Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Why?
It seems like every day now I get asked "why are you going to Africa?"
I wonder if anyone would bother to ask that question if I told them I was going to the Caribbean, or Europe.
In any case, with my mother's photos to illustrate, these are some of the reasons I am going:
The girl in blue just captivates me.
And then there are these guys. Random children on the street, bubbling with enthusiasm and promise.
It's hard to explain what it is about certain faces that attracts me to them. It's a glimmer in the eyes, a cock of the head. It's mostly in young children all over the world but occasionally you can see it in adults, even the elderly.
I have a fascination with children, not because I want to have them but because it's in them that I see the true nature of humankind. They are so carefree, unblemished.
Somewhere inside them is genuine happiness.
In our culture we tend to obsess over what will make us happier, neglecting to realize that we have all that we need already. Call it drive, jealousy, or grandeur, but all it is is something to distract us from the pure and simple. Joy.
Like the joy of climbing a fence.
It seems like every day now I get asked "why are you going to Africa?"I wonder if anyone would bother to ask that question if I told them I was going to the Caribbean, or Europe.
In any case, with my mother's photos to illustrate, these are some of the reasons I am going:
The girl in blue just captivates me.
And then there are these guys. Random children on the street, bubbling with enthusiasm and promise.
It's hard to explain what it is about certain faces that attracts me to them. It's a glimmer in the eyes, a cock of the head. It's mostly in young children all over the world but occasionally you can see it in adults, even the elderly.I have a fascination with children, not because I want to have them but because it's in them that I see the true nature of humankind. They are so carefree, unblemished.
Somewhere inside them is genuine happiness.
In our culture we tend to obsess over what will make us happier, neglecting to realize that we have all that we need already. Call it drive, jealousy, or grandeur, but all it is is something to distract us from the pure and simple. Joy.
Like the joy of climbing a fence. I'm not trying to banally glorify children. That's been done too many times with few lasting effects.
All I'm trying to do is share these faces, which are far too rarely examined and appreciated in this world. There's a glimmer of hope that exists in an African child's heart that I have yet to find in another human being. Perhaps that's why I'm going to Africa.
Not that I'm likely to bother to explain all of this to whoever who asks me next. They get my standard response, "My mom's moving there soon, and I'm going to see where she's headed."
Why does anyone go anywhere, really, besides exploration?
¶ 1/31/2006 02:14:00 AM
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Beautiful pictures. The little guy in the green shorts on the left of the trio is super cute. It'll be neat to see your pictures of Africa too.
I hope I'll be able to post some of my own while I'm in Tanzania, but I don't know for sure yet that I'll be able to.
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