My ‘One Word’ this week is: TRUST

𝐀𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥.

That’s when you discover what 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐓 really means.

That truth hit me hard during our eight safari adventures over four days at the 𝐓𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝐋𝐨𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐢 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞, 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚. One at 5:30 AM and one at 5:30 PM.

It’s considered extremely rare to see all seven of the 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝟕 animals during your stay:

𝐋𝐢𝐨𝐧: the king of the savanna, a symbol of strength and pride

𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭: intelligent, emotional, and deeply wise

𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐨: massive, unpredictable, and highly respected

𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐝: elusive, stealthy, and the hardest to find

𝐑𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐬: powerful and vital to conservation

𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐡: the fastest land animal, graceful and fierce

𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐃𝐨𝐠: rare, endangered, and a master of teamwork

We saw all seven.

Each game drive had two people guiding us: a 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞, who drove and shared insights about the animals, and a 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫, who sat at the very front of the jeep, scanning the ground for signs of movement.

What struck me most wasn’t the sightings. It was the 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐓 that made them possible.

There were no guns on the jeep (something I didn’t expect). We were literally inches away from 𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐡𝐬, and 𝐥𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 that could easily overpower us. 

And yet, every moment, our 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞 and 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫 exuded calm. They read every movement, every sound, every shift in the animals’ behavior. Some animals even recognized their voices. 

It was as if there was a silent agreement between human and wild: 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞.

While I was 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐔𝐓 the entire time, I learned something powerful.

Once you decide to take the leap, whether it’s on a safari, in your career, or in life, you have to 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐓 the experts guiding you.

You have to let go and put your faith in those who see what you can’t.

𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝: Sometimes the bravest thing you can do isn’t to hold on tighter, but to 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐓 that you’re in capable hands and enjoy the ride.

(PS: Every photo in this collage was taken on my iPhone 16!)