I live vicariously through folks who live a nomadic lifestyle. While I’d have a difficult time making it work with my mental health and having a child, I often daydream about what it would be like to be free of most of my possessions and move about freely around this world as I choose. Thank you for sharing with us!
I appreciate this so much and I completely can understand your stance. I'm grateful to be able to live this lifestyle even if it isn't always full of the types of emotional and cultural highs and lows that I anticipated. Thanks so much for reading
Your consideration that often closeness is the only form of safety is so poignant. It makes me think about how as humans we cuddle together when cold both physically, and emotionally. Its a legacy to know one's risk-taking is clearing the path, tamping it down, and shedding a light on new possibility. This is dazzling ✨ Thank you.
Appreciate you and I'm sending gratitude out to you too. so beautiful to be connected with more Black nomads. Where abouts has your nomadic journey taken you?
Hey hey hey. Hope you’re having a blessed day. I have traveled across canada and the US by trains, planes, and automobiles. Nine Canadian provinces and 22 states in the US. Hoping to explore global travel this year with the goal of Africa in 2025.
That's incredible, the States and Canada are both so vast it's like several lands in one place. It kind of reminds me of Mexico (which is the biggest country I've lived in) and it always felt like crossing state borders was like entering a whole new country. Excited for your future travels! I've done Central America, Mexico, parts of Europe and the Caribbean so far
Amazing, I'm the same. I hope to visit more African countries (I remember I also visited Morocco! I'm now excited for Senegal, Ghana, Gambia, Kenya and Cape Verde as my first countries to explore). I hope you also enjoy the African influence up and down Central and South America too!!
thank you Robert, this means so much! Also, I wanted to thank you for being subscriber 300! Put a big smile on my face so finally finding time and space to let you know <3
I appreciate you and your being here so much. I adore finding other Black nomads and seeing how we choose to live and roam like this. Especially glad that this reached you 🤍
Yay, 300!!! Congrats on continued growth, Amara ♥️ Happy that others are discovering your incredible voice.
I loved this deeply—you are such an inspiration to all of us who are wishing to take that bold step and leave the place we were born. I love what you say about the leaving and staying; how even when it is intuition guiding you there’s still that sadness that comes with leaving those you love, but also how brave it is to be the one to light the path for others to follow, like it has been done throughout history.
“Someone had to leave first so others felt emboldened to do so too.” Yes!!
This year, I have been feeling the call to the nomadic lifestyle, and I know I’ll feel similarly to you when I finally get on the plane to an unknown destination. But to do so anyway, despite, because it is the calling of your soul… such admirable audacity!
Thank you for your wisdom, and as I’ve said before, for continuously inspiring us to leap.
Your comments always have me on the cusp of happy tears. I admire your commitment to life and
light so value your words here Ayanna. I'm glad that you're being called to nomadism and I can't wait to see how to navigate it and add to yourself. I'm so grateful that Substack aligned our paths and I'm excited to witness you embark on your journey. Maybe our traveling paths will align in the physical world too! it would be beautiful. Thanks again for such genuine love and celebration
Hey Amara! Thank you so very much for this beautiful offering. Reading your words I saw images of myself at airports saying goodbye to family as I’ve been on my own nomad journey for some years now. Goodbyes to my nieces and nephews are the hardest. It’s such an interesting journey of being Jamaican/Caribbean and choosing this life of leaving but in some ways it’s like it chose us to continue the tradition, but differently. I’m glad I found you here and congratulations on your growing community!💙
It's something about saying goodbye to the little ones!! The nomad journey isn't easy but as you say (perfectly), it is a continuation of the lineage. I will carry that with me. I'm so grateful that you landed here and I cannot wait to explore more of your work and travels.
Amara, whew. Talk about beauty. I love the way you are doing what’s best for you. Too many times, especially in Black families, we do what’s best for the village. I love how you explore the cost of all of this - an instagram pic couldn’t dare capture this experience.
thanks so much and yes, I agree about the point on being raised to naturally do what's best for the village in Black households. Sometimes you have to redefine 'best' for the sake of the village and its future <3
Congratulations on 300+ Amara! So well deserved ❣️ this piece was beautiful, I really felt the emotions you were exploring around staying or leaving - a decision that feels so simultaneously weightless and enormously weighted. It’s hard to trust your intuition at times and I admire you doing so. Especially due to the history surrounding staying/leaving as a black individual that I’ll never understand. I admire how you wove together all aspects of elective and forced displacement through accounts of you, your family and collective history of the black experience. Loved it. Sending love to Belize. I hope the sun is shining down on you! (she says as the south west London sky is very very grey)
Thanks so much for celebrating with me! Your view is really refreshing and I'm glad that you picked up on some of the narratives and cycles that exist in my life and community. Also - thanks for the sunny wishes. I wish I could respond to this with a pic because as I speak it is pouring down, tropical style, so I feel quite connected to my west london roots lool. Sending love back to you!
Rain definitely connects you to your west London roots lmao. It’s pouring down here too so maybe I’m feeling connected to you in Belize !!!!! All the love❣️💖❣️
I also totally forget to tell you (re our conversation about signs and butterflies we had a while ago when we were discussing hope and signs) I saw a butterfly the day before my birthday in December (why in December was a butterfly alive that’s insane and frankly a sign in itself) and it flew right around window!!! It was like it was circling my room. I was so shocked. Interpreted it as maybe it was saying there is more hope in my next trip around the sun! I wanted to tell you now that you’re fully involved in my butterfly signs with me!
WOWW look at that!!!! That is so beautiful and wholesome and such a perfect gift for your new cycle. Thanks so much for including and updating me on your butterfly chronicles! You're definitely the person who has had the most interaction with butterflies in life as far as I know, I feel honored to be connected to a friend of the butterflies lool. I hope this new trip around the sun brings more brilliance and early signs of goodness to welcome and look forward to.
I really enjoyed this. I guess I've also taken a few one-way trips over the years, so I understand what you say about the hope and the bravery involved. And good luck!
I live vicariously through folks who live a nomadic lifestyle. While I’d have a difficult time making it work with my mental health and having a child, I often daydream about what it would be like to be free of most of my possessions and move about freely around this world as I choose. Thank you for sharing with us!
I appreciate this so much and I completely can understand your stance. I'm grateful to be able to live this lifestyle even if it isn't always full of the types of emotional and cultural highs and lows that I anticipated. Thanks so much for reading
You articulated the wrestling so eloquently here. Was so nice to read a picture of what it takes to leave from your perspective. Thank you
Thank you so much Kezia, I appreciate you being here and sharing thoughts and kind words
Your consideration that often closeness is the only form of safety is so poignant. It makes me think about how as humans we cuddle together when cold both physically, and emotionally. Its a legacy to know one's risk-taking is clearing the path, tamping it down, and shedding a light on new possibility. This is dazzling ✨ Thank you.
This perspective adds something so important to the narrative of leaving and learning. Thanks for receiving this so warmly ✨
From one black nomad to another, im
So grateful to having connected with you
Appreciate you and I'm sending gratitude out to you too. so beautiful to be connected with more Black nomads. Where abouts has your nomadic journey taken you?
Hey hey hey. Hope you’re having a blessed day. I have traveled across canada and the US by trains, planes, and automobiles. Nine Canadian provinces and 22 states in the US. Hoping to explore global travel this year with the goal of Africa in 2025.
What about you?
Hope your day is equally as blessed thank you!
That's incredible, the States and Canada are both so vast it's like several lands in one place. It kind of reminds me of Mexico (which is the biggest country I've lived in) and it always felt like crossing state borders was like entering a whole new country. Excited for your future travels! I've done Central America, Mexico, parts of Europe and the Caribbean so far
I have spent zero time in central and south America so i have to work on that. My goal is Africa next year
Amazing, I'm the same. I hope to visit more African countries (I remember I also visited Morocco! I'm now excited for Senegal, Ghana, Gambia, Kenya and Cape Verde as my first countries to explore). I hope you also enjoy the African influence up and down Central and South America too!!
Your writing...whew.
thank you Robert, this means so much! Also, I wanted to thank you for being subscriber 300! Put a big smile on my face so finally finding time and space to let you know <3
You’re more than welcome!
Reading this left me speechless. You so beautifully describe your journey of the complexity of coming and going. I appreciate this perspective.
You’re so kind and your comments mean so much. thanks for reading, I’m so thankful that it landed
Thank you, Amara, for sharing your experience! As a fellow black nomad I feel seen and heard ❤️
I appreciate you and your being here so much. I adore finding other Black nomads and seeing how we choose to live and roam like this. Especially glad that this reached you 🤍
Yay, 300!!! Congrats on continued growth, Amara ♥️ Happy that others are discovering your incredible voice.
I loved this deeply—you are such an inspiration to all of us who are wishing to take that bold step and leave the place we were born. I love what you say about the leaving and staying; how even when it is intuition guiding you there’s still that sadness that comes with leaving those you love, but also how brave it is to be the one to light the path for others to follow, like it has been done throughout history.
“Someone had to leave first so others felt emboldened to do so too.” Yes!!
This year, I have been feeling the call to the nomadic lifestyle, and I know I’ll feel similarly to you when I finally get on the plane to an unknown destination. But to do so anyway, despite, because it is the calling of your soul… such admirable audacity!
Thank you for your wisdom, and as I’ve said before, for continuously inspiring us to leap.
Your comments always have me on the cusp of happy tears. I admire your commitment to life and
light so value your words here Ayanna. I'm glad that you're being called to nomadism and I can't wait to see how to navigate it and add to yourself. I'm so grateful that Substack aligned our paths and I'm excited to witness you embark on your journey. Maybe our traveling paths will align in the physical world too! it would be beautiful. Thanks again for such genuine love and celebration
Aww, likewise! I would love for our traveling paths to align!! And I absolutely think they will one day :)
Hey Amara! Thank you so very much for this beautiful offering. Reading your words I saw images of myself at airports saying goodbye to family as I’ve been on my own nomad journey for some years now. Goodbyes to my nieces and nephews are the hardest. It’s such an interesting journey of being Jamaican/Caribbean and choosing this life of leaving but in some ways it’s like it chose us to continue the tradition, but differently. I’m glad I found you here and congratulations on your growing community!💙
It's something about saying goodbye to the little ones!! The nomad journey isn't easy but as you say (perfectly), it is a continuation of the lineage. I will carry that with me. I'm so grateful that you landed here and I cannot wait to explore more of your work and travels.
Amara, whew. Talk about beauty. I love the way you are doing what’s best for you. Too many times, especially in Black families, we do what’s best for the village. I love how you explore the cost of all of this - an instagram pic couldn’t dare capture this experience.
thanks so much and yes, I agree about the point on being raised to naturally do what's best for the village in Black households. Sometimes you have to redefine 'best' for the sake of the village and its future <3
Congratulations on 300+ Amara! So well deserved ❣️ this piece was beautiful, I really felt the emotions you were exploring around staying or leaving - a decision that feels so simultaneously weightless and enormously weighted. It’s hard to trust your intuition at times and I admire you doing so. Especially due to the history surrounding staying/leaving as a black individual that I’ll never understand. I admire how you wove together all aspects of elective and forced displacement through accounts of you, your family and collective history of the black experience. Loved it. Sending love to Belize. I hope the sun is shining down on you! (she says as the south west London sky is very very grey)
Thanks so much for celebrating with me! Your view is really refreshing and I'm glad that you picked up on some of the narratives and cycles that exist in my life and community. Also - thanks for the sunny wishes. I wish I could respond to this with a pic because as I speak it is pouring down, tropical style, so I feel quite connected to my west london roots lool. Sending love back to you!
Rain definitely connects you to your west London roots lmao. It’s pouring down here too so maybe I’m feeling connected to you in Belize !!!!! All the love❣️💖❣️
I also totally forget to tell you (re our conversation about signs and butterflies we had a while ago when we were discussing hope and signs) I saw a butterfly the day before my birthday in December (why in December was a butterfly alive that’s insane and frankly a sign in itself) and it flew right around window!!! It was like it was circling my room. I was so shocked. Interpreted it as maybe it was saying there is more hope in my next trip around the sun! I wanted to tell you now that you’re fully involved in my butterfly signs with me!
WOWW look at that!!!! That is so beautiful and wholesome and such a perfect gift for your new cycle. Thanks so much for including and updating me on your butterfly chronicles! You're definitely the person who has had the most interaction with butterflies in life as far as I know, I feel honored to be connected to a friend of the butterflies lool. I hope this new trip around the sun brings more brilliance and early signs of goodness to welcome and look forward to.
sending loveee <3
Thrilled to be renowned as the butterfly queen - I’ll take that!! More butterfly chronicles to come I am sure.
!!!!
I’ll have to share all future butterfly interactions with you now Amara - you’re connected to the gift! 🦋 sending love always x
I really enjoyed this. I guess I've also taken a few one-way trips over the years, so I understand what you say about the hope and the bravery involved. And good luck!
Thanks so much, Jeffrey! Appreciate you reading and connecting with the life of one-way tickets