This Is What Peace Looks Like
This morning I spent some time lying beneath a tree.
A giant acacia.
Not because I was tired.
Not because I had nothing to do.
But simply because, for once, there was nothing I needed to do.
My eyes wandered across the land. In the distance stood the ecofarm, surrounded by trees that I had planted years ago as tiny saplings. Today they provide shade, fruit, and life.
A gentle breeze moved through the branches.
No traffic.
No sirens.
No rush.
Only the songs of birds.
I no longer try to count how many species I hear each day. Maybe twenty. Maybe fifty.
I stopped counting a long time ago.
Later that day, I walked up to the terrace. The sun slowly disappeared behind the trees, painting the sky in colors that are almost impossible to describe. Every evening it feels as if nature gives one final performance before night quietly takes over.
And then there is the mangrove.
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For many people, it’s just a word they’ve heard in a nature documentary.
For me, it is my backyard.
A maze of winding waterways where I swim almost every day. Roots rising from the water. Silence interrupted only by the gentle splash of a kayak or the call of a bird.
Sometimes, in the evening, I share dinner with a family from the village.
Not in a restaurant.
Just sitting together around a large bowl of rice.
Talking with our hands, smiling, and exchanging a few words in Wolof.
Those are the moments that remind me that wealth has very little to do with money.
People sometimes ask me why, after all these years, I still live in Senegal.
Perhaps this is the answer.
Not one extraordinary moment.
But hundreds of ordinary ones.
A tree offering shade.
A mangrove that is never the same twice.
A meal shared with others.
A sunset that never grows old.
Perhaps peace is nothing more than learning to appreciate ordinary days.
If you would ever like to experience an ordinary day in Senegal, you are always welcome at Deep Forest Reset.
Today is my birthday.
And today I realized that I am already living the life I once only dared to dream of.
