My long-awaited and eagerly anticipated meeting with the Green Lady had indeed been a massively transformative experience for me. I found myself completely convinced that she indeed existed, just as had all the people whose stories I had documented been convinced. I was of the opinion that anyone who spent any time at all in the forests would be forever changed.
As I put the finishing touches to my stories in the final days before my time in Knysna would draw to an end, the realization gradually began to dawn on me that I would no longer be able to return to my previous life. My experiences in this beautiful part of the world had irrevocably changed me and it was no longer possible to even contemplate a city life and a career in journalism. But, what would I do with my life, then? Was it possible that I could find a way to live in Knysna, close to the forests that had so transformed my perspective on life?
On my final day in Knysna, I took a short walk to bid the forests farewell. As I sat on a large stone in the middle of a mountain stream, surrounded by lush green tree ferns and protected by the tree canopy high above, I made a pledge to myself that I would indeed return to live in Knysna, no matter what it would take. I had made my choice. And it was a choice about love and connection and an open heart. It was a choice about connecting with my most authentic self and trusting what I found there instead of accepting the limited perspective of my ego-mind.
And, indeed, it seems that when we make a choice from the heart, the entire universe conspires to make it happen in the most unexpected ways. I had barely arrived back in Cape Town when I received a phone call from Helena Kroukamp, the journalist with whom I had worked on crowdfunding Elsa’s treatment. Helena told me that her German boyfriend had finally asked her to marry him and that she would be moving to Germany within the next few months to live with him there. She asked me whether I would be interested in taking over her regular columns in various newspapers and magazines in the region. She said that she would also be willing to introduce me, with a personal recommendation, to all of her contacts in case I was interested in writing the odd article or opinion piece for extra cash. The income would be a fraction of what I had earned in Cape Town and it was a career dead-end, but I was elated. In addition, Helena told me that she would put in a good word for me with her landlord and that, if I wanted it, her small, extremely inexpensive apartment would become available at the beginning of the following month.
And so it was that I found myself back in Knysna, only two months after leaving, with a job, a home and plenty of time and energy left at the end of each day to continue pursuing my passion for writing. The very next day I planned a hike in the forest. I was hoping to meet with the Green Lady to thank her for all that she had done for me. What transpired next is the topic of another book…
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Thank you for reading my book. I really loved writing it! If you enjoyed reading it, won't you please take a moment to leave me a review at your favourite retailer?
- Lisa Picard