Sometimes I lose myself, my essence, my sense of being buried under the sludge of daily life; trying to please and keep happy the various people in my life: my husband, my boss, my mother, colleagues at work, my friends, my siblings ……. It’s like I’m on auto-pilot, I wake up do all the things I did the day before, come back to bed, wake up and do it all over again.
But thank God for those moments when I’m sat in the car, in bed or behind the wheel and out of nowhere it hits me that I need to slow-down and re-centre. Usually, the fix for this loss of trueness is to sit, still, silent, and mindful, and just empty my thoughts. My husband asks me: “what are you thinking”, as I just look blankly at nothing in particular. I really enjoy doing that (well I’m naturally quite lazy so doing nothing is very easy for me!) and it helps to re-focus and breathe easy and indulge in a little me time.
I saw this quote somewhere:
And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh.
........... Friedrich Nietzsche
I couldn’t have said it any better! I used to live by this quote but that was about 10, 9, 8, 7 years ago when it was easier to wake up in the morning and only wonder what fun things to do that day. There is this story of a boyfriend (at the time) telling me: “you, you are not serious koraaa! You are always happy!” like it was a bad thing cos I was always soo jokey and full of cheer. I wish I could have those days back. There are even moments when I’m cheerful on demand cos I know family and friends expect me to be. That can be soo tiresome when in actual fact I just want to be left alone to brood. Growing pains some may call it.
Some of my friends know I’ve had a rough past year; a year when some things went wrong and I’ve wondered how many more ‘What the fuck’ moments I could take. But not that many people could tell that I was having a rough time but hell I was and it’s taken me a while to crawl out from under that ‘well-hidden cloud’. And I’m actually ready to make the best use of the next 3 quarters of 2010!
My friend Ann and I were talking recently about how Ghanaians just don’t know how to relax and have a proper holiday like the obronis do. And we are not talking about having a few beers at Celsbridge or Golden Tulip or under that mango tree after work but actually planning, booking and flying out for a holiday in another place far from your home. When Ghanaians travel when annual leave, they work so they can shop and flash when they come back!!! Aaaaba! Learn to relax and rejuvenate!
Anyway, this year and every year, I’ve resolved to have time away from home and it need not be an international destination. We have so many delightful holiday destinations in Ghana that I plan to drag my husband or girlfriends to.
Please share any nice places (and not too expensive) in Ghana you’ve been to recently
In support of you relaxing I loved Lou Moon in Axim - www.loumoon-lodge.com The lobster is to die for and the range of sorbets......diving. there are no TV's etc. its you and nature - a lovely bay for swimming. the owner said to me that when most couples go there, they either break up or leave stronger cos you are forced to talk to each other.
ReplyDeleteA friend visited the Lou Moon in Axim and it has seriously come recommended and I could tell from the brochures. I've had a pretty rigid busy schedule of late, office, business, Rotary etc. I need a break to really have some fun, slow down and rejuvinate. Wont be bad to try a few things....will share my experiences soon
ReplyDeleteBusua beach in tadi is very nice too, jet skis and all...the beach is sooooo clean!!!!...and u don't have to stay at the hotel either, u can stay in takoradi (cheaper hotels) and drive there (abt 45mins)and its free entry to the beach. There's a pool too if the sea is not ur thing...Enjoy!!!!
ReplyDeleteAfter all these endorsements of Loumoon . . .this song just keeps playing over and over in my head. Commot the "B" and enjoy the new anthem for Loumoon:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a7wPKHLoCE
heard sooo much about Loumoon and visited their website several times to salivate but not yet made the trip, sooo farrrr but I know this year I will go there for sure!
ReplyDeleteHeard of Busua too, looks like 2010 is for the Western Region yeay!
Ebow yes ooooo. was it not the sound track to some movie?
ReplyDeleteca va toujour avec toi, dede! ;)
ReplyDeletei agree with the above recommendations - loumoon in axim, busua in takoradi, white sands and kokrobite, ada-foah or even a road trip to mole.
i'll share my secret place - brenu beach. this undiscovered cove 15 minutes further west of cape coast is the perfect place to be silent. accommodations is basic but the garlic bread of auntie aggie is to die for.
but for these trips, one must never go thirsty so pack your biggest igloo with lots and lots of drink.
for international flare, i can recommend essaouira in morocco (i just had tajine mouton aux olives for lunch), alexandria in egypt, sardegna in italy, mykonos in greece or even port louis a l'ile maurice. but next time i go to dakar, i will escape to praia in cape verde, too (and try their locally-brewed rum while dancing the coladeira and funana)!
Jhonnel you will kill me oooo! You this Filipino who knows Ghana more that me! I'm actually gon to write down your list and strike them off as I visit them. I'm very serious cos I trust your judgement on how to have fun! :-)
ReplyDeleteD, I'm loving your friend Jhonnel (have to try his recommendations as soon as I start making real money... lol) . Traveling is my thing and so if you are ever in need of a spontaneous girlfriend to go on a trip, you know I'm game.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, I agree with you. We can lose ourselves so easily and so re-centering is a good activity/thing to do! Keep on living.
ps/ and Busia Beach is a chill place. Been a couple of times.
dede, me ye ghanane. actually, i am an afrasian. ;) my dagomba people 'christened' me as 'wompini' meaning God's gift.
ReplyDeletemaybe you should come with me this year as i planned some spectacular trips like manila, singapore and bangkok, then to lisbon and roma, last quarter.
or for next year (2011), i need to tick off salvador, brazil during carnival, festival au desert in essakane, mali, istanbul (hagia sophia) and ankara, turkey of my list. bring nana o. as well. ;)
"Whereas the tourist generally hurries back home at the end of a few weeks or months, the traveler, belonging no more to one place than to the next, moves slowly, over periods of years, from one part of the earth to another." ~ The Sheltering Sky, Paul Bowles
will be in touch, Jhonnelk!
ReplyDeletehow come i cannot make posts?
ReplyDelete