Dear David

As a small token of my appreciation for this incredible part of my journey, I have written up on a piece of the bush which through your travels to South Africa you may well be familiar with. It is a tree called the Zizyphus Mucronata.

In English this tree is known as the Buffalo Thorn, thought to be given its name due to the fact that its network of thorns are so impenetrable that a buffalo would rear end itself into this tree in an attempt to protect its rear from an attacking lion pride. Lions could then only approach from the front, and the buffalo would be able to defend itself using its deadly horns.

In Afrikaans it is known as the “Blink blaar Wag ‘n bietjie boom”, which means Shiny leafed, wait a bit tree. The leaves shine as if they have a constant covering of dew on them, and if you get caught in this tree, you quite simply have to “Wait a bit”.

You cannot be in a hurry to get through this tree, you literally have to stop long enough to unpick yourselves from the thorns of its branches.

Many of South Africa’s indigenous people have a deep reverence for this tree, and the Shangaan people in particular say that the zigzag pattern of its branch resemble much about the paths of our lives. Our lives are not a straight journey from A to B with dual carriage ways with no potholes and lit up by street lights, our lives take many twists and turns, and what is interesting, is that these deviations along our journey are not referred to as ups and downs, but rather as twists and turns. The wisdom behind this, is that you don’t always know when an up is really an up, and when a down is really a down. Haven’t we all gone through some tough times thinking they may be down, only to emerge some time later a little stronger, wiser or kinder? Did we learn something new? Was the down then really a down, or could it be an up?

It is safer then to talk rather of twists and turns, and our lives are full of those. First day at school, a marriage, a new job, children, a new learning, or a great book. Maybe even a painful bereavement or an unforgettable moment of joy and of bliss. We’ve had many of them so far, and we can pretty much guarantee that in the fullness of time, there will be many more.

A few amazing things happen at each one of these turning points along the branch. Firstly there is a small hooked thorn which points backwards, and the Shangaans remind us that whenever we reach a turning point, we must look back. Look back to remember where we have come from, what we have learned, and who have been important people we have met along the way. It provides us with an opportunity for reflection which we simply must take, but the hooked thorn is paradoxical in nature, for it also represents the things which hold us back from taking the next step. The fear of failure, of rejection, or comfort in the status quo. So as important as it is to reflect, we can’t be caught there forever, and that is why, at every turning point along the branch, there is also a straight thorn which points forward.

This reminds us that the journey of our lives is yet to be lived, and that as we reach these turning points, we should be putting some energy into the journey forward – where to from here, and with whom, and for what purpose?

It is also from each turning point that the leaves grow, and perhaps this represents that true growth happens right at the junction between the past and the future, and that is right in the here and in the now.

The leaf itself is symbolic in that it has three main veins. One represents Man’s relationship to man, another, Man’s relationship to God, and the last, Man’s relationship to the environment. Only if all three veins are present will the leaf be healthy, and maybe it is only when these relationships are in balance, that we will find harmony.

In Zulu, this tree is known as Mpafa, and when a member of the family dies, a close relative is entrusted with a small branch of this tree. They go to that place where the deceased passed on and they comb over the area with that branch. In so doing they pick up the spirit of that person, and will even book a seat on the bus, train or taxi home. For the branch carrier, the journey home is filled with the responsibility of engaging with the spirit lest it wanders off and gets lost. The branch of the buffalo thorn is then carefully and loving placed on the burial site as an indication to the spirit that it has returned home to the place in which it belonged.

I sincerely hope that as you return home to the places you belong, you take a piece of Africa home with you, and that you share it in a reflection of your own unforgettable moments.

With abundance, warmth and energy,

Steve