Gratitude is the easiest yet single most powerful source of inspiration that any person can access, no matter their location, vocation, or financial situation. It’s very simple… pay attention to the beauty and miracle of life that is all around you. This attention will create abundance. And, as this Buddhist proverb says, “‘Enough’ is a feast”. Join us on Day six of Nature’s Gifts… a gratitude meditation.If you would like to skip down to our wildlife story click here.
Acknowledging the good you have in your life is the foundation for all abundance ~ Eckhart Tolle
My invitation to you, right now, is to come with me to the wildness of Africa, on a walk through an open clearing as the sun shines down and warms your skin. Just for a few moments, transport yourself from wherever you are right now and journey with me to a place where birdsong and the distant call of a lion will show you all the simple things there are to be grateful for. Let this mindfulness practice be something that you do for yourself today, something to regulate your nervous system, pump yourself full of dopamine and wire some new neural pathways (all things that meditation and gratitude practices are so good at doing).
Finding a quiet, comfortable space where you won’t be interrupted for the next 14 minutes is all you need to do to create some space for gratitude in your day today. And, if you love this one, be sure to try out some of our other mindfulness practices on our 7-day mindfulness challenge and 7-day animal wisdom challenge.
My soul honours your soul.
I honour the place in you where the entire universe resides.
I honor the light, the love, the truth, the beauty and the peace within you
Because it is also within me.
In sharing these things we are united.
We are the same.
We are one.
Lunar Moth
With large green wings,
she is graceful as she flies.
She carries marks upon her back,
like two feral eyes.
Antennas are like tiny ferns,
feathery and pale.
Her tail is like a swallow,
yet delicate and frail.
Watch her on a summer night,
while crickets sing a tune.
She flutters through the darkness,
by the light of the moon.
Enjoy her while you can,
you may only get a peek.
For sadly life is short for her,
she only lives a week.
~Sharon Miller
Whilst you find yourself present and full of gratitude, it's the perfect time to bring out a little creativity with mindful colouring - download this here .
Lessons from the Wild – Ranger Matt Rochford
At Londolozi, I am fortunate enough to be in an incredibly stimulating environment, surrounded by nature night and day. An enormous expanse of unspoilt wilderness, never failing to satisfy my inherent child-like curiosity.
There’s no substitute for the value of being in tune with the bush, or for the experiences gained by spending time with animals and observing them in their natural state. The leopard, being particularly mysterious and elusive by nature, has often eluded me. This has urged me to look deeper into the secret life of these beautiful cats. I yearned for a more insightful understanding of my surroundings when out in the bush because I knew this would help me considerably when trying to find them. My focus became attempting to understand how the bush responded to the presence of a leopard. I shifted my attention from the leopard itself to observe everything around them. The behaviour of birds, the sounds of other animals, how the lie of the land and its features shaped their movements, where and how they move and why etc. I sought to turn what initially seemed like haphazard events unfolding around me, into patterns I could make sense of.
The Nhlanguleni female leopard successfully manages to take down a male bushbuck during the early hours of the morning. Male bushbuck are extremely aggressive and dangerous when threatened. They have been known to fatally wound leopards with their sharp dagger-like horns. Here she takes a brief break whilst dragging her prized possession to a nearby sausage tree, into which she eventually hoisted it.
Through doing this, the most important thing I’ve learned from nature is that it speaks a wordless language. It taught me that you should let everything in the bush be your teacher. From the dwarf mongoose, the elephant, the monkey, to the fork-tailed drongo, the insects, to the faintest impression in the soil or a kinked blade of grass, all share snippets of a great story being told. But only those who are open to it and who are in tune with nature can receive it. A language whose words are intricately woven throughout the entire fabric of the wilderness. The more time I spend out here, the more intimately I get to know the bush and the more familiar I become with this language. Being in tune with nature is within itself its own special reward. It does however come with the benefit of helping you find one of the most beautiful animals in the world too – the leopard.
A female leopard bares her teeth at an approaching hyena, warning it to stay well clear of her and her cub. The young cub fled up a nearby tamboti tree moments before, while the mother held her ground.
Two young female leopard cubs keep each other company atop a large termite mound while they wait for their mother to return from a hunt. In a little less than a year from now they will be fully independent. They will then need to use all the skills they have learnt from their mother in order to survive and set up their own territories.
Hi Amanda, I totally agree, leopards are incredibly beautiful and the Nhlanguleni female has such emerald green eyes… an utmost shining star for Christmas
Dear Londolozi Family,
Just about now, my husband and I should have been settling into our Londolozi accommodations and readying ourselves for sharing the holidays (and a rather significant “round” birthday) with you. Regrettably, this Omicron variant brought our plans to a sudden halt and we now can only hope things will normalize in short time so that our re-booking in June will go forward. Like so many others whose plans have had to change, we are not just disappointed for ourselves, but for the owners, managers and hard-working staff like you who put their hearts and souls into delivering a unique South African wildlife experience to the world. We pray that these set-backs will eventually turn around and that we’ll all come out of the pandemic stronger and more appreciative of the things we might previously have overlooked or taken for granted. Perhaps this experience will ultimately remind us that our co-existence both with humans and animals is a delicate and precious commodity to be treasured, protected and preserved. While we wait this round of Corona out here in our wintry Switzerland, we tease ourselves with your amazing blogs and photographs, and count the days until we will be there for our very upfront and personal Londolozi experience. In the meantime, we thank you for sharing your stories in such a warm, meaningful way. It’s the next best thing to being there!
We send our best wishes for a very happy holiday, good health to each and all of you, and a return to prosperity in 2022. Stay safe and, fingers crossed/thumbs pressed, we’ll see you in June!
Leslie and James Gut
Switzerland
Thank you so much for this comment Leslie and James. As always, we are devastated that you couldn’t travel to come and visit us, but we will always be here waiting for your return. I am so glad that we could help you stay connected.
Amazing photos of leopards!
I agree with Matt that the more time you spend in the bush, the more you appreciate what you have been observing. There is nothing in this world that compares to nature and the intricacies that it bares. Forsure only those that truly understand the bush can receive the language of the bush and all that it shares . I share your love for the leopard, which for me is also the most beautiful animal in the world.
Thank you Amanda for the gratitude meditation, providing 14 beautiful minutes to become one with nature, a special daily gift. I was immediately transported to the bush, opening up to nature’s symphony.
Matt, it was interesting to read your story of how trying to find leopards eventually brought you to the place where looking and listening to nature will guide you to them – beautiful images also!!
Lovely lunar moth drawing!
Amanda, Once again, you have created a truly unique and beautiful experience! We enjoyed the meditation and it brought us back to the special mindfulness and animal wisdom challenges that we used so successfully in the depths of lockdown in the pandemic. Thanks for always keeping us focused on our surroundings and the beauty that surrounds us in so may ways every day. Happy New Year!
This is such a wonderful comment to read, Michael and Terri – thank you for sharing with me.
Amanda & Matt – a really nice blog. I think we all need to have some gratitude for all that we have. We have had a rough 2 years throughout this pandemic, however, every day I say how blessed I feel I am for all the things I have and so few have. I am not a rich person, I am a senior, and, I appreciate my surroundings and am thankful for them. Thank you very much for sharing with us. I wish to share a video with you that I really love and watch quite often. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSt7k_q_qRU