They say people come into your life for a moment, a day, or a lifetime. Sometimes it’s for a week.
In 2013, Dave and I took the trip of a lifetime to Tanzania. We spent a week in Arusha, the Ngorongora Crater and the Serengeti before flying to Zanzibar for four days in the Indian Ocean. The image of thousands of zebras and wildebeest migrating across the plains of the Serengeti is still seared in my mind.
Our local guide was Fulgence Kenedy, a sweet, soft-spoken young father with a beautiful smile, a twinkle in his eye and wicked sense of humour. We became fast friends, bonding over parenthood, our love of nature, and Justin Bieber (don’t ask). Over the years, we’ve kept in touch with Fulgence through Facebook and Facebook messenger.
Our trip to Tanzania was one of the things that inspired this blog. In a nation that had so little, we were struck by how warm, funny, and happy the people were and it made me reflect even more on what makes people happy.
Over the years, as we enjoyed the videos and pictures Fulgence shared online of him on safari, I noticed his posts were often accompanied by inspirational messages of love, hope and joy.
Here are some reflections on life, love and happiness from my Tanzanian philosopher friend Fulgence:
“Don’t plan too much, life has its own plans for you. Remember that some of the most beautiful moments of your life are unplanned.”
“Every sunset is an opportunity to reset and brings a new promise of dawn. You cannot stop the sunrise.”
“One day, I was surprised when I came home from church with my neighbour. When we had nearly reached home, she poured warm water* on me and wished me happy birthday. The question was, how did she keep the water warm all the time we were in church? It’s all because of love.”
*I asked Fulgence why his neighbour poured water on him on his birthday—he says it’s like when a child is baptized and is an act of love and acceptance
“Life doesn’t allow us to go back and fix what we have done wrong in the past, but it does allow us to live each day better than the last.”
“To succeed in life you need two things: ignorance and confidence.”
“The hardest test in life is the patience to wait for the right moment.”
“Everyone has a reason why you’re in this world, but to be in this world you pass through several people and make them happy or leave a wound in their heart…the bridge to cross is just a few short words. Sorry. I forgive you. Most of us don’t know how to say that when we hurt others. It’s time to love and care for others like you love and care for yourself.”
And finally,
“Happiness is a medicine”
I’ll leave you with this classic Fulgence joke. He asked me, “Laurie, do you know how to tell a male zebra from a female zebra? The male zebra is black with white stripes. The female zebra is white with black stripes.”
Ed. note: If you’re thinking of going to Africa on safari, we highly recommend you book with Access2Tanzania. Casey and the team here in North America will customize a trip for you. Ask for Fulgence—he’s featured on their website.
One of my favourite photos: a pair of zebras in the Serengeti. Fulgence shared they will rest their heads on each others’ backs so they can see predators from any direction. Can you tell the male from the female?
Happy Act 