"When you begin to think outside the box, you often become some other "leaders" lousy follower. That usually costs something" (Andy Rayner)

"Our guardian angels are bored." (Mike Foster)

It's where I feel I'm at these days. “In the second half of life, it is good just to be a part of the general dance. We do not have to stand out, make defining moves, or be better than anyone else on the dance floor. Life is more participatory than assertive, and there is no need for strong or further self-definition” (Falling Upward. Richard Rohr.120).

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Alone In Africa!

I experienced a shared understanding with this former Peace Corps workers comments about his life in a rural Congo village.

As we live and work with a people speaking an oral language, and being the first foreigners to live in the region, at times we realize we can only integrate so far and we are still seen as 'From Away'.

"Another two days passed and I found myself struck with a fresh pain of loneliness. As if alone in a big city, I was surrounded by people but somehow outside the perimeter of the circle. Never a part of it when I was inside it, and usually outside except when something was wanted from me, my entire world was one of aloneness."
( Things Are Different In Africa. Frederick Pitts. Iuniverse pub. 2004. P 113)



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