Nostalgia

South Africa

In the sweltering heat of the sun’s penetrative rays, our skin offers scant protection compared to the hides of the animals that roam the African continent. The drawn-out evolution of the Earth is often imperceptible in daily life, as human development and innovation is constantly conducted. Yet, amid the natural beauty of untouched civilizations living off the land we wonder at the landscapes much larger than ourselves. The deep respect the people of this land have for it is inspiring. They incorporate nature into their lives, working with the resources available to them and allowing life cycles to take precedence over artificial activities. 

There is a language among the animals: between the roars and the squeals, the snorts and the huffs, exists an entire world of expression. This is the music of the great outdoors, and we have yet to learn the song. Our fragile relationship with the Earth around us, disparate from that of the animals, is particularly apparent as we observe this wild context. Watching the goings-on of the flora and fauna evokes our sense of the expanse of the world around us, of which we are only one piece. We can easily get lost amid the tall grass with no end, in the land stretching beyond what the eye can see. This is the animal kingdom, after all, and we are simply passing through. 

Without the confines of Western civilization, many of us would be lost. Yet this environment grounds us. Breathing in each gust of wind as it scuffles the grass and perks the ears of the deer, watching the rain beat against the backs of the almost entirely submerged hippos, and observing the colors fading from congregations of animals preparing for the night ahead, there is a deep sense of life that is intensely liberating. We, too, adjust to the pace of the wild and reconnect our bodies to the Earth. And in times when things are in disarray, this is the moment I re-live. 

At the southernmost tip of the continent, a sign points to other major locations of human civilization and development around the world. Against the cloudless sky and the spray of the oceans, this connection to humanity offers a sense of peace in the knowledge that human life has persisted from its beginnings on the African continent. 


Words and Photo: Samhita Sen

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