When I was young, I used to love when the power went out…that meant no more class if you were at school…or not enough light to do homework at home…or it meant lighting as many candles as you could find and sitting around and chatting all night…or playing board games with the family. Power outages were fun (unless you were in bed, alone in the dark…that, of course, called for Mom by your side or sleeping on the floor in the living room…).
So why is it here that power outages seem to be such a frustration? Such an inconvenience, that we run around like mad, muttering about how we can’t get anything done, how could the government do this, how ridiculous the whole thing is.
Furthermore, what good does it do to continue on and on about it? Does it make the power come back on? Nope. (If there were some kind of magic to do so, I’d imagine it would come from positivity and good vibes…not negativity). Does it make you more productive in that moment? Not in the least. Does it bring you and everyone else around you down? Probably. The only place you can reach through negativity is more negativity. Law of attraction. You get back what you put out. You attract whatever you create.
So why not instead make the most of those moments? Remember that childlike innocence, the fun of the power going out…of making shadows on the wall, and laughing into the evening, of good conversation and taking a moment to get to know those around you. Now, I’m not saying everyone in Ghana handles the power outages well, because that sure as hell would be a lie. But I can tell you, from what I hear from my participants, is that those afternoons always lead to the most interesting conversations…to getting to know those around you a bit better. I can tell you, that there is a group of individuals outside my window right now, chatting and laughing the blackout away. I can tell you that my homestay little brother and I did not waste a single moment of that “lights out” time, but instead spent it playing shadows on the wall or Uno or in a tickle war….Or talking and laughing with my homestay mom and brothers, sharing stories and thoughts. And aren’t those moments more important than the work productive ones? There’s something to be said about working hard, about getting things done, about productivity and efficiency. But there’s also something to be said about the relationships we create. I believe our life experience is based on the connections we establish with those who enter our lives. Based on the laughs and smiles and secrets we share, the memories we create, and the bonds we form…on the love that we give out and receive.
Life is full of problems, of challenges, of struggles. But if we see these as opportunities for growth, for learning; well that’s when the true education begins…If we’re not here to be tested, to grow and learn, then what is our purpose? What good would life be without the struggle? Yes, it would be easy…but that’s pretty much all it would be. “There is nothing for me to learn from winning. It is losing that has yielded all the unforgettable lessons. Losing is pregnant with chance.”
Ghana has taught me and continues to teach me so many lessons, I can hardly process them each day. I plan on using the next few bed-ridden days to make up for my lack of blogging the past couple of months. Perhaps my antibiotic induced state and inability to stand for more than 5 minutes has finally forced me to reflect on the past 7 months…the insanity, the magic, the joy that has been my life in Ghana. Thank you to all of you who keep on reading, and sorry for being so ridiculously inconsistent. I like to attribute it to the fact that I’ve been so much in this present moment…and honestly? That’s not such a bad problem to have (if you are on my end, anyways :p). Sending endless love and light to all of you:) Thank you for your constant love and support.
Namaste
“There are no solid experiences in life. Every experience is formed simply by our perceptions. Changing a perception will change the experience. You choose your experiences, so what will you choose to experience today?”
Wandering through Wonderland 