Need for a revolution

Next week I will return to a place that I love. St. Joseph's Home for Boys in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and their sister home, Wings of Hope, located in the mountains around Port-au-Prince. http://www.heartswithhaiti.org/homes.html A colorful oasis from the often simple Haitian daily life. Homes filled with people learning and loving. Where running water is suddenly unnecessary, and air conditioning is never considered. Bucket baths, conversational days, and an unhurried life are the key to happiness. Previous visits have inspired radical changes in thought processes and positions. And, when someone asked, "Why are you going back?" I responded, "Because I have to."

Living in a first world country can allow one to become oblivious to global surroundings. The "basics" of our life (24-hour electricity, hot water, ready food, internet) are unthought-of luxuries. Never missed when not available. And, though we may convince ourselves otherwise, they are not necessities. The simple life is the way to go (kudos to Furman University's President, Dr. David Shi). Our rush to get into the air conditioning, to run 5 errands in 6 minutes, to achieve and accomplish has become an inane pursuit. But we couldn't stop ourselves now if we wanted to. Too much depends on it: careers, families, relationships, culture.

If it weren't for time in Haiti. If it weren't for a week at a monastery in France. If it weren't for specific days away, I would fool myself into thinking that I wasn't missing anything. But after spending 2, 5, 10 days following the natural body rhythms, after talking to whomever I encountered on the road without a stopwatch looming, after quieting myself to actually listen to others, I accept defeat. I need this. I need a reminder of something else. I need a reminder that I'm not perfection, I'm not an island, I'm not an army of one. I am part of a global community. Part of a people who are dependent upon one another. Part of an ecosystem where my trash affects those living downstream (literally and metaphorically).

So I need to go. I need to get in touch with what is real. Here I go!



To purchase Dr. Shi's book on the simple life, use this link:
http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Life-Thinking-American-Culture/dp/0820329754/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199749134&sr=1-1