The specks on my retina I notice against the pale blue sky of one of the first sunny days of march. Some of these specks are stains that have been there since my teenage years. When I used to write with spray cans on walls, the wind blew a big cloud of tar paint in my face. Since then these stains have been there. Luckily I don’t usually notice them.

After a short night I woke up, got a phone call from Ute. She said that Angaangaq, an Inuit shaman from Greenland I’ve been wanting to meet, is near Kassel and I could visit him there today. Jumped in the car to do the 4 hour drive.

Watching specks for a while I take a stop along the highway. Where I notice a little sticker on the ground saying ‘push’. This makes me think of something that came to mind years ago. That there are these earths acupressure points. Like things you do or touch that provoke other seemingly random things. Interwoven patterns. A bit like the butterfly effect. I decide to push. Beautiful moon today.

Last night I walked home through empty streets. When suddenly I hear one of my favorite songs, called ‘Cuando Volveras’. Although my favorite version is a cumbia one by Grupo Ju-Juy (maybe even top10 songs ever), the bachata one is also good. Never heard this song in the wild in my city before, now it was the only sound in the silent night. Sometimes the world plays you a song.

The village is situated at the foot of an old castle, higher up on the hill. A hilly archaic landscape. While driving I received a message stating I should park the car outside the village. So I do. Close to the parking there are a bunch of trees, rammed with mistletoe.

Arrive at the place, Angaangaq is at the end of giving a 3 day seminar, but I’m allowed in. There is a big circle of people sitting in the room. In the middle there are all kinds of objects. They function as an altar. He sits opposite to me of the large circle and invites me to come over. Kind but sharp eyes. He gives me a long hug and then sniffs my chest. Then as a joke he walks out. Suggesting I should take over. Going along with the joke I begin to speak to the people. After a while he comes back in. He takes two big ritual drums. Called Kelyaut. Round, flat, with handles. He holds them next to his head to amplify the sound of his voice. He chants intensely with loud voice and slowly walks around me. At some point I get an image in my mind of a very old Inuit man with a wrinkled face.

He finishes the seminar with a ritual. Everyone stands in a circle while Angaangaq hugs the people one by one and chants ‘HOOO’. After this the seminar is finished and people hang around for a while. It becomes clear to me that he is sort of an ambassador of a fierce softness. A kind and warm atmosphere of community that many lack today.

We sit down again and I take the Heartstone fromm the box. He puts it in front of himself and watches it with great regard. Pointing to a dent in the stone, he begins to speak. “This is the plateau where my father fasted for 40 days as a kid.” He tells me about an old tradition from Greenland, his homeland. Where kids around 13 have to do a retreat in the mountains and fast there for 40 days while sitting still. In the stone he recognises this plateau in the mountains where his dad did this. “The Inuit mediation is about coming home to the self.” He explains.

After we speak a while longer, most of the people have gone. The altar is dismantled. He begins to prepare for the blessing of the stone. He puts a cloth on the ground and places the stone upon it. He takes the big drums and lies down on his belly. He places the drums next to the stone on the ground. He begins to speak, almost whispering, to the stone. He takes the drums and positions them next to his head. He starts chanting loudly. HOOOO, feels like the earth starts to tremble.

He starts chanting, very loudly. While chanting he lies down on his belly facing the stone. The sound goes softer. Loud again. Then he starts talking to the stone, almost whispering. “That the subject of this will grow. And allow… many to come. To watch it, to touch it, to be in awe with its creation. I am Angaangaq. My body is touching the earth. I pray to the Great God. That the visitors will be in awe with this great being… Which at the end made me think of my beloved father.” Followed by another chant.

He stands up, bows and chants, takes the drums and chants while standing up. The ritual is completed. We take some pictures together and have a chat and a laugh. We walk outside to a night filled with many stars. We hug goodbye and sniff the chest, he sends his regards to my family. Then he says ‘Thank you for bringing greetings from my father’.

During the nightly drive back I think about the simple things. And I realise time does not exist. In bed, counting the bells of the church I fall asleep.