Staying centered

29 January 2012

In Ethiopia I find myself walking through the pages of a National Geographic magazine, whose timeless photographs are now animated, the characters have become my neighbors and the scenery the route of my daily morning run.

I witness happiness where others see hardship and hunger.

I see beauty through wrinkles, scars and exhaustion.

I hear hope in the laugher of children, rustle of eucalyptus leaves and the pounding of the mortars and pestles.

I am learning a culture of tradition, spirituality and patience;

a lifestyle of love, gratitude and simplicity;

a disposition of optimism, compassion and curiosity.

Sometimes I forget that I am living the most outrageous, exquisite and memorable adventure of my life. When I least expect it, like today riding back from Hawassa on a stuffy, overcrowded bus I find enlightenment. I am overcome by emotion as my eyes scan the landscape through the open window, as I notice the stranger I share my seat with, or as I begin to tune back into the background noise of conversations in numerous different languages.I must be adapting if these sensations are just moments, instead of astonishment every waking hour of the each day.