What's meant to be will always find a way.
— Trisha Yearwood
Working on my book The World at my Feet, in the first half of 2021, the writing came to an abrupt end after the chapter about the Antarctica trip. I knew the book wasn’t finished yet. Going through my travel memories, I also didn’t find one that wanted to be added. Not having a clue what to write about, I had put the manuscript aside, trusting that over time it would become clear to me.
When I realized I would travel to Egypt again, I sensed that this trip could well provide me the input for the last chapter of this book. It also felt right to end the book with the country it starts with. The feeling only got stronger when I was back in Egypt. Mentioning it to my guide, he instantly said it was to be called ‘When Sekhmet calls’. I started laughing and told him that I already had put this chapter title in the manuscript before I had even arrived in Egypt.
He only nodded in confirmation and told me to go back home, finish the book and feel out if I was supposed to come back to Egypt. Back in The Netherlands I indeed wrote the final chapter. Since all of the experiences were still so fresh and so much was yet to unfold, I put the manuscript aside again.
It was back home that I noticed something special about the photos I had taken at the Lions’ temple. There was a significant difference between the photos taken at my first visit and the ones of my second visit. At my first visit it was the winged lion calling me to climb to the top. And sure enough my focus had been on the winged lion when I returned.