoughts of me being alone in the lost world of South Africa in a piece of gumpaper and through it in the closest garbagebin.

Nothing mattered more then being present in where i was. And this is what I saw. Life, as it is. As it was on that very day.

**

Life.

That is what I’m witnessing. No excuses and no shame, just pure reality.

Two teenage girls playing in the water like they’ve never felt the touch of the ocean before. Exited like small children and with the mindset that they’ve let go of the world around them. They only feel their own presence, they only feel their skin being caressed by nature and absorbing their own being. Without even knowing it.

To my right three young boys just ordered their lunch. Their cokes is being poured in hand washed glasses and are waiting for their food to come to the table. No parents. Proud.

They’re all listening to their own music, their own soul, but through headphones connected to mp3-players. Christmas presents for sure. They loved it!

Women walking along the beach walk. Head held high while they talk to each other and laugh. Food, clothes and unrecognizable things are stacked on their braided scalps and not a hurricane in the world would make them drop it. They continue walking, laughing and sharing while the sunlight make their colorful dresses shine like fields of flowers.

Two fishermen collecting their rods and lines, coming to the conclusion that it might have been too windy for a good catch today. Maybe tomorrow… Maybe tomorrow.

Gently putting everything in its place they pat each other on the back and after a truthful look in each others eyes they part. They slowly head to different directions of the beach. Friendship among strangers is a beautiful thing.

Looking down the beach I see a young couple holding hands. Her red skirt is all over in the strong wind but with his eyes laid upon her I can almost hear his words; “I love you. You’re beautiful”. Her shy smile tells me I was right.

She loves him too.

All this is happening while the sand on the beach soak up the salty water as it was a well that could never be filled. It devours each swell that brakes over it, but only enough to let the next wave get the very same personal attention.

I need you. You need me. We all need each other if it’s going to work.

I can almost taste it, and it being the wholeness of the picture I’m being showed. The beauty and reality of some peoples lives, the vacation and dream state of others.

This is Life. One small four-letter word which contains purity like nothing else. It’s like the touch of a loved one that has past, but whose presence you still feel next to you. Or like the times you swear you heard a laugh from a memory far, far in the distance. You can’t grasp, see or locate it, you can only feel being in it. With it and around it.

So embrace it. Life is such a beautiful thing!