"Life is a total whirlwind right now between not enough time and too much time, between knowing that I need to be grateful for where I am but wanting to be anywhere else instead."
I received an email from a good friend concluding with this statement...for me, finding a balance with where I am and where I want to be is an ongoing complex accompanied by a lot of inner dialogue. Every adventure requires a pros/cons list weighing on quality of life. Each decision is paired with many more decisions that create an interesting thought process...usually not making any logical sense. Finding the strength to actually make a decision is always the hardest part.
"Human beings have evolved to suffer, and we are better at suffering than anything else" and "All people operate from the same two motivations: to fulfill their desires and to escape their suffering" I read these quotes recently in an article and the amount of truth in each astounds me. However, the word 'suffering' can be interpreted in many different ways. My idea of suffering is challenged on a daily basis when I walk into Kibera, one of the largest informal settlements in Nairobi (a 'slum' if you will). What is suffering? Wrapping my head around what suffering in this world looks like and making sense of it is impossible...especially in relation to my own 'suffering.' The strength in the residents of Kibera continues to inspire me.
Strength is another word subject to many interpretations. The strength needed to survive versus the strength needed to move across the world versus the physical strength required to bike 45 kms through a hilly terrain of tea farms (yes, I did that yesterday) are very different.
This woman amazes me. She is one of my favorites at work and her strength reaches levels I can only imagine reaching in my lifetime. I love this photo because it represents such a large population of the people I interact with on a daily basis. With a portion of Kibera in the background and the stoic stance, her attitude towards life continues to impress me; in such a crazy environment she is rooted, strong and beautiful.
The important thought to stress is although I will never fully understand her background and she will most likely never understand mine, there is a lot of common ground to cover. For instance, we laugh together every time I celebrate chai time and she dances with me through the hall of the school like it is a normal thing. These are the things that bind people together...we are all insane in some sort of way, and I would have it no other way.
To conclude this jumble of thoughts, I personally feel that too many people in this world dwell on differences rather than similarities. We are all of the same human race and although we come from different experiences and backgrounds, there is always common ground. All cultures exude similarities...a desire for comfort, stability, love, family, happiness, good health, acceptance, etc. Each of these translates into any language and across cultures.
If anything, my travel experiences and life lessons have taught me to prioritize similarities and personal connections...human interactions and relationships are the foundation of our entire existence and without them, this world would not make sense.
It is truly amazing the possibilites that can arise when we open our minds to the unknown.
I received an email from a good friend concluding with this statement...for me, finding a balance with where I am and where I want to be is an ongoing complex accompanied by a lot of inner dialogue. Every adventure requires a pros/cons list weighing on quality of life. Each decision is paired with many more decisions that create an interesting thought process...usually not making any logical sense. Finding the strength to actually make a decision is always the hardest part.
"Human beings have evolved to suffer, and we are better at suffering than anything else" and "All people operate from the same two motivations: to fulfill their desires and to escape their suffering" I read these quotes recently in an article and the amount of truth in each astounds me. However, the word 'suffering' can be interpreted in many different ways. My idea of suffering is challenged on a daily basis when I walk into Kibera, one of the largest informal settlements in Nairobi (a 'slum' if you will). What is suffering? Wrapping my head around what suffering in this world looks like and making sense of it is impossible...especially in relation to my own 'suffering.' The strength in the residents of Kibera continues to inspire me.
Strength is another word subject to many interpretations. The strength needed to survive versus the strength needed to move across the world versus the physical strength required to bike 45 kms through a hilly terrain of tea farms (yes, I did that yesterday) are very different.
This woman amazes me. She is one of my favorites at work and her strength reaches levels I can only imagine reaching in my lifetime. I love this photo because it represents such a large population of the people I interact with on a daily basis. With a portion of Kibera in the background and the stoic stance, her attitude towards life continues to impress me; in such a crazy environment she is rooted, strong and beautiful.
The important thought to stress is although I will never fully understand her background and she will most likely never understand mine, there is a lot of common ground to cover. For instance, we laugh together every time I celebrate chai time and she dances with me through the hall of the school like it is a normal thing. These are the things that bind people together...we are all insane in some sort of way, and I would have it no other way.
To conclude this jumble of thoughts, I personally feel that too many people in this world dwell on differences rather than similarities. We are all of the same human race and although we come from different experiences and backgrounds, there is always common ground. All cultures exude similarities...a desire for comfort, stability, love, family, happiness, good health, acceptance, etc. Each of these translates into any language and across cultures.
If anything, my travel experiences and life lessons have taught me to prioritize similarities and personal connections...human interactions and relationships are the foundation of our entire existence and without them, this world would not make sense.
