Tuesday I did too much and in the wrong order. I made two different types of coffee, I spent my morning sending too many texts, and took too many meetings. I neglected my appetite and my feet. We all have food issues, I do not pay enough attention to food. I eat to live, not live to eat. Spending too much time working, I often get wrapped up in my work and wait until I am famished. Our diet, eating disordered prone culture, has awarded me the awful perspective that missing meals is good, eating small amounts is ideal, and having full control is the goal. We must decolonize our minds and recognize food as nutrients. I practice good eating and I say practice because I can easily fall back into older habits. This morning I did not prioritize food and by midday had to have a talking with myself. Go to the grocery store was the gist of it.
On the way back from the grocery store I was going to make my second attempt at recording a video tour of my new home. Second attempt because the first days recording I looked tired and out of sorts. I hit the IG LIVE button and walked down the path through my compound to find a giant tree limb laying in my path, placed perfectly at my doorstep. Summoning Asha, pulling from Uganda culture, my house mum, and luckily her carpenter which just happened to be on the premise, I learned it was a moringa tree branch. “We shall make moringa wine. Start picking the flowers.” were her instructions.
“Asha, what do you think this means? A tree falling in front of my door for seemingly no reason? This must not be a very strong tree.”
“That is nature,” was her reply.
Later looking up what a fall tree branch means I came across the following meaning.
According to - Symbolism of Cracked Tree Branches:
“The only time a branch falls off a tree on its own is when it is dead. No more life to keep it attached to the tree. No sap. No nothing. The tree feels no pain when the dead branch falls away. It might even feel relieved that the dead weight is finally gone. That the dead branch has finally fallen off.”
To see a tree branch signifies good luck, growth and new life. Because trees represent life and branches represent relationships, a branch breaking often means the death of a relationship connected to either family.
Humm… lifting some dead weight from my shoulders. I’ll take it.
While here I am trying to keep my afternoons free. Free to swim, explore, and observe my surroundings. On my way out Asha waved me goodbye and provided a warning of sorts that I kind of understood but now at the beach thinking back I can't remember if she said beware of packs of boys or packs of dogs. I take the warning of dogs more seriously than the warning of boys. Boys I can negotiate with, dogs you can not. Living in Uganda I’ve definitely been stalked and harrassed by both but I’ve only had to pick up a rock once or twice for the dogs. Never for the boys. I thought I better clarify which is it, “beware of dogs or boys”.
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