On Sunday 5th June 2017, 6 of us met in downtown Nairobi for the first ever Street Wisdom in Kenya (possibly even Africa??).
As it wasn’t possible to attend a Street Wisdom event first before running one (for the simple reason there aren’t any going on here!), I had to dive right in, read up about it and then go for it.
I live in the Nairobi suburbs and almost never go to central Nairobi as it’s just so hectic (and not know for being the safest city on earth)*. We met at an old Italian Restaurant called Trattoria and did all our walks from that point.
Well, it was just brilliant, on so many levels. We engaged with the streets of Kenya’s capital city in a way we agreed we had never done before, slowed down, connected to one another in a new way and had an utterly unique, enriching experience.
At the end, we met for a beer back at Trattoria and discussed our experiences. All of us felt really energised and amazed at what we had been through. Some example questions:
✪ How can I learn how to sleep naturally again? ✪ Now that I’ve given up my job, how can I best use my time over the coming month?
We said we would all definitely do it again and, in fact, can’t wait to! Thank you Street Wisdom ❤️
Chief, Tonya, Kip & Andy at Trattoria for our ‘sharing’ experience
*Something I found quite difficult was the number of street kids who came up to me whilst I was walking. It was a good exercise though for me to expend less energy on trying to walk away from them and be more open minded and compassionate to what I was witnessing.
“I was absolutely fascinated by the answers the streets had. The streets that I am always on, through this exercise suddenly became alive. I asked a question about my work regarding what it was that I should not compromise. The answers were glaringly clear. Everything was speaking the same message to me. I would recommend this to anybody and will definitely be using the techniques learnt again and again.” Antonia
“My take out was that we are mostly too busy to take note of our immediate environment, even when things are (and have been) right there in our face. It was a brilliant exercise in contemplation and indeed powerful.
Nairobi “revealed” an obelisk; a I and II world war memorial monument to East African veterans, it stands on a street I have walked and passed many times before and never seen. It was also revealing in the “love” walk to note that I am very much a contributor to the City’s vibe. It made me feel an appreciation for myself. Lastly when I asked the streets how I could have more fun in my life, I immediately got the response that I could tap in to anonymity a feeling and personal sense I often don’t have or associate with. This possibly means, I’m a little caught up with my egotistical side that perhaps is inclined to perform and not simply be.
Many, many thanks for this exercise, it was much more powerful than I could have possibly imagined.” Ruby