.asistobe

Self-lecture I sternly wrote to myself when I first got to Tchad.  Came across it this morning.  Reminds me that nothing is more important than being fully present.  Nothing is as vivid and vibrant as is the consciousness of to be. 

 

Be Present: Be here.  Live in the moment, even when that moment is hard.  Embrace the sweat, the dust, the grime, the fever.  Embrace the chance to change. Listen.  To my family, to the doctors, to the nurses, to my friends, to anyone that blesses me with stories or insights.  With-hold judgment.  Wear others shoes.  Go barefoot in their feet.  Avoid hasty conclusions and all forms of gossip.  Speak only truthful things.  Be kind.  Go out of my way for others.  Don’t complain.  This is what I signed up for – the heat, the disease, the work, the experience.  BE PRESENT.  Work hard.   Other than wistfulness for those I love, dwell not on the past.  Don’t think about the future.  Don’t imagine other foods, other places, other temperatures, future times.  Don’t build castles and conversations and dwellings.  Be present.  Right now.  The future will arrive – do you want to say you spent the year you dreamed of being lost in a future dream? This, this is my dream.  Helping people is hard.  Helping people is thankless.  Helping people causes brutal introspection.  But helping people is the only thing worth doing.  Work hard for the people.  Work hard to give them optimal health.  Work Hard on Project 21.  Do not complain.  Attempt to lighten the burdens of others.  Spend time in the village, not in the compound.  Look for ways to pull your weight and be helpful.  Be cheerful. Be excited.  Be present.  Wake up. This is your dream.  

Just as applicable as it was a year ago.  I guess its the human experience to have to learn the same lesson over and over and over again yet have the capacity to experience a new sense of wonder as you re-realize your recurring epiphany.