The excitement of Travel

Traveling is one of the most enriching, eye opening, educational experiences you will encounter, far beyond the reach of any text book, any descriptive novel, any told story. When the mind and body step out of the realm of comfort experienced through living in our own culture, or own social niche, or own enclosed bubble that we call home, we become absorptive like a sponge, become as receptive as an eye to light in the darkness,open to possibility, to random synchronicity, to inner growth and change. An unseen world opens and although we experience "culture shock" as we adapt to the new environmental stimuli, we find ourselves in a place where we can begin to share in differing global realities, further discovering the ultimate truth.

Having the opportunity to live in a developing country again, has reawakened a part of myself that has been shoved deep down within myself, veiled in the falseness of the cushy lives we take for granted in the developed world. Emphasis is placed more on the collective, helping one another, diving into each other lives on a deeper level, much more so then the mainstream individualistic focus of life back home. While this individualistic model may spread with the increasing scope of capitalism and materialism that is taking the globe by storm, for now it is a blessing to be living in a more collaborative society. A society where even greetings take minutes as each party asks the other about the health of their families and things going on in their lives. It is not my intention to seem like I am bashing Canadian or North American "culture", for I do love living in Canada. I do, however wish we could be living in a model, much like that of Uganda..

Enough of that stuff. :) I went to the Baha'i temple the other day.. All I can say is WOW.. The temple was extremely beautiful, not to the size or magnitude of the Lotus temple in India, but so so beautiful with an amazing energy. Kampala is a very loud, busy city, so to get away to a place of peace and quiet and to sit in a temple (no one else around) and pray and meditate, was just what I needed. While praying in the temple, I could almost hear my thoughts echo off of the walls, reverberating peaceful intentions and vibes into the cosmos. if not for the distance, and the terrible road to the temple, I could see myself visiting everyday. Walking the gardens, and getting the opportunity to meet some of the local Baha'i's was just what I needed to feel even further connected to Uganda. Hearing stories of whole villages discovering the faith and coming in the hundreds to convert to this beautiful, inclusive faith brought a smile to my heart.
It consistently amazes me with the constant hardships many Ugandans have gone through in the recent past, how resilient Ugandans are as a people and how inspired they are at creating and maintaining a peaceful society for now and the generations to come... I remember walking past a church on my way to catching a boda to the temple and hearing the passion, enthusiasm and sheer energy coming out of the voices of the parish almost brought me to tears. The energy was something I had never felt before. Again it goes to that true sense of collaboration and cooperation here among people.

I have the flu now and have been bed-ridden for 2 days now. It is quickly making its' way through Kampala and many people are falling Ill. Once I recover I will have more stories to tell as the richness of experiences continue to unfold.

I have to make a 30 minutes presentation next week on incorporating environmental issues into NGO programming and the modalities of doing such. It is going to be a very senior level partnership meeting with CCA, UCA, Swedish Cooperative Centre and a Norwegian organization.Little nervous, but hoping I can pull it off. Wish me luck!!! ;)
Love you all