“Have you made a difference over there,” asks a friend?
I react, “No!”
I think for a second…
Life isn’t about linear progression. I don’t need a life purpose because life experience is not about growth. Ha, I said it!
We do not have to grow to become a better people! We simply age.
It has taken me two years away from home to come to terms with this realization. One year in Madagascar and one year in Uganda.
Life is about experiences. Experiences vary as personalities vary. Experiences change as we age. We must always be open to strange, new experiences.
Are there bad experiences? Yes.
We need bad experiences to understand our past and our future.
Are there exceptional experiences? Yes.
When exceptional happens, I am stunned and wary. Later, I realize, indeed, that was exceptional.
I only just learnt this seven days ago, followed by a lightness in my bearing.
I only learnt this seven days ago and an ancient weight has been lifted from my shoulders.
I had planned to work with agriculturalists for two years when I moved to East Africa. As stated in previous blog entries, threats to my safety have not made that possible. My third post is based in a different region, with a different language, and in a mid-sized African town. The town is surrounded by commodity crops, mainly maize and sugar cane. My intent to discuss soil fertility, and global climate change, which have immense effects on the nutrient content in food crops, is gathering dust along with my certificate in sustainable agriculture from Colorado State University. My new host will find projects for me; they will not be the type of projects I thought were most important when I set out on this journey.
Plans are pointless in East Africa.
To answer the question, “have you made a difference over there?”
The difference made has been anointed on me.
These shots depict community members dancing for us before we enter their National Park in Uganda. The national parks only exist with community support, we appreciate what they do to conserve these wild places.