“And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair”(the Prophet)

At some point we all judge , we have opinions and ideas about whats happening around the world , about people , about things and as we get older the stance may change , but it certainly changes with knowledge .Life is an endless cycle of opposites , no one is immune to these cycles , Life in itself is a cycle of its own opposite , Death!. sooner or later it is the one thing that we can be certain of .

Somehow in the world we live in there is idea in society that possibly time is endless and can be extended - day to day is not something we look at it anymore , and yet if we look at our placebo , nature , there is nothing more than day to day !We have to move now !

For hundreds of years , the thinking of individuals has been swayed by society's Institutions , by religion , and more recently by the commercial world, in the endless pursuit of "progress" and to be a part of it, however never more than now is the pressure on the individual to think in a way that is dictated by policy ,education , society , conform or else !

It is unquestionable that the very fibre of society is being questioned daily ,social media and the internet have shrunk the world, information is on peoples fingertips instantaneously, our news networks spend time showing bias opinions with agendas , and the real issues that effect life are not given airtime , as they are not commercially beneficial!
Why is that with the power and means to do the right thing, so many powerful institutions have in fact hidden agendas ? and why do we, the very people who support these institutions not question them more openly ?

Take a moment to consider  the consequences of ecological collapse, the collapse of our origin ? In my life time there are many species that are effectively extinct , basically destroyed through our societies bungling efforts for "progress" . Where is the line people ? At what point do we as people , as a responsible species say No?And in this regard when do we back the people who do know, the people at the rock face without hidden agenda?

Today as we speak, there are dedicated men and women, mostly completely misunderstood by the vast majority, committing their lives to the conservation of species of animals and vegetation that are facing an unparalleled onslaught of poaching and destruction,signs of a commitment from deep within with very little reward.
Some of these people come from unlikely backgrounds and others from more predictable ones, ex department of wildlife people,Professsional guides, Professional hunters are all banding to gather at the rock face of this problem, they are the "grunts" of this war, the foot soldiers  - the criticism by many is unfounded and often comes from people removed from the rock face with  "trending "opinions .
Opinions are healthy and necessary,but for us to find common ground however we need to have a better understanding of what is happening on the ground and unfortunately those very institutions that have grown so big and become so powerful because we have let them, are many of them, defining the way we think on this and not pulling their weight, as it is in direct conflict with their own 'progress'

Come ,feel the breeze , take in the fragrance of nature , of reality, and ponder quietly the enormity of the situation we are facing!

Tread lightly on the Earth 

Will Maberly 

The Arrival
 Oil on  canvas
100 x60cm

The Evening is upon us , the light has changed as it does in the Zambezi Valley , the birds are moving and that heat of the mid day is dying .Its been another long day in the dust and the heat of the Zambezi Valley and it feels like the very Bush  is a sighing in relief .

Deep in the Jesse the dust is stirred up by the feet of these Elephant  , as they smell the water nearby , the  Bulls increase their pace to the small pan , their size is impressive – humbling and above all the silence is spiritual -
Take a walk where the animals walk  , sit there and the sensations of Africa will fill you , the dampness of the Mopane clay around the pan , the aromas of elephant dung , and the sound of all the birds will combine to create  a sensation , a feeling  that sits with you forever

This is a group of Bachelors , the young and the eager out front – often known as “Askari” or Policemen ,they are often out ahead and accompany the older Bulls , learning from them and respecting them –like the youngest in the family , he is often cajoled and reprimanded but taught by his elder brothers .

This painting reminds me of you boys , of Tom and Matt and Mitch ,I see how it is -and how it will always be , a brotherhood of fine men  , a tribute to their Mother and their Father , and it will remind you of this place we call the “Valley “, a place where we have been very privileged to be a part of for so many years .

Wherever you fetch up in life and , what ever you end up doing , moments like those will keep you strong – the knowing that you have been a part of this incredible life we have led will keep you powerful and resolute

Above all it will remind you of where you come from , for without a past there is no future