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Conference - Day 1
4th March 2020
We arrived at Cairo airport after midnight and yet it was bustling with travellers, tour agents and airport staff as if it were midday so we had no trouble finding our way to the Visa upon Arrival desk, withdrawing our first Egyptian Pounds from the ATM and deciding whether to get a SIM card for our phone at the airport or later on in town. We settled for the second option and headed outside, where our taxi driver, previously booked with the Hotel, was waiting for us.
I really can’t remember all that we spoke about on the way to the Hotel, but I can clearly recall the driver mentioning that Egypt was the place where Magic really happens and we declared that we were fully open to it, grateful to receive all of the gifts this land had in store for us and also ready to share our Presence, as we too offered our gifts to the land that warmly welcomed us. We felt so grateful to be here, finally, in Egypt.
By the time we got to the Hotel, our roommate Brigitte was already fast asleep and was fortunately not disturbed by our arrival so we gladly surrendered to our comfortable beds and were soon in the land of dreams, where the body rests and the mind has free rein to expand into improbable levels of awareness as our Soul takes it by the hand.
We woke up at around 7.30 am, feeling rested and ready for the first day of the Women Economic Forum Annual Conference, finally meeting Brigitte in person, after a few months of joyfully getting in touch via the highway of unrestricted communication (the internet, of course).
Since the three of us were going to attend the Conference, we had arranged to share a room at one of the Conference's recommended Hotels, the 4 Star Steigenberger which was right across the street from the venue, for at least the first three nights and then see what each one of us felt like doing from then on.
And thus started our adventures in the land of the Pharaohs.
I’ve told you about the crossing the road in Cairo song and dance… so I’ll skip that highlight this time and go directly into the Nile Ritz-Carlton, the extraordinary venue where the Conference was being held.
We got there so early that the reception desks were still being organised so we went for a cup of tea at the Hotel's tea parlour, whilst Brigitte had her breakfast and came back for registration later on.
We were offered some beautiful handmade badge holders, bags and pouches, a notebook and pencil and a lot of smiles too!
My dress, which as I have shared with you had been offered to me the previous year by Dr Harbeen Arora herself, the founder of All Ladies League and the Women Economic Forum, was definitely a free pass for many hugs and delightful encounters and the most amazing thing is how comfortable I felt in it. It was not cumbersome at all. It felt like a cloud of ethereal pinkness, easy to glide in and welcoming to all. Strange thing, how a garment can be so ethereal, as if it lends itself to the user in the same way as the user lends herself to it, fully embracing and embraced by the love it was crafted with.
And there she was, right next to the entrance door when we came back in from the registration desk. Harbeen in her radiant sweetness, so strong and so loving all at once. Our hug was a special bond of Sisterhood, a knowingness, a recognition, a silent warmth of our Souls honouring each other’s sovereignty, melting into a pool of silent, serene love.
The rest of the day unfolded with graceful expansiveness, as we met new people, reconnected with friends from previous events and had first live encounters with online buddies whilst gravitating towards different sessions, drinking in rich sharing of inspiration and feeling our hearts glow with gratitude at each turn of the hour.
One of my choices upon coming to this Conference was to find ways of getting my new children’s (and not only) book So it’s Simple! translated into Arabic and published in Egypt and other Arabic speaking countries.
Well I was in for a huge surprise.
Seemingly out of nowhere, this stand with children’s books popped up at the Conference - something unique, as I had never seen one at any other WEF Conference so far. And the lady who owned this stand, Duaa Abbass, was such a blessing to meet. She has created a project called Masaar (I looked up the meaning on Google Translator in Arabic and it turns out that it is a Somali word meaning Egypt!!! but it surely an Arabic word as well) through which she handpicks the books she sells, according to mothers’ educational needs, namely emotional educational needs, thus helping them and their children to deal with their frustrations, fears and the like and bringing a breeze of fresh air into the creative potentials of each child’s uniqueness. So she sells her books at schools and book fairs where parents go, relieving herself from the need to own a shop, whilst expressing her passion for children’s literature and more deeply, for peace and balance in each one’s heart.
Now tell me, isn’t that just amazing? Cause my book So it’s Simple! is this. It is a story that brings both children and parents, and anyone who reads it really, to an inner world that is as surprising as it is liberating and creative. Needless to say that I spent a lot of time at this stand on both days of the Conference and sure enough did find my translator… more than one actually, as well as several suggestions for publishers / distributors.
I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow.
Today eventually came to an, at least the Conference did and later on, after about an hour’s rest, Joana and I decided to go out and look for the SIM card shop in order to get ourselves one that would ensure our internet needs on the road as well as allow us to make calls to people in Egypt if necessary… But our Souls had another plan for us!
As soon as we arrived downstairs we ran into a group of gleeful ladies from the Conference, who happened to be staying at the same Hotel as us and why were they in the lobby? Well they were getting ready to leave for dinner on a Cruise Ship on the Nile. Yeah! That’s it. And they asked us if we’d like to come too! So that’s how we found ourselves taken to the Nile Maxim for a delicious dinner cruise, with excellent company to feast, dance and enjoy, plus a stunning show of bellydancing and Sufi dancing that delighted all of our senses and had our hearts whispering: “How much are you willing to receive?”… which was a constant invitation, day in and day out all through this uncharted journey into the more that we are.
We got to bed that evening without the intended SIM card but with a grateful smile, snuggling comfortably in our generous Safe Space within, ready to rest from an abundantly magical day.
🙏🙏🙏
Access Posts 1 and 2 of the Egypt Chronicles here:
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