Saturday, September 22, 2007
Home Again, Safe and Sound???
I have returned from my summer adventure. It has been over a month since my return but I was swept into the furry of life back here in America so intensely that I have just now been able to update my blog. It is wonderful to be back with friends and family; traveling away helped to refresh my perspective. It is so easy for me to slump into a constant pattern of living that I needed something to break me out of the constraints of the American culture. If you detect an undertone of criticism and frustration; if you share a concern about the constricting capitalistic society that is creeping around the globe, then please help me. I am thrashing in a furry of discontent. Well, that sounds a tad dramatic, but I guess it is true. As I evolve out of this summer experience, I would like to convert this blog into a dialog about cultivating peace, celebrating change, about living consciously. Any thought?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Katie, I understand what you are saying on a very deep level. What you have been through in Africa was life altering, your perspective will never be quite the same again. When you see things that most people around you can not relate to, it often makes it very frustrating. All of us are on our own journeys, some of us will be a bit more wild than others, a bit more adventurous. Some simply can not imagine anything other than that which is right before them. More often than not, many choose not to see more than what is in front of them for fear of what emotions it will bring to the forefront, and because they might then feel an obligation to do more, and they would prefer not to have that unsettled feeling. For some, it drives them to do great things, and this I think is your destiny.
American culture is not "bad", it is the result of success in many ways...the success that can come when a country lives in relative peace, when it encourages freedom and allows enterprise. It can lead to passive consumer oriented lifestyles, for sure...but frankly I'll bet many people living elsewhere would give their right arm to have what we have. It all comes at a cost though, as you have recognized. The high cost of a loss of ability to have meaningful relationships, to see beyond the material. That, my dear friend, is where our faith becomes the pillar that holds us up, that shows us the way. I have learned so much, had my eyes opened so wide the past few years, mainly due to my exploration of my faith and the recognition of its grounding powers. Without the gratitude that faith inherently encourages, much of what we have becomes obligatory rather than celebratory. Without faith we covet more, with faith we begin to see rewards in people and "moments" rather than cars and homes. Without faith, people are worth less and with faith people become cherished.
You have looked into the eyes of those who have suffered much, and on a different level so have I. We did not choose to hide from that suffering but to explore it and learn from it. But what to do with that knowledge? One thing I am learning is that it is not always the big things that come from these experiences that are important, but rather it is the small day to day encounters with others that can be life changing for them. We don't have to always go out and push what we have learned on others, throw huge seminars or write books. Our experience can be transferred and shared in small, subtle ways through conversations held in grocery store aisles or through a small act of kindness through which the opportunity arises to share what your experience meant in your life. It is all about getting even one other person to see things a tad bit differently, not neccessarily always about changing the world...for one person at a time can eventually bring about that change as it snowballs. With more time and distance from your travels, the purpose will become more clear. Inevitably, the edge will be gone as you assimilate back into your old life. Once that happens, it is what remains that will be the true measure of the impact this trip to Africa had on your life. No one way of life is 100% or 100% bad, whether it be in Rwanda, Africa or the good old USA. The plague of racism or territorialism or consumerism...all of it is wrong when out of balance, but as with everything in life balance is the key. Faith is what helps keep that balance between good and evil, between right and wrong, between our inner and outer selves. You will find over time that you will come back in your mind to your time spent in Africa over and over again, and probably in a million ways in which you wouldn't ever expect to have it relate to what your current life is all about. But each experience is a building block to the next we have...and I will be anxiously sitting on the sidelines waiting to see what your next step upward is.
Katy, I doubt I can reflect the eloquence and passion of the previous comment but you know that I will always support ways to "cultivat[e] peace, celebrat[e] change, about liv[e] consciously." I have had my own recent cultural experiences without leaving the US. Starting medical school definitely has had it's own culture shock moments. I've been reflecting recently on international health and service abroad. I thought of you and wanted to send a quick note letting you know that even in your absence you inspire others. I hope the Fall semester is treating you well and if you ever get a few minute, send me an update! (preding@westernu.edu)
Pack light; travel far,
Peter
Post a Comment