Dame Julian of Norwich
To find true joy we must have passed through our sorrows and come to accept the whole of life into our hearts.
". . . and now it's like this . . . "
Buddhist Mantra
I have been reflecting on our recent trip to Africa. Because I'm a comfortably well-off Californian suspended in an amber bead of order and purpose I have embraced our visits to countries where the average circumstances lie in a different atmosphere. It was an amazing, revealing, and enlightening trip. I got to see a lot of amazing stuff and a lot of amazing nature and - most importantly - meet a lot of amazing people. The people were transcendent. I cannot recall one incident where I wasn't treated with kindness and a friendly attitude. The people were joyous. I understand that I only got to see a narrow slice of society and that there is a lot of poverty that makes life much more difficult but everyone just seemed to keep on keepin' on. They got out there and gave it a go and shrugged off any set-backs, hopeful that if today wasn't great then tomorrow would be better. Again, I realize I'm making a lot of generalized comments but the overall vibe was an improvement over the grousing and bitching and dissatisfaction that I run into on a daily basis in my highly priviledged day to day living. We tend to complain about the most idiotic, minor stuff, blithely overlooking the cornucopia of comfort and security that we casually wallow in.
So . . . back to Africa. Much of the time we wandered around in chaotic, noisy cities that were perched on decaying infrastructure built many years ago to support a much smaller population. And it was hot and humid. Goddamn, it was hot and humid, and I don't mind that kind of weather as a general rule. I learned very quickly that each day I was going to be facing conditions that were almost hallucinogenic. I have a lot of energy for a guy my age but there were many times where a couple of hours in the heat, heavy traffic clogging the roads that were packed with locals talking loudly, exhausted me physically. It was return to an air-conditioned cabin, stripping off sweat-soaked clothes, while wondering exactly what was it that I had accomplished? The point here is that I can now look back on these days - uncomfortable, strenuous, disorienting days - with gratitude and wonder. Were they easy and uncomfortable days? No, they were not and this by a wide margin. But I am a bigger, better, badder, more complete human being because of these experiences. I was able to see through the discomfort to the satisfaction of having walked through a new world.
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