A WALK IN ANOTHER WORLD As I sit in a chair, amazed, watching my fiancé, washing clothes, my clothes, by hand. It makes me think of all the life’s offerings that we take for granted. Coming from a land of plenty, we, as a nation consume ourselves, with the amenities we are privileged to have, the must have I-want’s in life rather than the necessities of survival and the companionship of one another. It is here a half a world away, that people appreciate the necessities of survival and the value of family and each other. I have only experienced and seen very little of what there is to see and do here, but what this little glimpse of view has taught me, is the more simplistic you can organize your life, the happier and calmer your soul can be become. Especially when there is love, not love as a man loves a woman, but love for that all who surround you, the love of God. For without his love all others will fail. As for me and my fiancé and the love we share. It is a true love, one that has spanned a quarter of a century waiting, for the right moment in time. To be reunited by the grace of God, for the second chance he has willed us. For this I give thanks. As we walk the streets of her city together, I notice all the people going by. Walking around each other rather than bumping and arguing with one another. This too I am amazed at, that in the hustle and bustle of a 90 degree sun, they look at you and smile and you at them as passers by. Most are going to the market to get life’s necessities. There are however amenities of modern conveniences all around, and even though most do have the use of cell phone technology, they are not the focus of life as we have come to know. These modern conveniences are viewed as something cordial, used only when time and budgets provide. Aside from the feeling of commonality within the hearts of the people that I meet and see, there is a need. One of basic necessities, one’s that most of us take for granted living in a land of plenty. Such as the open sewers that line the streets for both the misfortunate as well as the affluent, along with a toilet that you flush with a bucket and a dip-pail. And no matter where you live or income level, there are no prejudice among neighbors and friends, or even me, an outsider such I was. All are treated with the same humanity and respect. When I returned from the Philippines, I looked around me and told myself, “No wonder other countries dislike Americans so much.” Due the behavior and attitudes I witnessed. I only wish, that we here in America, can once again have within us and in our hearts, the same respect for one another that I have just experienced and one I grew up with. A respect that I have found, while visiting in a third world country and one that we have lost. Over the last quarter of a century we have been predisposed to be so competitive about everything were involved in, we find value in material things. We have lost sight of having simple respect for one another, the values that are attached to it, along with dignity. We place value upon ourselves instead of having self-respect. We care more about how we look instead of what our character tells others about us. Let’s not let these lost attributes turn our hearts into a first world nobody wants. Ernest J. Shipp
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 21:41:18 +0000
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