La Magie de la Réunion

Dear Reader, bonjour, 

I write to you from my warm spot outside my little Airbnb in Saint Pierre, à l'Ile de la Réunion 🌴 

Yes. 

A year ago I decided to go to South Africa instead of Réunion. I have reflected on this and all the parallels over the past days. Speaking with the same friend, this time in another part of Paris. 

Fabulous Lady 🌹

Reunited with old artists, creating something new. This time understanding the significance of our encounters is an essence of cosmic lore 💜

I am building a garden... 🦋🦋🦋

Once again, Paris gave me a familiar hug goodbye as I embarked on my new adventure...

...Arriving to this island, laden with palms, exotic flowers and even my old favourites... 

Being reunited with a lovely soul, part of a trio that once went on a trip in search of whales in South Africa 🐳 🇸🇸

💛 

This island is a wonderful place, rivalling Sri Lanka for its diverse landscape. Each day, I have done something completely different. I started with incredible botanical gardens, then I took a road with 400 bends to Cilaos, where I went hiking in the mountains, then I went to the coast and basked in the glory of the vast waves as I marched along the dense sand dunes...

🩵

The next day I climbed into a volcano 🌋 making all the mistakes a traveler could make, resulting in me having to run back to my car (and up 15 minutes of vertical steps). Yes, even experienced travelers like me f**k up. 

Before the sprint

But the stars above me decided to be kind and alas, Fjorda (my hire car) survived my temporal idiocy. I'll let you guess...

After my volcano shenanigans, I wanted to cool down - In fact it was cold and wet on top of the volcano but it's more poetic when I say it like this - so I decided to chase some waterfalls ✨ 

Grand Galet was sublime, and my hike to Cap Blanc was beautiful. I even had a quick nap on top of one of the rocks. 

This week has been exactly what I needed, reconnection with nature and that which makes me whole. And it's not even over yet. 

I hope to see some whales this afternoon, and brave the bendy roads once again tomorrow, before I enter a new stage of my life 🐳 

As I sit back and allow myself to be still, I bask in the comforting sounds around me: birds chirping, palm leaves dancing in the breeze, the insects singing and magic unfolding 🪄

Face before coffee

The warmth of the sun hugging me tight, I feel welcome in this world 🌍 

I will take up space. 

I will listen. 

I will love. 

I will live. 

So should you, Dear Reader. Find a place to sit still today, and just be 🫶

...🦋 Reunite with that which feels good...🦋

Sunrise

Dear Reader, 

🌳

I missed you. 

I know how long these letters take. 

But though I am tired, tonight, I want to speak to you. I hope my voice reaches you in whichever ways serves you best today 🌛

Forgive me. My last correspondence was so very long ago. In a far away land called The Past.

How much has changed in so little time. 

People, places. You. Me. C'est la vie. 

It's all the same, but a little different.

The familiar person is not walking the streets. There is a sensation in the spine, something forcing me to stand straight as I face what comes next. 

I was so close. To slipping back. To the old ways. But the mindset changes as soon as you're free and you wonder where you went for 10 weeks. 

This doesn't help.

I rested. I reminisced and I cherished. But as the stars above me die, so do the strands of the past, one petal at a time, before the seeds of dreams flourish once more 🪷 

Yes. 

Nothing will ever be the same again. Even since you started this letter, Dear Reader, you have changed and lost everything until this moment. Right now is the only thing we have. 

I understood this for years, but I was obsessed. The claws of time pierced my skin like the meadow of thorns. And they will continue to do so 🌹

But just once in a while, I snap my fingers, and  control time once more, watching the light radiate as my universe unfolds 💜

I left England feeling refreshed. Replenished. Its talons held me strong near the end. But here I am. Flying towards the warmth of uncertainty, the eclectic melting pot of cultures and life that shape our world. 

As I walk the streets of Paris, I remember how well I know this odd place. So many parts I have explored, with so many people, in so many different stages of my life. It is my home, unlike anywhere else. A place I have always felt accepted, unjudged, and within an essence of magic, which I have found rarely, even in Asia 🪄

Places I love are gone, yet this feeling has not altered. I'm still connected, if only in my memories. 

There is a switch as I oscillate from nostalgia to novelty. The spectral shift that guides me, illuminates the streets and sounds. In every glance, I see life. But I protect myself. 

It is important to remember that some darkness cannot be illuminated, and we must accept that those shadows spread, as we dance in reach of the sun 🌞 

Thank you for waiting for me, Dear Reader, for allowing me the time to rest. And now, I'd like to invite you on an adventure... 

As I step forward, into my travel boots, heading for an unknown blend of beaches and waterfalls, mountains and forests. Cafes and smiles, love and magic.

Won't you join? 

Who knows the friends you could make? 

🐘