Planning Ahead? Totally Overrated...

I’m not entirely certain how smart this trip to Australia was. Simply because it was sort of a spur of the moment thing. I mean, it wasn’t exactly a planned thing…I probably should have put some thought into it. I mean, it’s one of those things that a lot of people say they want to do, but they don’t actually do it. And I spent a couple of months debating where I actually wanted to go (stay in Asia, or go to Australia… those were pretty much the ideas in debate), then decided on Australia based more on the fact that I knew people in Oz who plan to move back to the States next year, so basically it’s a matter of decent timing.

At one point, a week or so before I left India, I sent a message to a friend, saying I’d be going to Australia, and did he have any suggestions for what I should see. He was amused by how casual I was about going to Australia, though really, I guess my thinking tended more toward the fact that I was leaving India (which I’m still amazed and surprised by even after all this time) to go to another western country. Not that I don’t like western countries, but it doesn’t feel like that big of a deal. So basically, I came to Australia with no plan aside from flying into Perth, spending some time with a friend there, and flying out of Sydney. In between, I had a bit over a month and a half to play with.

If you travel like most people, I am guessing this manner of travel would not even enter your mind. Unfortunately, the intelligent idea of thinking things through doesn’t always really occur to me. But for me, that’s ok. I’m (mostly) ok with not knowing what is coming up next. Oh, I have moments where I have a little meltdown, and rant for a few minutes about why I am stupid enough to not make plans. My Mom enjoys that part :~) After a little while though, I sit down and work out what my next step will be. Soon, things are sorted, and I am on my way again. The trip goes one step at a time, and I have a basic idea of what is happening, though beyond that, I’m not sure. I’ve just started to laugh when people ask me where I’m going next…

Favourites of the week 27/4-3/5

You often see a few cows or buffalo or whatever meandering down the street, but my favourite is when there is a whole big herd blocking everything. And they couldn’t care less if people are honking or trying to get around them. They take their own sweet time doing whatever they want to do at the speed they choose.

I was walking and saw a couple of pigs, then the more I looked, the more I saw. They blended in so well, and I was surprised to finally see just how big the herd was.

There were a lot of birds in this field, but most were smaller birds. This was the only bird of prey there. He sat there regally, as though surveying his kingdom. However, I wonder, when I see birds like this, do they feel lonely? Are they happy to be perched there on their own, or do they want a friend or a mate there? Are some creatures created for solitude? It might make life a lot easier.

All of this area was spotted with fires where people were burning rubbish. It filled the little valley with a haze of smoke. And then I saw this guy standing in the midst of it all, talking on his phone. He looked completely mellow, as though he wasn't surrounded by smoke and fires. I'm sure it was just sort of everyday life, but it was an impressive look.   



In a way, I was disgusted by the fact that this was actually a blanket of smoke from burning rubbish. Not exactly the thing that you want escaping into the sky. But sometimes, less than ideal situations can make for a really neat photo. I like the way the Moula Ali dargah is rising out of the smoke in the background.  



A political rally going through town. Everyone gets involved with it, and it's crazy hard to get anywhere. Fun to watch though. I stopped at a little shop for a cup of sugarcane juice, and watched the 'parade' go by for some time.

This guy was surprisingly friendly considering the twitch scar on his lips and various other scarring on his head. He kept wanting more attention and would whicker at me when I walked away. He is a full grown stallion, but acted like a foal when he had someone who was nice to him. Another example of a horse who doesn't seem to have many reasons to trust people, but does anyway.

A sweet little baby. It had been so long at this point since I was around horses, so to be able to spend some time with a foal was super fun. His Mom had a bit of an attitude though, and every time I went to pet this little one, the stallion in the next stall (see picture above) would try to call me back to give him attention.

Went out for a drive and discovered I wasn't terribly far from where I stayed while I was in B'lore last year. And it was a beautiful evening to boot.

Favourites of the week-20/4-26/4

 No matter how much I fly, I don’t think I’ll probably ever get to the point where I don’t care about the gorgeous cloud formations. When the clouds are like this, it looks as though one could walk across them without sinking through. It feels that you would find unicorns or dragons or any number of mysterious creatures in the crevices and spaces of the clouds. I know it doesn’t really work that way, but it doesn’t stop my imagination. Honestly, who knows what is in the sky?

 

 The night I got home from traveling, I found this little guy inside my mosquito net. It took quite some time to get him out, as he sort of panicked and ran all around the inside of the net. I was afraid I’d smoosh him.
Anyway, the lizards were definitely the best part of that flat.

 I was buying some fruit and happened to glance out the door to see this. So flipping cute, and right in the middle of town. Pretty sure the fruit seller thought I was nuts, because I stopped right in the middle of paying for the fruit, ran outside with my camera, and took a couple of pictures. There was no way I was going to pass up an opportunity to get this picture. Mini donkeys sure do seem better behaved here. But perhaps I just have the world’s most spoiled mini donkeys…

Right after I took this picture, the dog freaked out and tried to attack me. Fortunately, I wasn’t close enough that he could reach me, because I think he was genuinely ready to kill me.

Right place at the right time, and I thought the sun over the tower made it look like a candle. I like the way it lined up just right.

The background of a village built on rubbish behind an elderly man and elderly walls provides an interesting contrast. You’d think you could never find dignity in places such as this, but there is dignity, love, honour, etc., everywhere you go.

I quite like goats. And they photograph well. I’m not sure what this one was focused on, but it was incredibly still for a goat. They usually enjoy bouncing around.  

This pack of dogs was walking around as though they owned the place. I liked how it turned out with the dogs being the main focus of the picture, though I was originally taking a picture of the wall behind them.

Old walls with the modern town behind them. There is such a mix of old and new all throughout India. It is always intriguing to me. I wish I knew the history behind it.

Moula Ali Durga overlooking the city.  Some things crumble, some things remain standing. There’s no telling when you build/write/design/make something how long it will last, but what matters is the joy you take in making it in the first place. It is better to feel joy while making something that will last only 5 minutes rather than to be miserable making something which will last 500 years. This at least is my opinion.

This boy’s smile makes me smile. It is such a beautiful smile. He was right in the middle of the other boys there. There were several younger boys, who were innocent and silly. Then there was a handful of older boys, who were bordering on creepy. This one was right in between age-wise, but his smile shows him to be far more innocent without tending toward creepy.

I like sunsets. I love INDogs. Need I say more?

I’m not even sure how I saw this little toad. It was dark, there were no streetlights, but somehow I saw him. Maybe passing headlights. I like seeing things when I can’t work out how I managed to see them.

Brave Knights and Heroic Courage

I was watching Merryn, the 4 year old daughter of a friend the other day. I had been watching Doctor Who before she came in, and she didn’t want to switch it. I was much happier to continue watching Doctor Who than I would have been watching Barbie, or other things of that nature which Merryn usually likes to watch. But I was a little concerned about giving her nightmares. When I asked her though, if it was too scary, she pointed to the Doctor and informed me that he would save everyone. This was her reason for not being scared. And apparently when was telling the truth, because her Mom told me the next day that there were no nightmares. Because she understood that somehow, the Doctor would make everything ok.

C.S. Lewis said, “Since it is likely that children will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage.”
I’ve always been impressed with Merryn’s parents being cautious about how much “scary” stuff she’s allowed to watch. But she’s at the age that she can understand things like good and bad now.
If I have kids, they will learn from a young age about knights and courage. Lewis’ Narnia books are a good start for that. And Doctor Who. Stories that show that not everything will be perfect, but everything will become right at some point.
Courage and fear are the two options available to a child, and I would much sooner my children learn of courage.

 

Favourites of the Week 13/4-19/4

Sunset from the train. Water and sunsets are two things I have way too many pictures of. It's something of an addiction...

This guy was trying to calm his horse who wanted to run down the hill. Most of the guys I've seen stay on their cart no matter what, and don't make much of an effort with their horses. So it was nice to see this guy actually taking care of his horse. 

Camouflage dog...

This was at a place where people come to bathe in the river, believing that it will give them a free ticket to heaven. Men are there in shorts and no shirts, or just in their underwear, but women still have to stay covered up, even when bathing. Many of the women were very serious, collecting water in jars, or just sort of sitting and watching others, but once in a while, I'd notice small groups of women throwing water at each other and laughing and chatting. Just sort of a different side to things.

Pretty sure I just like this because of the colours and the flow of the fabric. Nothing major about it.

They have the statue of their 'god' with his back turned to them. I thought that seemed significant. They're coming to basically wash their sins away, and he's not even acknowledging them.

This little guy was just so cute. Someone was feeding scraps to him and his brother, and I thought he was adorable

This one picture has so much in it, I'm not sure what I like the best about it. I guess the combination of everything. I have separate pictures of each element, and they're ok, but not all that great. I really like this picture though, with all of them together. 

They were filming a movie across the river, and this little girl sat there staring at the actresses for a long time. She was probably supposed to be begging, but she took a break to just be a little girl and watch the actresses in their beautiful dresses.

Again, no real reason. I just like it. Which I'm ok with

Favourites of the Week 6/4-12/4

This guy made the best roti I've ever had. Oh my goodness... best part of breakfast almost every morning while I was in Jammu. He seemed a little unsure of why I was taking a picture, but then seemed happy that I wanted to.

And then he wanted me to take another picture because he wanted to be sure that his wife was in the picture too. She was quite embarrassed by it, but I thought it was sweet that he was so concerned that she was in the picture too.



This little guy was in Delhi. There was such chaos; cars, motorcycles, buses, autos, so many things moving at higher speeds, then there was this little dude, jogging through town with his massive load. It always strikes me as funny, this mix of modern and ancient that one sees in any town around India.

I was a little confused by this place. There were homeless people all around, and yet there were piles of food all around the statue, attracting birds and dogs and such. You could see it from a long way away; not really the statue, but the birds soaring and wheeling around. 
In a way, it made me sad. You expect pigeons and suchlike to be flocking around statues, among droves of people, between two busy streets, but not birds of prey. Birds of prey are supposed to be majestic, aloof, above it all. Not chasing desperately after the leftovers of the human world.  

I usually hate cockroaches. Not enough that I kill them (I don't even kill mosquitoes...), but I can't stand having them in my house. Maybe it's because it wasn't my house, and I was there only for a few days. Maybe it was because I was depressed over too much death in my life the previous week, and needed something to take my mind off of it. I'm not sure. But I watched this cockroach for quite a while that evening. It didn't come toward me, but it didn't seem terribly concerned when I drew close to take the picture either.
God put a certain beauty into bugs, though most people don't see it. There is such design, and such delicate functionality. I realize that I am in the minority thinking this, but that's ok.



These two pictures of seemingly abandoned bicycle rickshaws may not have been taken another day. I noticed them more on this day, because they looked depressed, abandoned, and dead. This day was a week after I found out that my Uncle died, and the day after I found out my pony died. Needless to say, I was pretty down as I walked around. I was trying to keep my mind on more positive things (I get enough attention walking down the street, no need to randomly burst into tears), but I feel like some of my pictures from that day reflected how I felt. 



And then in the middle of my walk, I saw a dinosaur, standing there in the middle of everything. It was one of those things that was so random that I didn't even know what to think right then. It was actually advertising a science museum, which was a surprisingly good distraction for my mind. It at least made me think about things outside of myself so my thoughts did not remain in a swirling vortex inside my head. And it all started when I saw this dinosaur. 

Freelancer

I have friends who are freelancers. Freelance photographers, freelance writers, freelance videographers, etc., etc. I just realized that I am a freelance missionary. The longest I’ve ever served one mission organization was about 10 months. Sometimes I get crap for that. I need to get a real job, I need to settle down. But this is where I am right now. I come in and help start up a program, and I leave. Or I come and help fill a gap that needs to be filled for a short time. And I leave again. In a way it’s nice. I like being useful, and filling in where I am needed. In a way it sucks. I see the birth of new ministries, then leave before they really grow. I don’t make many friends, because it’s hard to make friends when everyone knows you’re only around for a few months. And it’s hard for me to bother also. There’s so much effort that goes into an introvert making friends, and sometimes it’s hard to do that, knowing that it won’t last.

I make friends, or fall in love with a place, and then I leave. And I don’t know if I’ll be back. I might, or I might wind up somewhere else. Who knows. I make plans, and they change. So I make new plans, and they change again. And it continues like that.

I had someone recently ask me why I keep changing my mind when I was explaining what my schedule has looked like this past year, and what it is looking like for the rest of the year. She didn’t understand why I wouldn’t choose one place and stay there permanently. Sometimes that sounds appealing. Staying in one place, being part of a community, a church, a family. But that’s that for me. At least not for now. It seems like this trip is more like that in this trip than it ever has been before. My timings are fluid, I meet new people, and I listen to their dreams and plans for connecting with their community. I tell them what I have learned about such things, through my experience, and through conversations with others. I connect people I’ve met across the country, people who can help each other to alter their communities, people who may not have connected otherwise. I add more to my plans as I am invited back to help with the programs they are starting; the programs that I’m helping them plan for.

There is a lot of excitement in planning a new venture. There is the consideration that there will be a lot of hard work, but that doesn’t even matter in light of the thought of the people you will be able to impact. There are the dreams of those faces of the people who will be changed, the families and communities which will be touched, the relationships which will be formed.

And that’s the hard thing. The way things are going now, I will not have these relationships. I will help others plan and design. I will help them to get the resources to start their businesses or ministries. And then I will leave, and they will build the program. They will bring people in, work with them, and form deep, life-changing relationships. And I will be onto my next place; a new place where I will stay for a few months, or even a few days, trying to make myself build relationships, even knowing that the relationship will probably falter when I leave and it goes to an internet friendship.

I travel, and I love traveling. I enjoy what I am doing, and I like to help where I am needed, then move on. In a way. But some days it is hard. Some days I want friends who are nearby that I can invite over for coffee, or a movie night or whatever. I want people that I can really talk to, having spent enough time to create genuine trust between us.

But I also have new friends who come into my life, and we make a difference to each other, then never see each other again. It’s a different kind of friendship, but still entirely valid.

And really, is it more important in the long run to have all of the things I want, or to be doing the things I’m supposed to be doing? I’d say the latter is far more important.