Just listened to that song "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield the other day. Well, not listened, more like - sung my heart out, ha! I was on a combi back home after a days work packed with some fellow volunteers and some of our Peruvian counterparts as well and a friend and I found out this combi actually had a cord to connect an iPod, so NATURALLY, we connected mine and blasted the song "Unwritten" and ended up singing it at the top of our lungs. Such a release. The Peruvians had no idea what the words were but passion is a universal language so we had the whole bus clapping and cheering. It got me thinking...
My favorite lyric of the song - "Live life with arms wide open." Such strong words that I have to give them a second thought.
We have the greatest opportunity in life to be loving beings and make each others life better but do we all take it? If not, why don't we? Are we so enveloped in society's norms that we've lost touch with what really matters? How disillusioned are we? Do we know how to lose our ego's? Because let me tell you right now, the vast majority of our people do not. I speak for myself as well.
Disclaimer really quick: I'm not trying to be some self-righteous jerk-off...I am at fault because I am human and flawed and make mistakes every single day, but these are the things I think about here in Peace Corps. I want to challenge myself to be a better person every day, and in that sense, I think I can speak on behalf of all of you reading.
Or, in the perfect world and some enlightened folk, are we fighting to seize every moment? Because that indeed is a battle. I'll talk about the players in the battle next.
In Peace Corps, every day I live simply. I'm talking, we just didn't have water for a month because the distributor broke for our small town and that meant having to walk to the river bringing buckets back home to use for cooking and cleaning. Having to shower in the freezing cold river with other members of the community...kid's splashing around, me feeling awkward in my bathing suit because I'm supposed to be a "professional" then just using that good ol' sense of humor of mine and not even caring about being half naked in front of all these people. There are just some moments in life where being embarrassed is silly. I partook in some of the splashing too! Cute scene. I don't know what kind of crazy vortex I'm in these days but my being has been stripped to the bare necessities. White flag. Battle over. That in turn has changed the way I perceive what's all around me. Without many "things" we see who we REALLY are. Nothing's clouding my inner being from showing. Before I came I was battling this person to let go and be real, this person everyone else sees but it's not me, it doesn't show what I believe in. That's to say, there's the person we are OUTSIDE (the person visible to everyone - with the clothes, iPhone, fancy make up) and there's a person INSIDE of us (the one that holds your secrets, that decides whether to share your weird crazy thoughts or not, that's calculating your next move ultimately driving you to find your happiness).
I challenge you to think of this person inside as your most important being and someone you should share more of. Get to the point where that's the person people see, so that you no longer have such an obvious "outside" person. Your thoughts become your actions eventually anyways.
What's around me nowadays are opportunities like actually having a dialogue with the taxi driver about his day, helping someone because that's all we are here on this earth for really and just being more of a pleasant person in general. I guess my worries have become REAL, substantial. I consider this a tactic in how to win the battle. How many worries of yours drive you crazy on a daily basis? Like the saying goes, if it won't matter in 5 days, it won't matter in 5 months. Did you forget to do laundry? Are your nails not painted bugging you? Were you late to work because of traffic and it got you all nervous for the remainder of the day? I challenge you to have one worry and one worry only.
Worry about being a good person. Opening doors for others, being actively patient in the super market line, cheering on the kids at a soccer game. My person inside has always worried about being a "good person" and yes I'm following social convention (as well as a call from God, in my opinion, because it has to take something intense to get you to do the Peace Corps). At the end of the day though, that worry is what's brought me to the middle of nowhere, no electricity or water for days sometimes, Peru. Obviously I can do more good to this world but by giving of myself in Peace Corps I experience endless daily gifts. Thank goodness I followed my inner self. It's brought me to new heights, and I find in this environment, I get higher and higher every day.
Living simply has lifted a weight off my shoulders, allowed me to really see who I am, and most importantly, I fill my mind with good things to see what I CAN BE. We are ever-changing, and should be ever-improving as well.
In a nutshell, I'm really doing some growing up here guys.
May your willingness to share more of you inside bring many people to your home.
My favorite lyric of the song - "Live life with arms wide open." Such strong words that I have to give them a second thought.
We have the greatest opportunity in life to be loving beings and make each others life better but do we all take it? If not, why don't we? Are we so enveloped in society's norms that we've lost touch with what really matters? How disillusioned are we? Do we know how to lose our ego's? Because let me tell you right now, the vast majority of our people do not. I speak for myself as well.
Disclaimer really quick: I'm not trying to be some self-righteous jerk-off...I am at fault because I am human and flawed and make mistakes every single day, but these are the things I think about here in Peace Corps. I want to challenge myself to be a better person every day, and in that sense, I think I can speak on behalf of all of you reading.
Or, in the perfect world and some enlightened folk, are we fighting to seize every moment? Because that indeed is a battle. I'll talk about the players in the battle next.
In Peace Corps, every day I live simply. I'm talking, we just didn't have water for a month because the distributor broke for our small town and that meant having to walk to the river bringing buckets back home to use for cooking and cleaning. Having to shower in the freezing cold river with other members of the community...kid's splashing around, me feeling awkward in my bathing suit because I'm supposed to be a "professional" then just using that good ol' sense of humor of mine and not even caring about being half naked in front of all these people. There are just some moments in life where being embarrassed is silly. I partook in some of the splashing too! Cute scene. I don't know what kind of crazy vortex I'm in these days but my being has been stripped to the bare necessities. White flag. Battle over. That in turn has changed the way I perceive what's all around me. Without many "things" we see who we REALLY are. Nothing's clouding my inner being from showing. Before I came I was battling this person to let go and be real, this person everyone else sees but it's not me, it doesn't show what I believe in. That's to say, there's the person we are OUTSIDE (the person visible to everyone - with the clothes, iPhone, fancy make up) and there's a person INSIDE of us (the one that holds your secrets, that decides whether to share your weird crazy thoughts or not, that's calculating your next move ultimately driving you to find your happiness).
I challenge you to think of this person inside as your most important being and someone you should share more of. Get to the point where that's the person people see, so that you no longer have such an obvious "outside" person. Your thoughts become your actions eventually anyways.
What's around me nowadays are opportunities like actually having a dialogue with the taxi driver about his day, helping someone because that's all we are here on this earth for really and just being more of a pleasant person in general. I guess my worries have become REAL, substantial. I consider this a tactic in how to win the battle. How many worries of yours drive you crazy on a daily basis? Like the saying goes, if it won't matter in 5 days, it won't matter in 5 months. Did you forget to do laundry? Are your nails not painted bugging you? Were you late to work because of traffic and it got you all nervous for the remainder of the day? I challenge you to have one worry and one worry only.
Worry about being a good person. Opening doors for others, being actively patient in the super market line, cheering on the kids at a soccer game. My person inside has always worried about being a "good person" and yes I'm following social convention (as well as a call from God, in my opinion, because it has to take something intense to get you to do the Peace Corps). At the end of the day though, that worry is what's brought me to the middle of nowhere, no electricity or water for days sometimes, Peru. Obviously I can do more good to this world but by giving of myself in Peace Corps I experience endless daily gifts. Thank goodness I followed my inner self. It's brought me to new heights, and I find in this environment, I get higher and higher every day.
Living simply has lifted a weight off my shoulders, allowed me to really see who I am, and most importantly, I fill my mind with good things to see what I CAN BE. We are ever-changing, and should be ever-improving as well.
In a nutshell, I'm really doing some growing up here guys.
May your willingness to share more of you inside bring many people to your home.
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