the essentials

my neighbor's place

Living in rural Congo means that I have a lot more time to read, or rather just less distractions.  I just finished the book "What is the What" by Dave Eggers (suggested to me by Claire Nelson!) and it was incredibly insightful to find parallels to experiences of the main character, Achak, a Lost Boy from Sudan, and my life here in Congo.  Of course there are many things I cannot relate to at all - running as a refugee day and night with hardly any food or water, eating bugs to survive, risking attacks by lions and crocodiles.  My life is not nearly that frightening.  But I do relate to Achak's experience in a small African town before the war, the simplicity of day to day life that made him happy, the need for family and dependance on friends for every day needs.  He describes the night being blacker than black, and without electricity I don't think I have ever been in such a dark place (except for the depths of the caves in Torotoro with Matt and Elsa Johnson in Bolivia!)  This part of Congo truly feels off the beaten path, and it is changing me, and re-focusing my life priorities, again.  Perhaps that is what has always drawn me back to this continent.  There is always emphasis on the essential, because there is no time or opportunity to distract ourselves with things that don't matter as much.  Here, it all comes down to food, shelter, God, family, community, music and dance.

Achak is relocated to Atlanta, GA after 10 years surviving a refugee camp.  He reflects on the way the extreme wealth of the United States has both a positive and negative impact on the Sudanese refugee community.  There is violence, depression and unrest among the refugees because they struggle to find happiness in their new home, because cultural values differ so greatly from their own.

When I read news from home, I am struck at how difficult it is to remove ourselves from the non-essentials.  Our culture dictates that we be non-stop people, and that there is little value in turning out the lights, listening to the chorus of cicadas at night and reflecting on creation around us.  Achak, and my African friends here in Congo have an inherent sense of the importance of making time for these simple moments.

And sometimes, it takes a more radical move to rediscover the essentials.